Microsoft Windows
| Desktop OS market share as of November, 2012[1] |
|---|
| Microsoft Windows - 82% |
| Mac OS X and Mac OS - 6% |
| iOS - 6% |
| Android - 3% |
| Java ME - 1% |
| Linux - 1% |
| Other - 0% |
Microsoft Windows is a popular operating system software for computers. Windows is made by the Microsoft company. Almost 90% of desktop and laptop computers have Windows installed (included). The newest version of Windows is Windows 8. Most newly bought personal computers have Windows 8 installed. Some cheaper computers have older versions of Windows included.
In November 20, 1985 "Microsoft Windows version 1.0" went on sale. Windows 7 went on sale in October, 2009.
Windows makes it easier to run programs (applications) than DOS did. It also helps people keep their files safe and in order.
Some programs are included with Windows. Some examples:
- Wordpad - to write simple documents
- Photo viewer - to look at pictures
- Paint - to make simple drawings
- Internet Explorer Web browser - to use the Internet to look at web pages and read e-mail and get applications from the World Wide Web.
- Windows Media Player - to listen to music and watch videos.
Many new applications are available that are not included with Windows. Some popular applications are games, word processors (to write letters) or add-on programs like Adobe Flash Player (to watch video clips on websites). Adding new applications to Windows is called "installing". Applications can be bought on a CD or DVD. Applications can also be downloaded from the Internet, sometimes for free.
Contents |
Popular Windows versions [change]
| Release date | Product name | Notes | Last IE |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 1990 | Windows 3.0 | Unsupported (help for problems no longer given by Microsoft) | 5 |
| July 27, 1993 | Windows NT | Unsupported | 5 |
| August 24, 1995 | Windows 95 | Unsupported | 5.5 |
| June 25, 1998 | Windows 98 | Unsupported | 6 |
| February 17, 2000 | Windows 2000 | Unsupported[2] | 6 |
| September 14, 2000 | Windows Me | Unsupported | 6 |
| October 25, 2001 | Windows XP | Current for SP3 (RTM, SP1 and SP2 unsupported), but help is given with problems with SP3. | 8 |
| November 30, 2006 (volume licensing) January 30, 2007 (retail) |
Windows Vista | Current. Version Changed to NT 6.0.6001 with SP1 (February 4 08) | 9 |
| July 2007 | Windows Home Server | Current | 8 |
| February 2008 | Windows Server 2008 | Current | 9 |
| October 22, 2009 | Windows 7 | Current | 10 |
| October 26, 2012 | Windows 8 | Current | 10 |
Criticism [change]
Many users complain that Windows operating systems cause them problems. Some people think that their computer become slower because of Windows. Many people also complain about security problems. As Windows is the most popular operating system, most computer viruses are written to infect computers running Windows.
References [change]
- ↑ Operating System Market Share, November 2012, courtesy of Net Applications, a marketing company which obtains its data from the Alexa Toolbar or related products. Because people who install these products on their computers are not always aware that the product reports web browsing habits back to the marketers at Alexa some security software considers the Alexa Toolbar spyware and removes it. Both the automated removal-as-spyware and the self-selecting nature of those who install software that reports on personal web browsing habits raises questions as to whether the resulting data represents a unbiased statistical sample of Internet users.
- ↑ "Microsoft Support Lifecycle". Microsoft. May 4, 2005. http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?p1=3071. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
Other websites [change]
- The Microsoft Windows website
- The Windows Team Blog — Official blog of the Windows Team at Microsoft
- Windows for Beginners - a site that explains Windows for beginners
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| Common Operating systems |
|---|
| Linux • Mac OS • Microsoft Windows • Solaris • UNIX • BSD |
