Computer Course
SESSION : 1
CLASS : IV
SUBJECT : Computer
CHAPTER NUMBER : 1
CHAPTER NAME : Windows 10
SUB-TOPIC : Introduction To Windows
Let us know? What is Windows
Introduction to Microsoft Windows
Brief introduction about MS Windows has been given in the table below,
candidates must refer to this information:
What is Windows Operating System?
By definition, an Operating System is a group of
several GUIs (Graphical User Interface) families,
all of which are developed, sold and marketed
by Microsoft.
The latest version of Microsoft Operating System
which is being widely used across the world is
Windows 10.
History and Development of
Windows
• It was 1983 when work on “Interface Manager” was started by
Microsoft but it was in November 1995, when the first Windows 1.0
was introduced. Later on, with developments in technology, the
requirement of the people and increased demand for Graphical User
Interface, Microsoft kept releasing revised versions of Operating
Systems.
• The image given below shows the different Microsoft Operating
Systems along with the year in which they were introduced:
Versions of Windows Operating
System
Let us understand the different
versions of Windows Operating
System along with the features of
each of them individually.
2. Windows 2.0
It was released on December 9, 1987
1. Windows 1.0 16-bit Graphic User Interface (GUI)
It was released on November 20, 1985 based operating environment
Pure Operating Environment Introduced Control Panel, and the first
Used Graphical User Interface version of MS Word and Excel
Simple Graphics Unlike Windows 1.0, it had the capacity
Offered limited multi-tasking was expected to to allow applications to overlap each
have a better future potential other It was also the last Windows OS
which did not require a hard disk
Hardware played an important role
Note* – None of the above mentioned Windows was Operating Systems. They all came under the category of
Windows, working based on a graphical operating environment. It was Windows 95, which was the first
Operating System released by Microsoft.
3. Windows 3.0
4. Window 95
It was released in 1990
It was the first complete Operating System
It was better at multitasking
It was released on August 15, 1995
Used 8086 microprocessors
It merged MS-DOS and Windows products
It has both, conventional and extendable memory
It simplified plug and play features
First version of Windows to gather critical appreciation
Taskbar and Start menu was introduced with this
Better memory/ storage
WindowsOS Advanced from 16 bit GUI to 32 bit GUI
Long file names could be saved
Initially, computers with Windows 95 did not have Internet Explorer installed but by the release date of
Windows 95, the first version of Internet Explorer was installed in the software
On December 31, 2001, Windows declared this version of OS outdated and ended its support for the same
5. Windows 98
It was released to manufacturing on May 15, 1998
It was a 16 bit and 32 bit product based on MS DOS
It was not an entirely new version but just a tuned-up version to Windows 95
Internet Explorer 4.01 was released along with this Windows version
It did not support USB printers or mass storage devices
An update to this version “Windows SE” was released in 1999
6. Windows 2000
It was officially released on February 17, 2000. However, its manufacturing had begun in
late 1999
A core set of features was followed for manufacturing Windows 2000 but 4 different
editions, targeting different sectors of the market were released. These included: Server,
Professional, Advanced Server and Datacenter Server
It was considered as one of the most secure OS ever
A local disk manager was introduced with these Windows
Multilingual User Interface – it supported many different languages
7. Windows XP
While the manufacturing started on August 24, 2001, the official product was released on
October 25, 2001
Advanced portable PC support
Automatic wireless connection support
Fast start-up
Better Graphical User Interface (GUI)
Help and support centre
8. Windows Vista
It was released on January 30, 2007
It had an upgraded version of Graphical User Interface
It was the first operating system to use DVD-ROM for installation
9. Windows 7
It was released on October 22, 2009
A large number of new features were introduced
Redesigned Windows shell with an updated taskbar
Incremental upgrade to the Windows line
Libraries were added in the file management system
A few features from the past Windows were removed
Extended hardware support
10. Windows 8
It was released for retail on October 26, 2012
Optimisations for touch-based
Installed in new devices like Laptops, Mobile phones, tablets, etc.
Increased integration with cloud services
Windows Store service for software distribution
Task manager had been redesigned
New security features were introduced
Online Applications could be directly downloaded
11. Windows 10
It was released on July 29, 2015
Addresses shortcomings in the user
interface first introduced with Windows 8
A virtual desktop system
It had the ability to run windows store apps
within windows on the desktop rather than
in the full-screen mode
Included new icons
To reduce storage shortcomings, Windows
10 automatically compresses the file sizev
Applications in Windows
There are all kinds of applications which are available at the
Windows store and people can easily access them and
download them for their personal or professional usage.
Given below is a list of such application available on
Windows:
Web Browsers
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Reader
Messenger
Media Players
Games
Audio/ Video Chatting Apps
Maps & Calendar and this list goes on
Aspirants must note that questions from Computer Knowledge may also be
asked as a part of the General Awareness section. So, the preparation must
be done accordingly.
List of Important Commands for Windows
Since Computers run over a set of commands which are entered in
the form of input, which with the advancement of Operating
Systems can be entered through various Hardware devices.
Given below are a few important MS-DOS Windows commands for
the reference of candidates:
Mostly the above-mentioned commands are not directly used by
the user but are entered into the computer through a hardware
device.
All the information given above in this article will help aspirants
know more about the History and development of Windows and
Operating System and questions from this topic may be asked in
the upcoming examinations, so preparation must be done
accordingly.
THANKING YOU
KALPIT AND PREYANSH CONNECT AND STAR
COMPUTING
