Windows is a popular operating system that was developed by Microsoft Corporation. This famous software giant was co-founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Microsoft Windows is one of the most widely used operating systems in the world.
This is because it has an easy-to use graphical user interface. It tries to create your desktop on your computer screen! There are icons of folders, calculators, trash cans, etc. These icons represent different programs and applications. For example, different folders can hold files and special documents, while the trash can is the place where un-needed files are kept until you delete them. To open these programs, all you need to do is click on them with some sort of pointing device (today, it's usually a mouse).
The mouse lets you give commands to your computer. For example, you can click on specific icons to open a program, to access a data file, or to copy a data file. There are also pull-down menus that can be used to convey instructions to your computer.
When you open a program, the application is displayed in a window on your computer screen. Sometimes, when you have more than one program running, windows can overlap! The type of GUI used by Microsoft Windows if often commonly called WIMP. WIMP stands for windows, icons, menus, and pointing devices.
There are many different versions of Windows. The earliest version, developed in 1985, is called Windows 1.0. This was based on Microsoft's previous operating system, MS-DOS. This early version of Microsoft Windows was less advanced than the ones found today. Then, in 1987, Windows 2.0 was introduced, and in 1990, Windows 3.0 made its debut. Soon following the emergence of Windows 3.11, Windows 3.1 and 3.2 made their first appearance in the personal computer market. The features of these newer versions of Microsoft Windows made the operating system very popular! Then, in 1995, Windows 95 was introduced, followed by Windows 98 in 1998 (duh!) and Windows 2000 in the year 2000.
We will touch upon a few of the newer versions of Microsoft Windows:
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