Windows operating system
The Windows operating system (Windows OS) for desktop PCs are more formally called Microsoft Windows and is actually a family of operating systems for personal computers. Windows dominates the personal computer world, running, by some estimates, more than 90 percent of all personal computers – the remainder running Linux and Mac operating systems.
Windows 10 is Microsoft's Windows successor to Windows 8. Windows 10 debuted on July 29, 2015, following a "technical preview" beta release of the new operating system that arrived in Fall 2014 and a "consumer preview" beta in early 2015. Microsoft claims Windows 10 features fast start up and resume, built-in security and the return of the Start Menu in an expanded form. This version of Windows will also feature Microsoft Edge, Microsoft's new browser. Any qualified device (such as tablets, PCs, smartphones and Xbox consoles) can upgrade to Windows 10, including those with pirated copies of Windows.
Windows is a series of operating systems developed by Microsoft. Each version of Windows includes a graphical user interface, with a desktop that allows users to view files and folders in windows. For the past two decades, Windows has been the most widely used operating system for personal computers PCs.
Windows is designed to run on standard x86 hardware, such as Intel and AMD processors. Therefore, it can be installed on multiple brands of hardware, such as Dell, HP, and Sony computers, as well as home-built PCs. Windows 7 also includes several touchscreen features, that allow the operating system to run on certain tablets and computers with touchscreen displays. Microsoft's mobile operating system, Windows Phone, is designed specifically for smartphones and runs on several brands of phones, including HTC, Nokia, and Samsung.
Windows 3.0, released in 1990, improved the design, mostly because of virtual memory and loadable virtual device drivers (VxDs) that allow Windows to share arbitrary devices between multi-tasked DOS applications.[citation needed] Windows 3.0 applications can run in protected mode, which gives them access to several megabytes of memory without the obligation to participate in the software virtual memory scheme. They run inside the same address space, where the segmented memory provides a degree of protection. Windows 3.0 also featured improvements to the user interface. Microsoft rewrote critical operations from C into assembly. Windows 3.0 is the first Microsoft Windows version to achieve broad commercial success, selling 2 million copies in the first six months.[15][16]
Announced in January 2007, Windows Home Server (WHS) is a "consumer server" designed to use with multiple computers connected in the home. Home Server allows you to share files such as digital photos and media files, and also allows you to automatically backup your home networked computers. Through Windows Media Connect, Windows Home Server lets you share any media located on your WHS with compatible devices.
After a lengthy development process, Windows Vista was released on November 30, 2006, for volume licensing and January 30, 2007, for consumers. It contained a number of new features, from a redesigned shell and user interface to significant technical changes, with a particular focus on security features. It was available in a number of different editions, and has been subject to some criticism, such as drop of performance, longer boot time, criticism of new UAC, and stricter license agreement. Vista's server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 was released in early 2008.
These design issues combined with programming errors (e.g. buffer overflows) and the popularity of Windows means that it is a frequent target of computer worm and virus writers. In June 2005, Bruce Schneier's Counterpane Internet Security reported that it had seen over 1,000 new viruses and worms in the previous six months.[66] In 2005, Kaspersky Lab found around 11,000 malicious programs – viruses, Trojans, back-doors, and exploits written for Windows.[67]
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Other changes include increased integration with cloud services and other online platforms (such as social networks and Microsoft's own OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) and Xbox Live services), the Windows Store service for software distribution, and a new variant known as Windows RT for use on devices that utilize the ARM architecture.[36][37][38][39][40][41] An update to Windows 8, called Windows 8.1,[42] was released on October 17, 2013, and includes features such as new live tile sizes, deeper OneDrive integration, and many other revisions. Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 have been subject to some criticism, such as removal of the Start menu.
All Windows versions from Windows NT 3 have been based on a file system permission system referred to as AGDLP (Accounts, Global, Domain Local, Permissions) in which file permissions are applied to the file/folder in the form of a 'local group' which then has other 'global groups' as members. These global groups then hold other groups or users depending on different Windows versions used. This system varies from other vendor products such as Linux and NetWare due to the 'static' allocation of permission being applied directly to the file or folder. However using this process of AGLP/AGDLP/AGUDLP allows a small number of static permissions to be applied and allows for easy changes to the account groups without reapplying the file permissions on the files and folders.
Windows 8, the successor to Windows 7, was released generally on October 26, 2012. A number of significant changes were made on Windows 8, including the introduction of a user interface based around Microsoft's Metro design language with optimizations for touch-based devices such as tablets and all-in-one PCs. These changes include the Start screen, which uses large tiles that are more convenient for touch interactions and allow for the display of continually updated information, and a new class of apps which are designed primarily for use on touch-based devices. The new Windows version required a minimum resolution of 1024×768 pixels,[35] effectively making it unfit for netbooks with 800×600-pixel screens.
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In February 2017, Microsoft announced the migration of its Windows source code repository from Perforce to Git. This migration involved 3.5 million separate files in a 300 gigabyte repository.[44] By May 2017, 90 percent of its engineering team was using Git, in about 8500 commits and 1760 Windows builds per day.[44]
In 2017 Microsoft announced that it would start using Git, an open source version control system created by Linus Torvalds. Microsoft has previously used a proprietary version control system called "Source Depot". Microsoft had begun to integrate Git into Team Foundation Server in 2013, but Windows continued to rely on Source Depot. Because of its large, decades-long history, the Windows codebase is not especially well suited to the decentralized nature of Linux development that Git was originally created to manage. Each Git repository contains a complete history of all the files, which proved unworkable for Windows developers because cloning the repository takes several hours. Microsoft has been working on a new project called the Virtual File System for Git (VFSForGit) to address these challenges.[53]
Windows provides a graphical user interface (GUI), virtual memory management, multitasking, and support for many peripheral devices. In addition to Windows operating systems for personal computers, Microsoft also offers operating systems for servers and mobile devices.
With the 2001 release of Windows XP, Microsoft united its various Windows packages under a single banner, offering multiple editions for consumers, businesses, multimedia developers, and others. Windows XP abandoned the long-used Windows 95 kernel (core software code) for a more powerful code base and offered a more practical interface and improved application and memory management. The highly successful XP standard was succeeded in late 2006 by Windows Vista, which experienced a troubled rollout and met with considerable marketplace resistance, quickly acquiring a reputation for being a large, slow, and resource-consuming system. Responding to Vista’s disappointing adoption rate, Microsoft in 2009 released Windows 7, an OS whose interface was similar to that of Vista but was met with enthusiasm for its noticeable speed improvement and its modest system requirements.
This tutorial is designed to show you the absolute basics of using a Windows computer, including how to use the desktop, how to open different files and applications, and how to move and resize windows. The information in this tutorial will apply to more recent versions of Windows, including the ones mentioned above. However, once you've learned the basics, you may also want to review one of our version-specific Windows tutorials. Just select the version of Windows that's installed on your computer:
Windows XP was released in 2001. Along with a redesigned look and feel to the user interface, the new operating system is built on the Windows 2000 kernel, giving the user a more stable and reliable environment than previous versions of Windows. Windows XP comes in two versions, Home and Professional. Microsoft focused on mobility for both editions, including plug and play features for connecting to wireless networks. The operating system also utilizes the 802.11x wireless security standard. Windows XP is one of Microsoft's best-selling products.