What is windows?

We explain what Windows is and what this operating system is for. In addition, the list of its versions and what is Linux.

1. What is windows?

It is known as Windows, MS Windowse or Microsoft Windows to a family of operating systems for personal computers , smartphones and other computer systems, created and marketed by the US company Microsoft for various systems architecture supports (such as x86 and ARM).

Strictly speaking, Windowse is, more than an operating system itself, a series of distributions of the MS-DOS ( MicroSoft  Disk  Operating System ) or Windows NT, old operating systems of the company , framed in a visual operating environment, which works based on the virtual reproduction of a desktop and other office implements, such as folders, files, and even a recycle bin. 

The first appearance of Windowse occurred in 1985, as a step forward in the modernization of MS-DOS towards the graphical user environments (GUI), and since then it has become the most used operating system in the world , covering almost all the available market share (90%) for years.

Windows  offered its users a growing variety of available and updated versions of the program, with notable differences in appearance, stability and power. The incorporation of the Internet also allowed the automatic update of the software anywhere in the world.

2. What is Windows for?

The basic function of Windowse is to provide the core of the operating system with an attractive, entertaining and intuitive visual environment , in which the basic operations of computer use are represented graphically through icons. Using the mouse and keyboard, the usercan thus access all the functions of the computer, together with those of the applications incorporated into the system or installed by it.

This could be understood as that Windowse is a mediator between the user and the Operating System , which makes life easier and offers various protection mechanisms, games, Web browsing, etc.

3. Windows version list

The history of Windows versionse can be told through a list of its main versions:

• Windowse 1.0 . The initial version was released in November 1985, had three updates: 1.01, 1.02 and 1.03.
• Windows 2.0 . It appeared in 1987, with a significant improvement in the visual aspect, and had two updates: 2.10 and 2.11.
• Windowse
  NT . Baptized  Windows New  Technology  (“new technology”), emerged in 1993 as a renewal of the environment for servers and workstations. It had versions 3.1, 3.5, 3.51 and 4.0.
• Windowse 95 . Hybrid between 16 and 32 bits, it emerged in August 1995 and was a notable sales success. It renewed its graphic environment and had several reissues: 95 SP, 95 OSR1, 95 OSR2, and subsequently gave way to Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition and Windows ME ( Milennium
   ).
• Windowse 2000 . In its sister versions of Professionl, Server, Advanced and Datacenter Server, this edition appeared in 2000 opted for greater compatibility and the incorporation of a new train of applications.
• Windowse XP . Appeared in 2001, this new Windows took its name from  E xp erience  (experience) and was surely the most popular version of the history of this software, reaching 95% of the world’s computers .
• Windowse Server 2003 . Based on NT technology and with XP inheritance, it is a more compact version for use on web servers.
• Windowse Vista . It appeared in July 2008 and was controversial among many other things due to its content management favorable to entertainment companies rather than users of the system. He had several distributions such as Starter, Home Basic, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate, none very successful.
• Windows Server 2008 . Update of the 2003 version, but using Vista technology.
• Windowse 7 . With various versions such as Starter, Home Basic, Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate and others, it is considered an update of the Vista taking advantage of XP technology, but pointing to the multimedia and different format needs of the year 2009.
• Windowse 8 . Appeared in 2013, it contemplated in its many versions (8 Pro, 8 Media Center, 8 Enterprise and 8.1) a radical change of style and aesthetics, already betting on Smartphones, Tablets and other touch screen devices.
• Windowse 10 . The current version appeared in 2015, aiming at the unification of all Windows users in the world under a single version, heiress of 8. It has the variants 10 Home, 10 Pro, 10 Enterprise and 10 Education.

4. Windows desktop

This is perhaps the most distinctive feature of Windows: its initial screen, which represents a work desk and from where all operations are controlled. Its graphical interface is friendly and allows you to visually arrange the files in use , as well as the ordering of their representative icons, through the “click and drag” with the mouse . This environment was so successful that it redefined the way we connect with computers today.

5. Windows and Linux

Although both are operating systems, they are notoriously different. Not only because the last one is open source and the first one is merely commercial, but also because Linux is extremely stable, of alternative use and of multiple versions , while Windowse privileges its visual aspect: less stable but much more pleasant and intuitive.