Main versions of operating systems of the Windows family. What versions of the Windows operating system are there? Operating systems of the UNIX family

First, let's give a description of Microsoft, contained on the Wikipedia page about this company.

Microsoft (Microsoft Corporation, read "Microsoft", NASDAQ: MSFT) is the largest (profit for 2008 - $17.7 billion with a turnover of $60.4 billion) transnational company producing software for various types of computer technology - personal computers, game consoles, PDAs, mobile phones and other things, developer of the most widely used software platform in the world at the moment - the Windows family of operating systems. The company's division also produces some accessories for personal computers (keyboards, mice, etc.). Microsoft products are sold in more than 80 countries around the world, programs are translated into more than 45 languages.

Microsoft was founded by two students: Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. They read an article about the Altair 8800 personal computer and developed a Basic language interpreter for it. It was purchased by a hardware manufacturer. This is how the company began, and its founders, instead of studying, went into business and were significantly successful in this.

The history of operating systems for personal computers IBM PC begins in 1981, when MS DOS 1.0 was installed on this equipment. True, this operating system cannot quite be considered developed by Microsoft. Its prototype was developed outside of Microsoft at Seattle Computer Production and supplemented with an interpreter for Bill Gates' BASIC.

First operating system Microsoft was built after purchasing a license from AT&T for UNIX. This is how it appeared operating system Xenix, which the company developed for several years, but then decided to get rid of it, giving preference to MS DOS.

Microsoft has developed and released several dozen operating systems for various equipment, but mainly for personal computers IBM PC. They can be divided into the following groups:

1. MS DOS. A series of operating systems that only support the command line as a user interface. Versions from 1.0 (1981) to 6.22 (1994) were released. Many companies (including IBM, DEC and even MIPT) created their own versions of this system.

2 . Windows 1, 2, 3 And 3.11 . Add-ons for MS DOS operating systems that provide a graphical user interface. They were not full-fledged operating systems, but were shells that provided standardization for the use of hardware and uniform interfaces for user programs. Their first version appeared in 1985, and the latest in 1995.

It should be noted that there was a predecessor to Windows - a graphical shell from Visi Corp called Visi On. Let's give an example of the interface of this shell from 1983 (Fig. 2.10).

Rice. 2.10.

And here is what the screen of the Windows 1.0 environment, released two years later in 1985, looked like for users (Fig. 2.11).

3. Windows 9X. This series of operating systems is represented by the following versions: Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows Me. They were designed for users to run on IBM PC personal computers. The graphical interface of these systems had a great influence on the standards for how users work with a personal computer. The user screen view is shown in Fig. 2.12.

4. Windows NT. The NT abbreviation for its name is derived from New Technology. Its first version, created by 1993, was supposed to supplant MS DOS, which did not happen. The following versions were supposed to supplant Windows 95 on the market, which only happened in the early 2000s. Variants of this system were created both for user work on a local computer and for managing a local network. Versions of this direction were called NT until a certain time, and since 2000 they have received different names: NT 5.0 - Windows 2000, NT 5.2 - Windows 2003, NT 6.0 - Windows Vista and Windows 2008, NT 6.1 - Windows 7.

5. Windows SE. These operating systems began to be developed in 1996. They are currently designed for a variety of mobile devices. The latest version in this line is Windows mobile 6.

It can be noted that Microsoft has a monopoly on the production of software for personal computers. Under its auspices, a wide variety of software is created - operating systems, office applications, development tools, management systems for firms and enterprises (corporate systems). Attempts to conquer other hardware platforms were unsuccessful (except for mobile and portable devices). The company has certain achievements in the supercomputer market.

Recently, the company became a defendant in claims by the EU Antitrust Commission and competitors. Let's give two examples (Wikipedia).

In March 2004, the European Commission found the American company guilty of using its dominant position in the European software market and imposed a fine of 497 million euros on the company, requiring Microsoft to provide information about its products to third-party developers so that they could freely release compatible programs. After Microsoft did not comply with this decision, in July 2006 it was fined again - this time for 280.5 million euros, after which it complied with the decision of the European Commission.

