Thursday, July 23, 2009

Windows Timeline


Windows 7 is heading into production, likely to be launched early next year.

So, just for giggles, let's take a stroll down Windows' Memory Lane:
  1. Windows 3.1 is the first Windows Operating System (Versions 1 and 2 never made it to produciton.) Date 1993. Windows 3.5 was released in 1994
  2. Windows 95 updated 3.1 and attempted to add "Plug and Play" features, which in theory allowed hardware and software to be added and removed easily. This feature earned itself the nickname "Shrug and Pray."
  3. Windows 98 was not really an improvement on Win95. It is widely recognized as being buggy and unreliable.
  4. Windows ME was a partial upgrade from Windows 98. ME stands for Millenium Edition. This is pretty much the Edsel of Microsoft. It was realeased in 1999.
  5. Windows 2000 followed. Windows2000 intended to combine the relative ease of use of Windows 95-98 with the security of the business operating system Windows NT. Plug and Play mostly worked by this point.
  6. Windows XP improved upon what was started with Windows 2000. There was increased security, working "Plug and Play" and stability. (I admit that I love my WinXP.) This OS was released with a Professional version and a cheaper Home Version. Why, I may never know.
  7. Windows Vista was plagued from release date with compatibility issues and security problems-- particularly with the security being too tight. As in the OS was trying to protect users from themselves, and perhaps did so too well. Updates have largely removed most of these issues and created a rather stable operating system, however, rumors have damaged Vista. Not to mention the plethora of OS choices.
  8. Windows 7 is the next release. If you count, Windows 7 is not the seventh version of Windows. I'm not sure what the 7 is for.
What would you call Windows 7 instead? What would make it stand out?

(Source: Wiki Timeline of OS)

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