| Date and Launch | Software features | Hardware required |
|---|---|---|
| May 1964 Preface | Professors John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire write a high level "compile and run" language called Basic and place that listing (written in assembly language) in the public domain. It initially ran on Dartmouth's General Electric 225 mainframe computer. | GE-225 mainframe computer — running an interactive time-sharing operating system that Dartmouth College wrote for its students, the DTSS Dartmouth Time Sharing System. |
| Mar 1975 Microsoft Basic | 8-bit Microsoft Basic was the first Basic interpreter, written by Bill Gates & Paul Allen using a cross assembler program and an Intel 8080 emulator on a Digital PDP-10 minicomputer at Harvard. Runs in just 4kb ROM as Altair Basic. Click here for an annotated disassembly. | The MITS Altair 8800 — an 8-bit micro-computer kit with Intel 8080 processor |
| Aug 1980 Microsoft Unix | 16-bit Xenix, a multi-user, multi‑tasking PLATFORM, developed on Digital VAX and Digital PDP-11 computers. Licensed to OEMs by issuing assembly code relevant to the CPU. Also used for in-house development. | Licenses for Intel, Tandy, Altos and SCO. SCO release it for the IBM PC in Sep.1983. |
| Aug 1981 Microsoft DOS | 16-bit MS-DOS — PC-DOS as rebranded for IBM — a single-user, single-tasking personal operating system. Written as 86-DOS by Tim Paterson in assembly code using a Z80 microcomputer running CP/M. Requires just 64kb of RAM
Three programs load into memory:
Click here for Assembly Code IBMBIO.COM version 1.0 and comments. Click here for Assembly code and executables of versions 1.1 and 2.0 | 16-bit IBM PC with 8-bit data bus on Intel 8088, up to 256kb RAM, an MDA video card with 4kb RAM, and 160kb 5¼" floppy Click here for background to its MBR Master Boot Record and here for its ROM BIOS its startup Firmware Interface Click here for the original ROM BIOS Assembly Code Listings published between 1981 and 1985. The first listing includes its original font character set, each with an 8x8 (64 bit) pattern. |
| AMD — Applied Micro Designs became "second-source" manufacturer for Intel's patented x86 chip. With this guarantee, the IBM PC was launched with VisiCalc for spreadsheets for businesses, Microsoft Adventure for games, EDLIN for a built-in line editor, Easywriter for Word Processing (but fairly unpopular), Peachtree Accounting for businesses and dBASE II for database developers. For extra help built in, it came with a "Prt Scn" key that printed the screen image from the display buffer, three versions of Microsoft Basic: BASIC and BASICA (Advanced) on diskette, and Cassette BASIC in the ROM BIOS if no diskette loaded. In April 1982 Wordstar was ported to the PC and rapidly replaced Easywriter. | ||
| 1982 | In May, PC-DOS 1.1, then MS-DOS 1.25 added support for 360kb disks. In July, Microsoft's in-house LAN runs Xenix for email. | IBM Compatibles — Compaq, Columbia on 8086 with 16-bit data bus & 320kb disks. |
| 1983 AT&T markets Unix, competes with Xenix, but owns the standard. | In January 1983, Lotus 123 was launched as a "killer" spreadsheet application with more functions and commands. Accountants everywhere encouraged businesses to learn its features. In March, PC-DOS 2.0 and MS-DOS 2.0, supporting a 10mb hard drive, sub-directories (folders), pipes, redirection & other Unix-like features. Novell & Laplink launch using TSRs. In May 1983, the Microsoft Mouse and Notepad were launched, followed by Microsoft Word in October 1983. | 16-bit IBM XT still 8-bit data bus but up to 640kb RAM, 10mb Hard Drive & 360kb 5¼" disks. Approx $AU8,000-$10,000
Click here for the PC's Master Boot Record for IBM PC DOS 2.00 |
| 1984 Apple Mac's Debut | In Aug84, PC-DOS 3.0 and MS-DOS 3.0, supporting a 32mb hard drive. In Nov84, file-and-record locking controls added in MS-DOS 3.1. IBM authors NetBIOS using SMBs on IBM's Token Ring network. MS-Net launches on a dedicated server. Tries to compete with Novell. But not very well.
In January 1985 Word, with its graphical user interface, ported to the Apple Macintosh. In September 1985, a spreadsheet, Microsoft Excel, is written for the Mac. Not ported to Windows until late 1987. | 16-bit IBM AT with 80286 processor, 1.2mb 5¼" disks, a 20mb Hard Drive, and an "enhanced" keyboard layout now in use everywhere. Approx $AU5,000-$8,500. Compatibles cheaper but compatibility issues arise.