On December 13, 2007, the Norwegian company Opera Software ASA, the developer of the Opera web browser, announced that it had filed a complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission. In the complaint, Opera Software asks Microsoft to give users "true browser choice" by shipping competitor browsers with Windows or by separating Internet Explorer from the mainstream. In addition, the company requires support for open web standards to be built into Internet Explorer.

2.4. Differences between the UNIX/Linux family and the Windows and MS DOS operating systems

In this book, we mainly targeted readers who, until now, have only used Windows operating systems. We would like to note that before the advent of MS DOS in 1981, the UNIX system had already gone through a significant path in its history. There was a time when Microsoft itself faced a choice: develop one of the UNIX variants for the IBM PC or continue with its own system. The corresponding license was even purchased and a variant of UNIX, XENIX, was released. But then the choice remained with MS DOS. In the operation of UNIX and MS DOS, and now UNIX in graphical mode and modern versions of Windows, there is much in common, sometimes even in small things. Having made this introduction, we present several points where the UNIX / Linux OS family differs significantly from Microsoft operating systems. Further, wherever the term “system” appears, the UNIX / Linux family is meant.

1. The source codes of the system components are available for viewing and modification. Most often they are located in a subdirectory called source, which is subordinate to the /usr directory.
2. The system can be modified by recompiling the kernel - the basis of the system, which is continuously developed and adjusted to the configuration of the computing installation.
3. There are several levels of setting system operating parameters:
   • working with utilities, including in graphical interface mode;
   • adjusting configuration files;
   • making changes to the source texts and their further recompilation.
4. Command mode is initially loaded, and the GUI requires an additional call. The latter has several implementation methods.
5. Linux system installers include a complete set of software necessary to work as an office or home computer, or as a server.
6. An interesting feature of the system is the ability to simultaneously register several users on virtual terminals.
7. There are many shells in the system (analogous to the command interpreter comand.com in MS DOS). While working, you can get a complete list of them (chsh – listshell command) and select any one (chsh command).
8. In addition to working with the main file system, you can access information prepared in other operating systems.
9. The Linux file system on a hard drive can be located on several disk partitions, and the swap area is always allocated a separate disk partition with a file system type different from the main one. You can also place the following information in separate disk partitions (a list available in ASli Linux is provided):
   • boot data (/boot);
   • areas of the disk where constantly changing system information is recorded, for example, system files, email messages, (/var);
   • disk areas allocated for work by ordinary users (/home);
   • information intended for all users (/usr).
10. Access to data received from various equipment is carried out not in one of the top-level vertices of the file system, but in one of the vertices subordinate to the only root of the hierarchical file system (its name is /).

Basic functions of operating systems

According to modern concepts, the OS should be able to do the following.

· Ensure that user programs are loaded into RAM and executed (this item does not apply to OSes intended for flashing into ROM).

· Provide memory management. In the simplest case, this is an indication to the only loaded program of the address where the memory available for use ends and the memory occupied by the system begins. In multiprocess systems, this is a difficult task of managing system resources.

· Enable work with non-volatile storage devices such as magnetic disks, tapes, optical disks, flash memory, etc. Typically, the OS manages free space on these media and structures user data in the form of file systems.

· Provide more or less standardized access to various peripheral devices, such as terminals, modems, printers or engines that turn the control surfaces of a fighter aircraft.

· Provide some user interface. The word “some” is not said here by chance - some systems are limited to the command line, while others consist of 90% of the interface subsystem. Embedded systems often do not have any user interface.

There are OSes whose functions are limited to this. One of the well-known systems of this type is disk operating system MS DOS.
More advanced operating systems also provide the following features:

· parallel (or pseudo-parallel, if the machine has only one processor) execution of several tasks;

· organizing the interaction of tasks with each other;

· organization of machine-to-machine interaction and resource sharing;

· protection of system resources, data and user programs, running processes and itself from erroneous and malicious actions of users and their programs;

· authentication (checking that the user is who he claims to be), authorization (checking that whoever the user claims to be has the right to perform a particular operation) and other security measures.

