this is a project for my english class. I wrote 5 whole pages of this research paper, yet no one in my class knows much about computers except how to turn it on, type, and surf... So I'm asking you to read this and note any problems you see. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Windows, A History What is ‘Windows’? Everyone should be able to answer that question, rather they use it or not. Of course, it is made by one of the richest people at Microsoft, Bill Gates. No matter what version you use, Windows 3.1, 95, 98, NT, 2000, or XP, you’re using the Windows OS (Operating System). Over 90% of the world uses Windows for businesses, home, and other means, but many do not know the history of Microsoft or its various Windows operating systems. DOS, or Disk Operating System, was the first implementation for Microsoft. You could fit the whole program on one 3 ½ or 5 ¼ floppy and have room to spare. This was rather a dark time, before hard drives were even heard of. Even one Gigabyte was like the greatest thing back then if you could afford it. Computerhope said: MS-DOS 1.0 was released in 1981 for IBM computers, and the latest version of MS-DOS is MS-DOS 6.22, which was released in 1994. While MS-DOS is not commonly used by itself today, it still can be accessed from every version of Microsoft Windows by clicking Start / Run and typing "command" or by typing "CMD" in Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP. DOS is not used much today although a lot of PC technicians can use it to troubleshoot different things. For example, they use ‘ping’ and ‘ipconfig’ to test your network and ‘copy’ to save your important files if Windows is not available. DOS, in the early days, was not easy to get used to. Type one wrong word or letter, and it would not run. You also had to memorize over 100 commands and switches to customize the way it works. Windows 1.0 through 3.11 were just basically programs that ran off of DOS and gave you a GUI (Graphical User Interface) that allowed you to open folders and run programs. Mice, or Mouses as most people say, were introduced in DOS, and again in Windows, but only Windows used the right button. The right button was originally made to get more information, such as the file properties, copy, cut, paste, or delete. In Windows, there is always more than one way to do something. For example, you can copy something by right-clicking and choosing copy, or you can press Control + C. Windows was simple enough to use for simple processes, but if you wanted to get into the more complex functions, you needed a little know-how (ComputerHope). Windows 3.1 is rarely used in the world today and not supported any longer, but still is used by PC fanatics who like to look at it as a learning guide. Windows 95, the beginning of the ‘Start’ bar, had a brother: Windows 95b. Windows 95b brought USB compatibilities to computers that had the ports. Windows 95 also brought several things to life that were not available in the preceding Operating systems. For example, Plug and Play, also known as PnP, allowed you to automatically install hardware devices into the computer with proper software, and did not require jumpers to change settings. Also, a right click on the mouse allowed new access and text manipulation by using both buttons instead of one. The newly enhanced CD-Player added improved usability and the AutoPlay feature, which allowed you to insert a CD, and it would open the install file (ComputerHope). The Internet as we know it now, started at this point. It wasn’t just text anymore, you could now add pictures. But in these old days, you could not put more than one picture in a page, or it would take years to download, with dial-up. Windows 95 also disappointed a lot of people. Now you were not able to use all the keyboard commands you learned in 3.1. A lot of the main ones were carried over, but you basically had to find new ways to do everything. Windows 95 is still used today, but only with computers that can’t go any higher on the OS scale. Windows 98, and later 98se, gave more punch and kick than 95 could produce. Alough it was not as popular as Windows 95, it did have some major updates. Protection - Windows 98 includes additional protection for important files on your computer such as backing up your registry automatically. It had improved support for different devices such as video, drivers, DVD, and USB. Windows 98 also had the capabilities to convert your hard drive to FAT32, where it was previously Fat16 in Windows 95. End-users of Windows 95 would enjoy the same simple interface on Windows 98. PnP improved, also, to detect newer devices better then Windows 95 did. The Taskbar, or Start bar as some call it, became more customizable and added many new features to it, which 95 did not have (ComputerHope). The main differences between 98 and 98se were the drivers. 98 supported some drivers, where 98se supported more and updated ones. 98se also had greater security for the internet then in the original 98. Windows 2000 was the best OS ever made, said by most. The savior of the OS wars up to that time, in my opinion. Windows 2000 was based on Windows NT, which was not the hottest of Operating systems, but after a few bugs were fixed and “over 29 million lines of code” were written, it became the best of the Operating systems up to this point (ComputerHope). Windows 2000 also had 3 flavors: 2000 Professional, 2000 Server, and 2000 Advanced Server. One was easy, one was a monster, and one was Godzilla, in that order. 2000 Professional was made for any end-user, where 2000 Server and Advanced Server were for the smartest of network specialists, even for them it was hard to set up. It has gone a long, long way from Windows 95, but still, it’s not the end of the OS tunnel. Windows 2000 is still used widely today, for people that “fear” Windows XP, which we’ll cover next. Windows XP, Epinions said, “[is] Microsoft's most stable operating system”. Really, it is, in a nutshell. Sure, every single Operating system ever made had their rises and falls, their praises and death sentences. But Windows XP, its XP standing for eXPerience, had fewer problems than any previous Operating system. Of course, nothing is perfect in this world. Windows XP, like 2000, had three bold flavors: XP Home, XP Professional, and XP Professional 64bit. XP Home was made for the general household, with more extra software they’d never lay their hands on. XP Professional, at first, was meant for large businesses, but these days it is not so. Users everywhere use XP Professional nowadays. XP 64bit edition, Epinions explains: This version was designed with all the features of the first two versions, and the easiest way to describe why this version is different is to say that it boasts the ability to work on a whole new line of computer systems that are based on a 64-Bit hardware platform. Currently, all computers run on either a 16-Bit or a 32-Bit 'hardware' (and I use the term 'hardware' loosely) platform, and what this means for users is basically even more speed and performance from future machines. And again, the business market will see the 64-Bit platform before home users will, thus the reasoning behind the fact that this is also a Professional Edition. The difference from any other operating system that you would notice at once would be the new welcome screen instead of that old log-in window and the start bar color, not that old grey boring bar anymore, but a blue one. Like in the earlier operating systems, you could change your desktop, start bar, and many other things, but in Windows XP, it’s only easier. You can change not only the color, but the style of your whole operating system with one click of your mouse. Windows XP is widely used; being it is currently the latest operating system. The future of operating systems looks nice. The only way they can possibly go is up. The new operating system, called Windows Vista, which is coming out in early 2006, looks promising from what beta testers are saying. “Vista's "aero glass" see-through window frames and green liquid-like progress bars resemble effects that Mac users have enjoyed for years,” Yardena says. Graphics are also going up. You’d need at least 128 megabytes of video memory to play the latest games and be able to navigate around Windows. Also you would need at least 512 megabytes of RAM (Random Access Memory) minimum to run programs smoothly. The future looks clear, but the money is ever piling up, even though prices will eventually go down enough for the people with a low income. Windows is used all over the world with different versions, but they all trace back to Bill Gates, the beginning and present owner of Microsoft. Although it is not only Gates who makes these operating systems anymore, but a team of over 1 million people who plan, code, implement, test, and make updates for Windows. Over 90% of the world uses Windows for businesses, home, and other means, but many do not know the history of Microsoft or its various Windows operating systems. Well, after reading this, you should know a little more about Microsoft and its various Windows operating systems. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you if you read the whole thing...
i cant figure out how to tab on here, but they are tabbed in the word document. Thanks for the help. I will hand this in tomorrow unless you have more to comment.