The AT motherboard also included a battery backed Motorola real-time clock (RTC). The PC had required the user to set the clock manually. In addition to keeping the time, the RTC included 50 bytes of CMOS memory, for storing software-adjustable BIOS parameters. |
| Aug 1985 New OS Platform | The old 8088 / 8086 processors operated in Real Mode, able to address a maximum 1mb of memory, and ran just a single process. But Protected Mode, especially in the upcoming | So, Microsoft and IBM announce the Joint Development Agreement. IBM to build a proprietary Personal System/2 (PS/2). Microsoft to write its protected mode & networked Operating System/2 (OS/2) in C |
| Nov 1985 Microsoft Windows | 16-bit Windows 1.0, mostly written in C, runs on MS-DOS 2 & 3 using 256kb - 512kb RAM. Offers multi‑tasking. But the memory maximum is still 1mb, and tasks need explicit programming to share processing time & memory. | |
| Mar 1986 | PC-DOS 3.2 with 3½" 720kb disk support | |
| Apr 1987 | PC-DOS 3.3, a major release with 3½" 1.44mb disk support and extended partitions | IBM's 16-bit computer is released in April 1987, the IBM Personal System/2 (PS/2) with 1.44mb 3½" disk, VGA screen & PS/2 mouse. Runs PC-DOS & Windows. |
| Nov 1987 Windows 2.0 | 16-bit Windows 2.0 runs on MS-DOS 3, still with 1mb limit, but now DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange). Lantastic P2P launch.
MS-DOS 3.31 for Compaq now supported Hard disk partitions over 32 MB | IBM's new operating system OS/2 v1.0. Stays 16-bit for the PS/2 286. Text mode display. 3Com (Ethernet cards) write LAN Manager. |
| May 1988 Windows 2.1 | 16-bit Windows/286 & /386 with HMA access, V86-mode & NDIS | |
| Jul 1988 | MS-DOS 4.0 with DOS Shell File Manager and 32mb EMS 4.0 (Expanded Memory option) | OS/2 v1.1 on PS/2 in Oct 88. Now GUI. |
| May 1990 Windows 3.0 | 16-bit Windows 3.0 runs on MS-DOS 3.1 also 4.0, 5.0, 6.0 Program Manager and now Protected memory support. | 3Com bows out. System unravels when IBM insists Windows be dropped. Instead, Microsoft recasts OS/2 3.0 as Windows NT. |
| Oct 1990 | Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) launched | |
| May 1991 | MS-DOS 5.0 was a major retail upgrade, DOS Editor, QBasic, Dir Sorting options and more | |
| Oct 1991 | Windows 3.00a multimedia extensions added | |
| Mar 1992 Windows 3.1 | 16-bit Windows 3.1, a major release with Apple TrueType fonts, OLE. In Oct92, 16-bit Windows for Workgroups (32-bit in Aug93). Samba launch. | 32-bit OS/2 2.0 in April 1992 by IBM solo. Supports multitasking of DOS / Windows. |
| Mar 1993 | MS-DOS 6.0 included Double Space compression and further utilities. | |
| Apr 1993 Lots of New Names | COM: Model for interprocess communication. Clients to access Components (as Objects) via a binary interface's unique GUID. In 1994, introduced visual OLE controls. Then, in between VB4 & Visual Foxpro in 1995, and Visual J++ in Oct96, technology renamed ActiveX. | After the disagreements over the previous 8 years, the clean break with IBM offered Microsoft a new start, culminating in Windows XP, 8 years later. Click here for a humorous 1993 email, possibly from IBM. |
| Jul 1993 Microsoft Windows NT | Meanwhile, OS/2 3.0 is now 32-bit Windows NT 1993 NT 3.1, | 32-bit Server and Desktop. NT stable but limited in hardware/ games. |
| Jun 1994 | MS-DOS 6.22 becomes last MS-DOS release with DriveSpace disk compression, following a legal injunction against DoubleSpace. | |
| Aug 1995 Windows 4.0 | 16 & 32-bit Windows 95, a major release running on MSDOS.sys was now merged into IO.sys as its one boot loader. It introduced PlugnPlay, which enabled users to easily install and use hardware devices without manual configuration, enforcing an industry standard interface with its DirectX standards for games and multimedia. And still included 16‑bit Win3.1 code to run popular 16-bit Windows games. | 32-bit PC. Easy to use though a little more unstable. Says 4mb RAM but prefers 16 - 32mb |
That same month Microsoft launched Internet Explorer 1.0, the first of Microsoft's large range of IE Browsers, initially part of an entertainment pack, Microsoft Plus!. It sold for $US49.99 with Microsoft paying programming royalties to Spyglass Mosaic, an offshoot of the University of Illinois, who had written the code for the browser. On November 22 1995, Microsoft launched
| ||
| Jul 1996 Windows NT 4.0 | 32-bit Windows NT 4 with CIFS, a new name for SMB. | Server and Desktop. |
In October 1996, Microsoft named its object-oriented software interface ActiveX.