DOS (Disk Operating Systems)

These are systems that perform only the first four functions. As a rule, they represent a kind of resident set of subroutines, nothing more. DOS loads the user program into memory
and transfers control to it, after which the program does whatever it wants with the system. When terminating a program, it is considered good practice to leave the machine in such a state so that DOS can continue to work. If the program leads the machine to some other state, well, DOS cannot prevent it from doing anything.
A typical example is various boot monitors for Spectrum class machines. As a rule, such systems work with only one program at a time.
The MS DOS disk operating system for IBM PC-compatible machines is a direct descendant of one of these resident monitors.
The existence of systems of this class is due to their simplicity and the fact that they consume few resources. For Spectrum class machines these are more than critical parameters. Another reason why such systems can be used even on fairly powerful machines is the requirement for software compatibility with earlier models of the same family of computers.

General purpose OS

This class includes systems that perform all of the above functions. The division into OS and DOS comes, apparently, from the IBM DOS/360 and OS/360 systems for large computers of this company, clones of which are known in our country under the name ES COMPUTER 10XX series. (By the way, IBM also had TOS/360, Tape Operating System).
Here, by OS we will mean “general-purpose” systems, i.e., designed for the interactive work of one or several users in time-sharing mode, with not very stringent requirements for the system’s response time to external events. Typically, such systems place great emphasis on protecting the system itself, software, and user data from erroneous and malicious programs and users. Typically, such systems use memory protection and virtualization tools built into the processor architecture. This class includes such widespread systems as Windows 2000 and Unix family systems.

Virtual Machine Systems

Such systems stand somewhat apart. A virtual machine system is an OS that allows the simultaneous operation of several programs, but at the same time creates for each program the illusion that the machine is completely at its disposal, as when running under DOS. Often, the “program” turns out to be a full-fledged operating system - examples of such systems are VMWare for machines with x86 architecture or VM for System/370 and its descendants.
Virtual machines are a valuable tool when developing and testing cross-platform applications. Less commonly, they are used to debug kernel modules or the operating system itself.
Such systems are characterized by high overhead costs and relatively low reliability, so they are relatively rarely used in industrial applications.
Often SVMs are a general-purpose OS subsystem: MS DOS and MS Windows emulators for UNIX and OS/2, WoW subsystem in Windows NT/2000/XP, DOS session in Windows Z.x/95/98/ME, RT-11 emulator in VAX/VMS.
In virtual machine systems, as a rule, you have to pay a lot of attention to emulating the operation of the hardware. For example, several programs may start programming the system timer. The CVM must track such attempts and create the illusion for each of the programs that it programmed the timer exactly as it wanted. Developing such systems is difficult and often thankless. The architecture of such systems strongly depends on the properties of the virtualized hardware, so we will hardly discuss this class of OS.

