IT Security News, News 5 February 2020

Windows: The Past, Present and Future

From Windows 1 to Windows 10: The history of the well known operating system

Max Thompson, Systems Engineer, Fabric

It all started with Windows 1…

Windows 1.0 was the first version of the well-known operating system which now dominates the IT market. It was first released on the 20th November 1985 and since then has taken a firm grasp on the technology sector. In the early days, Windows only ran as a graphical interface for MD-DOS. However, in the 90’s it evolved into a fully complete operating system, with two lines of development, each of which had its separate codebase and functionalities.  

Windows 2000

Windows then moved into a new millennium, bringing out Windows 2000. This was available in four cutting edge editions, Professional, Server, Advanced Server and Datacentre Server. Shortly after this, Microsoft released Windows ME (Millennium Edition). This included an exciting new application called Windows Movie Maker.

Windows 95 update launch

Windows XP

Windows XP was the next operating system released by Microsoft. Codenamed the whistler, Windows XP was widely criticised due to its lack of security features.

Windows Vista

Microsoft realised they needed to step up their game. They did this by releasing Windows Vista in 2006. It was available to business customers and provided users with enhanced security features through a new restricted user mode, called user account control.

Windows 7

The infamous Windows 7 operating system followed this, this came out in mid-2009 and provided users with features such as faster booting, Windows PowerShell and multi-touch! Support for Windows 7 stopped on 14th January 2020; if your business is still using this operating system, you are leaving yourselves vulnerable from a security perspective as no new updates are available for the software. 

Find out why Windows 7 may be putting your business security at risk

Windows 8

The next version of Windows was called Windows 8; this was flawed mainly by the overlapping of the Metro and Aero user interface and was not a widely accessible operating system for businesses. 

Windows 10

The latest version released by Microsoft is Windows 10, this is the go-to operating system for the modern-day PC user. 

Want to read more on this? Find out what’s new with the latest Windows Update 1909.

 Windows Timeline

So, what’s the future for our trusty Windows Operating System?

It is exciting how much technology is changing around us, who knows where we may be in 2030, Windows 15? The ability to control a PC through brainwaves? Fully immersive virtual offices? The sky is the limit!

Read more of my blogs including ‘How to choose the best laptops for accounting for 2020‘ and ‘starting an apprenticeship with an IT company‘.

Need to upgrade to the latest version of Windows? Get in touch to upgrade your devices now.

Max Thompson, Systems Engineer, Fabric

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