| ||
| Jun 1998 Windows 4.1 | 16 & 32-bit Windows 98, a major release fixed many software errors in Winows 95. Still used MS-DOS 7 as boot loader | PC. Says 16mb RAM but prefers 64mb |
| Feb 2000 Windows NT 5.0 | 32-bit Windows 2000. Server edition now uses Active Directory. | Server and Desktop. |
| Sep 2000 Windows 4.9 | 16 & 32-bit Windows Me using MS-DOS 8 as boot loader Last of the 16-bit MS-DOS Kernels | PC. Says 32mb RAM but prefers 128mb |
| Oct 2001 Windows NT 5.1 | 32-bit Windows XP, a major release both stable and easy to use over the next decade. 64-bit edition also. COM → .NET Framework with more secure Library | PC. Numerous hardware options Says 64mb RAM but prefers 256mb |
| Apr 2003 Windows NT 5.2 | 32-bit Windows Server 2003. 64-bit edition also. | Server |
| Nov 2006 Windows NT 6.0 | 32-bit Windows Vista with SMB2. 64-bit edition also. | PC. Says 512mb RAM but prefers 1 - 2gb |
| Feb 2008 Windows NT 6.0 | 32-bit Windows Server 2008. 64-bit edition also. | Server |
| Oct 2009 Windows NT 6.1 | 64-bit Windows 7, a major release. 32-bit edition also. Microsoft Security Essentials included, Microsoft's first free anti-virus software. | PC. 1gb RAM 32-bit & 2gb RAM 64-bit |
| Oct 2009 Windows NT 6.1 | 64-bit Windows Server 2008 R2 In Feb 2010, first release of the Microsoft Azure cloud computing service through Microsoft-managed data centres. | HighUsage Server |
In October 2010, Office 365 announced as "an always-up-to-date cloud service" for Microsoft Office. Initially a beta version for business customers, its official launch came in April 2011. Extended to general consumers in 2013, with subscription sales passing conventional license sales in 2017. In 2020, Office 365 was rebranded as Microsoft 365. In May 2011, Skype purchased.
| ||
| Sep 2012 Windows NT 6.2 | 64-bit Windows Server 2012 | Server |
| Oct 2012 Windows NT 6.2 | 64-bit Windows 8. 32-bit edition also.
Windows Defender released as Microsoft's new built-in anti-virus software, achieving top ranking in comparison with other anti-virus software by time of Windows 10. | PC. 1gb RAM 32-bit & 2gb RAM 64-bit but prefers 4gb |
| Oct 2013 Windows NT 6.3 | 64-bit Windows 8.1. 32-bit edition also. | PC. Memory requirements lowered to 1 GB of RAM on all devices |
| Jul 2015 Windows NT 10.0 | 64-bit Windows 10, a major release. 32-bit edition also. Windows Store now includes an app that streams all Aussie Free-to-Air TV channels | PC. 1gb RAM 32-bit & 2gb RAM 64-bit but prefers 4gb |
| Oct 2016 Windows NT 10.0 | 64-bit Windows Server 2016 | Server |
| Oct 2018 Windows NT 10.0 | 64-bit Windows Server 2019 | Server |
| Oct 2021 Windows NT 10.0 | 64-bit Windows 11 with a free upgrade for Windows 10 users. Click here for further details and hardware specs. | PC. 4gb RAM |
| Oct 2021 Windows NT 10.0 | 64-bit Windows Server 2022 | Server |
Making System Repairs to Windows 10 and 11
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With respect to yearly sales of Windows, Apple and Linux, research by technology analyst Gartner in 2006 showed current market share and their predictions of market share through to 2010 to be as follows:
The Australian
December 5th 2006
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | |
| Windows Vista Business | 0.0% | 4.2% | 15.3% | 28% | 39.1% |
| Windows Vista Home | 0.0% | 4.9% | 14% | 22% | 28.6% |
| Windows 2000 Professional | 14.9% | 9.1% | 4.8% | 2.5% | 1.4% |
| Windows XP Professional | 44.5% | 47% | 39.7% | 28.6% | 18% |
| Windows XP Home | 29.8% | 28.6% | 21.6% | 14.5% | 8.5% |
| Apple Mac OS | 2.5% | 2.4% | 2.4% | 2.4% | 2.4% |
| Linux | 1.6% | 1.9% | 2% | 2% | 1.9% |
Windows XP looks like being around for some time to come - much to Microsoft's disappointment - given how much time - and money they've spent on Vista.