Real-time systems

These are systems designed to facilitate the development of so-called applications real time- programs that control non-computer equipment, often with very strict time limits. An example of such an application would be the fly-by-wire on-board computer program (literally, “flying on a wire,” i.e., using a control system in which the controls do not have a mechanical and hydraulic connection with the control surfaces) of an aircraft, an elementary accelerator control system particles or industrial equipment. Such systems must support multithreading, guaranteed response time to an external event, and easy access to the timer and external devices.
The ability to guarantee response time is a hallmark of RT systems. It's important to distinguish between certainty and simply high performance and low overhead. Not all algorithms and technical solutions, even those providing excellent average response time, are suitable for RT applications and operating systems.
According to other characteristics, these systems can belong to both the DOS class (RT-11) and the OS class (OS-9, QNX).
It is curious that the newfangled trend in computer technology - multimedia - with high-quality implementation places the same requirements on the system as real-time industrial tasks. In multimedia, the main problem is synchronizing the image on the screen with the sound. Exactly in that order. The sound is usually generated by an external hardware device with its own timer, and the image is synchronized with it. A person is able to notice fairly small temporary inhomogeneities in the audio stream, and skipping frames in the visual stream is not so noticeable. The discrepancy between sound and image is detected by a person already at delays of about 30 ms. Therefore, high-quality multimedia systems must provide synchronization with the same or higher accuracy, which differs little from real time.
The so-called "soft real time" (soft real lime), provided by modern Win32 platforms, is not real time at all, it is something like “sturgeon of the second freshness”. The “soft RT” system does not provide a guaranteed, but only an average reaction time. For multimedia applications and games, the difference between “average” and “guaranteed” is not very critical - well, the picture will twitch or the sound will fade. But for industrial applications where real real time is needed, this is usually not acceptable.

Cross Development Tools

These are systems designed for developing programs in a two-machine configuration, when editing, compiling, and often debugging the code is carried out on an instrumental machine (in English-language literature it is often called host- literally, “master”), and then the compiled code is loaded into the target system. Most often they are used to write and debug programs that are later flashed into ROM. Examples of such OS are programming systems for microcontrollers Intel, Atmel, PIC, etc., Windows CE systems, Palm OS, etc. Such systems, as a rule, include:

• a set of compilers and assemblers running on an instrumental machine with a “normal” OS;
• libraries that perform most of the OS functions when the program is running (but not loading this program!);
• Debugging tools

Sometimes there are cross-systems in which the compiler runs not on the instrument machine, but on the target system - this is, for example, the development environment for the Transputer family of microprocessors from Inmos.

Operating system families

It is often possible to trace continuity between different operating systems, not necessarily developed by the same company. This continuity is partly due to the requirements of compatibility or at least portability of application software, and partly due to the borrowing of individual successful concepts.
On the basis of such continuity, it is possible to build “family trees” of operating systems and, with some validity, unite them into families. However, unlike the tree of origin of biological species, the OS kinship graph is not a tree and often contains cycles, so an indisputable multi-level classification covering the entire technosphere, similar to the Linnaean classification of species, cannot be built.
Nevertheless, we can with fairly high confidence identify at least three families of operating systems currently in use and several more that are extinct or close to it. There are three currently thriving families.

• Systems for large computers from IBM - OS/390, z/OS and IBM VM.
• The Unix family is a vast, rapidly growing, and ill-defined family. In this book, by systems of this family we will primarily mean operating systems of three main types:
• Unix System V Release 4.x: Sunsoft Solans, SCO UnixWare;
• Berkeley Software Distribution Unix: BSDI, FreeBSD;
• Linux.
• A family of direct and indirect descendants of Control Program/Monitor (CP/M) from Digital Research. In this family one can also distinguish the very well-known subfamily of \sisname(Win 32) platforms (Fig. B.2).

Another family that is almost extinct by now, but has left a legacy of a number of important and interesting concepts, is the operating systems for mini- and microcomputers from DEC: RT-11, RSX-11 and VAX/VMS.
A number of systems, including commercially successful ones, for example OS/400, cannot be confidently assigned to any of the listed families, therefore, like the classification in the previous section, this classification should be treated with caution.

Related information.

Currently, most personal computers in the world run some version of the Windows operating system (company Microsoft). Software products in this family have common characteristics:

· unified graphical user interface;

· multitasking;

· support for working in a network environment;

· the presence of a universal system of data exchange tools between applications (clipboard, dynamic data exchange - DDE, linking and embedding objects - OLE).

Implemented in operating systems of the Windows family open architecture(Windows Open Services Architecture– WOSA), which provides mechanisms for solving the problem of transmitting information regardless of its location and presentation format. With their help, a computer user can easily connect to any of the information services located on various networks or operating systems. Currently, standard access to databases, mail, telephone networks and licensing systems, network services and specialized services (financial systems and real-time data) is provided.