The takeup rate for Windows Vista can be seen to have been much lower than Gartner estimated. In June 2014, Windows XP accounted for about 25% of market share, with Windows Vista on just 3%, Windows 7 on 50% and Windows 8 on 13%.
In 2013, about 315 million PCs were sold globally, with † 91% running some version of Microsoft Windows, 7% running Mac OS X, and the rest on Linux and other systems.
† Click here to see recent percentages also a breakdown of operating systems used in web servers, mobile devices (i.e. smartphones and tablets) and mainframes.
In May 2014, Microsoft's increasing lack of openness within Windows 8 meant that the Chinese Government banned Windows 8 from all Chinese government purchases. They had had considerable access to Windows 7's source code.
As part of efforts to "re-engage" with users in China, Microsoft announced that it would partner with Qihoo and Tencent to help promote and distribute Windows 10 in China, and that Chinese PC maker Lenovo would provide assistance at its service centers and retail outlets for helping users upgrade to Windows 10.
On December 2, 2014 8:05 AM "Stephen Williamson" wrote:
Subject: Microsoft and those numbers
Hi Jackie
Found this Wiki page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_9x
As it says, Windows 9x is the generic term referring to the series of Microsoft Windows computer operating systems produced from 1995 to 2000 i.e.
Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME (with their internal release versions known as 4.0, 4.1 and 4.9)
Windows 2000 and Windows XP were NT 5.0 and NT 5.1, and Windows Vista became NT 6.0
And according to this page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_10 Microsoft have been referring to their next version since Windows 8 as "Threshold".
It was only speculated that it would be branded Windows 9 on its release, but I guess that might have been a bit ambiguous when referring to those earlier versions. On September 30, 2014 it was announced that "Threshold" would be called "Windows 10". I guess it saves that ambiguity, but, like happened with yourself, it's still only going to cause more questions about "What happened to Windows 9?"
love Steve
Apple (click for key dates) retain proprietary rights by always writing their own software and building their own machines. They cater to a niche (and loyal) market worldwide, historically in desktop publishing, graphics, sound, and research i.e. cutting edge development.
Linux, on the other hand, is an open source operating system, based on Unix-like commands, and originally written in 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Accordingly, companies can only claim ownership rights to their version of the operating system, as each one carves out its own niche.
For all its difficulties, the biggest strength of Microsoft through the years, I believe, has been continuity of data service: i.e. numerous software packages with accompanying file structures written with earlier versions of MS Windows have been regularly supported in later versions of Windows - at times for years into the future. It is this continuity that provides assurance to the vast majority of business companies and individuals who rely on Microsoft, and is doubtless a lesson Microsoft learned from the original computer companies: IBM, NCR, etc.
This continuity of service, incidentally, many times does not apply to old hardware. This was the source of a major difficulty between Microsoft and IBM during that period 1985-1990, given the enormous investment that businesses had made, and were still making, in 16-bit IBM 80286 and older XT computers, expecting ongoing support. Not so much an issue to Microsoft of course, who don't sell business computers. But coming back to today, for this reason it has been recommended that users only ever upgrade their version of MS Windows when purchasing a new computer — or when the computer they own is less than 12 months old.
According to Microsoft, there were 1.3 billion Windows users in 2021.
Windows 11 was announced on Thursday June 24, and launched on Tuesday October 5 2021. New PCs will get the upgrade first, and all compatible devices are expected to receive it by mid-2022, depending on device age and hardware.
Some early reviews
One big change is that Windows 11 will allow the operator to launch Video Chat Teams from the taskbar.
Click the Teams icon to launch a Chat tool. It will let you choose if you want to message, text, voice or video call one of your contacts.
Virtual desktops will now run "more seamlessly".
Android Apps will also be installable (more seamlessly).
A free upgrade will be available for Windows 10 users click here for a link to see if your device is compatible.
Basic Windows 11 Requirements
| Spec | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Processor | 1GHz or faster with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or system on a chip |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | 64GB or larger storage device |
| System firmware | UEFI, Secure Boot capable |
| TPM | Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0 |
| Graphics card | Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver |
| Display | HD (720p) display greater than 9 inches diagonally, 8 bits per color channel |
** End of article