Microsoft's first developments in the field of creating new operating systems for personal computers were software environments Windows 3.x (Windows 3.0, Windows 3.1, Windows 3.11 for Workgroup), which were a graphical add-on to the MS DOS operating system.

Then the corporation introduced the first real OS of the Windows family to the operating system market - Windows 95 . It is a multitasking, 32-bit OS with advanced networking capabilities and provides rich multimedia capabilities, processing text, graphics, audio and video information, and also provides built-in support for file sharing and protection, the ability to share printers, faxes and other shared devices. resources. Windows 95 allows you to send messages by e-mail, fax, and supports remote access. The protected mode used in it does not allow the application program to disrupt the operation of the system in the event of a failure, reliably protects applications from accidental interference of one process with another, and provides a certain resistance to viruses.

Windows 98 differs from Windows 95 in its integration with the Internet Explorer browser, which ensures that the contents of folders are displayed in the form of a browser window; improved compatibility with new computer hardware; plug-and-play support. Can be used on desktop and laptop computers.

Windows Millennium Edition(Windows ME) is the next version of the Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows 98 SE operating systems. It is based on the Windows 98 kernel.

In parallel with Windows 95, Microsoft introduced a fundamentally new operating system to the market - Windows NT (New Technology), which became the ancestor of a number of operating systems. This is a 32-bit system with built-in network support and advanced multi-user capabilities. It provides true multitasking, multiprocessing, access control to hardware and information resources, data protection and much more.

This operating system is very convenient for users working on a local network, as well as for group users, especially a group carrying out a joint project and exchanging data. Comes in two flavors: Windows NT Server and Windows NT for Workstation.

Next generation operating system Windows 2000 is aimed at a variety of computers: laptops, desktops, servers and cluster systems, and provides tight integration with the Internet. It is a development of Windows NT 4.0 and is characterized by the following parameters:

· has a 32-bit file system with an architecture open for further development, which works faster and implements many new features;

· simplifies installation and configuration of equipment as much as possible due to support for the plug-and-play standard;

· has built-in tools for working with sound, video and CDs (CD-ROM); diagnostics, optimization and error correction, which help eliminate conflicts between devices and increase the efficiency of the entire system;

· includes effective tools for working with the Internet that speed up work and search for information on the World Wide Web.

Due to the availability of effective security measures (saving the system state for recovery after failures, modified file system, encryption, access control, etc.), Windows 2000 was recognized as one of the most secure operating systems.

Windows 2000 implements many solutions designed to reduce the cost of operating the system in corporate networks.

The Windows 2000 family includes: Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Windows 2000 Datacenter Server. Each of them is designed for its own purposes and has corresponding capabilities and functions. For example, Windows 2000 Professional is aimed at home computers or workstations.

Windows XP combines the best qualities of previous versions of Windows: reliability, stability and manageability from Windows 2000, plug-and-play technology from Windows 98. It implements a more efficient user interface, including new capabilities for grouping and searching documents, the ability to quickly switch users etc. A Windows XP user can create CDs in write-once or write-once formats (CD-R or CD-RW) using the usual drag-and-drop method or appropriate wizards. The Windows XP operating system is implemented by Microsoft in two versions: for home users, Windows XP HomeEdition, and for corporate clients, Windows XP Professional Edition.

Windows NT, 2000, XP OS support FAT, NTFS, CDFS file systems.

The capabilities of Windows 2000 Server were further developed in the 64-bit operating system Windows Server 2003 , versions of which are aimed at small businesses and the SOHO market ( Small Office/Home Office– small office/home office), servers for large enterprises, construction of Web servers.

Windows CE– an operating system for mobile computing devices, such as PDAs, digital information pagers, cell phones, multimedia and entertainment set-top boxes, including DVD players and Internet access devices. It is a 32-bit, multitasking operating system with an open architecture. Windows CE allows devices of various categories to “talk” and exchange information with each other, communicate with corporate networks and the Internet, and use e-mail. It is compact and highly productive, operating on microprocessors of various brands and manufacturers.

Windows 95 was the first of the family. Developed on the basis of MS DOS OS and Windows 3.x operating shell. by Microsoft. Subsequently, the development of the OS of this family continued in two directions - local and network. OS of the first direction – Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME (Millenium Edition). They are all built on the same principles and, despite the fact that new functions are added, the user remains in the same familiar and comfortable environment. All versions of local operating systems of the Windows family are multitasking, single-user OS providing convenient graphical interface , but enough weakly provide protection against unauthorized access .

Another group from this family was developed from the very beginning as OS for servers and workstations . The first was Windows NT (New Technology), then Windows 2000, Windows XP (eXPerience - experience, knowledge). This OS group is more stable than Windows 95/98/Me, has improved process address space protection, an advanced file system .

Windows Vista and its improved and optimized version Windows 7 are the latest versions of Microsoft Windows, a line of graphical operating systems used on personal computers.

The new version of Windows provides increased data security and reliability compared to previous versions, easier work with information and compatibility with most modern means of communication, an updated interface, performance, etc., however, according to experts, the performance of Windows XP in many situations higher than the latest versions.

Approximate structure of Windows OS

The basic Windows system includes the following main components:

virtual machine manager subsystem;

file and driver management subsystem;

window management subsystem.

OS objects Windows

Logical objects :

1) documents– objects containing any information (text, graphic, sound, animation, video or multimedia);

2) programs– tool objects that generate and process documents;

3) folders– larger objects containing documents, programs and other folders;

4) desktop– an object on which you can place the most frequently used documents, folders, programs;

5) basket– an object for discarding unnecessary objects;

6) taskbar– a generalized object containing the names of open applications, the Start button, icons: time, alphabet switch, etc.;

7) shortcut– an auxiliary object indicating the path to a document, folder or program.

Physical object

My computer– an object for describing the computer configuration (disks, printers, network, etc.) and a built-in logical object - control Panel to configure various external devices.

Standard OS applications Windows

The OS includes a group of “Standard” applications, such as Notepad, Text Editor, Graphics Editor, Calculator, Multimedia (sound recording, universal player, etc.), and some utility programs. These applications allow the application user to work within the Windows OS until the purchase of licensed, more powerful programs.

Basic Operating Principles of the OS Windows

Window (applications, documents, messages, dialogs).

The basic idea of ​​Windows OS is to work with windows. Each window has a title and can be moved around the screen. Application and document windows have three buttons in the upper right corner of the window - pause the task, increase (decrease) the window size and close the application or document.

Virtual machines and multitasking.

A virtual machine is a logical computer with its own address space that Windows creates in the computer's memory. Each task runs on its own virtual machine. In this case, several tasks can be performed simultaneously. Windows gives each program access to the processor for a very short period of time, so it creates the effect of all tasks running simultaneously.

The MS DOS OS is executed in a separate window as a separate application task, the so-called MS DOS OS emulation occurs (the word emulation literally means “do the same and even better”, which in English sounds like this: try to do as well as and better then).

Desk metaphor , Start button, Explorer program.

The Windows family of operating systems implements the metaphor (allegorically, in a figurative sense) of a desktop on which all the necessary objects and a recycle bin for unnecessary objects are located.

The Start button contains a menu with basic options for starting and stopping work. The main ones include the following:

the ability to access application and service programs that can be worked with in Windows;

ability to customize the OS environment;

the ability to search for files and folders on disks;

shutting down the computer correctly or restarting the operating system.

To work with objects located outside the desktop - in folders on external media, you use the Explorer program, a utility program for organizing navigation through the file system.

On the left side of its window, Explorer shows computer configuration and tree structure of each disk , on the right - disc table of contents or directory (folder).

Cursor interface (Mouse pointers).

A set of mouse pointers is a kind of language for communication between the user and the computer. Each type of mouse pointer means some action, for example, waiting or typing, etc.

Technology "drag and drop ".

This technology (“move and drop”) is used not only in operations on files and folders, but also in applications when working with objects or elements of documents, for example, text fragments, pictures, diagrams, etc.

Technology - OLE (Object Linking and Embedding ).

The technology for linking and embedding objects allows you to insert, for example, graphic objects into documents in two ways:

object binding stores in the document information about the file and the application that generated it.

If a graphic file is changed separately, then it is updated automatically in the document; implementation object

saves only information about the application in the document and breaks the connection with the file;technology " ".

Clipboards

This technology is used not only in operations on files and folders, but also for exchanging data between applications. Its essence is that the required object (file, folder or fragment of some document) is placed in a certain memory, from which it can then be retrieved for insertion into another object (folder, text document, etc.). Menu

text and pictographic.

Work in any Windows OS application is organized using a menu, and in almost any application you can get information about what a menu item or icon means using a hint.

Network operating systems Network OS

is an OS whose main function is to manage data flows and network resources, protect against unauthorized access and ensure work with all workstations that have different OSes.

The creation of network operating systems is associated with the emergence of local and global networks. These operating systems are designed to provide user access to all computer network resources. The most common operating systems are the following:

NetWare from Novell;

• MS Windows NT(2000, XP);

Solaris from Sun.

Network OS does not have fundamental differences from local OS, but it necessarily contains software support for network interface devices (network adapter driver), as well as tools for remote login to other computers on the network and tools for accessing remote files, but these additions do not significantly change the structure the operating system itself. The network OS coordinates the work of local workstations and regulates the sharing process network resources.

The network OS is located on the file server and controls the work on workstations, which, as a rule, are loaded with one of the basic operating systems, for example, the WINDOWS family of operating systems. Requests coming from the user's application program are analyzed by a special module of the network OS and, if it belongs to the local OS, transfers this request to it for processing. When a network service is requested, control is transferred to the network OS.

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows (/ˈwɪndoʊz/) is a family of proprietary operating systems from Microsoft. Windows operating systems run on x86, x86-64, IA-64, ARM platforms. There were also versions for DEC Alpha, MIPS and PowerPC.

Microsoft Windows Versions

The following versions of Microsoft Windows exist:

1. Windows 1.0 (1985)

2. Windows 2.0 (1987)

3. Windows 3.0 (1990)

4. Windows 3.1 (1992)

5. Windows For Workgroups 3.1 (1992)

6. Windows NT 3.1 (1993)

7. Windows NT 3.5 (1994)

8. Windows NT 3.51 (1995)

9. Windows 95 (1995)

10. Windows NT 4.0 (1996)

11. Windows 98 (1998)

12. Windows 98 SE (1999)

13.Windows 2000 (2000)

14. Windows Me (2000)

15. Windows XP (2001)

16. Windows XP 64-bit Edition (2003)

17. Windows Server 2003 (2003)

18. Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (2006)

19. Windows Vista (2007)

20. Windows Home Server (2007)

21. Windows Server 2008 (2008)

23. Windows Server 2008 R2 (formerly known as Windows Server 7) (release date scheduled for late 2009 early 2010)

24. Windows 8 (release date scheduled for 2012)

Let's take a closer look at each of the listed operating systems.

Windows 1.x

Windows 1.01, released on November 20, 1985, was Microsoft's first attempt to implement a multitasking operating environment for the IBM PC with a graphical interface.

Unlike subsequent versions, Windows 1.0 provided only limited multitasking support for existing MS-DOS programs, concentrating primarily on creating a paradigm environment for application execution and interaction, as well as a stable API for future Windows programs. Today, twenty-three years after the release of Windows 1.0, you can not only run many of the programs created for that version on a modern Windows XP system, but you can also compile their source code into fully functional "modern" applications (with minor modifications).

Windows 1.0 is often considered a "shell" for the MS-DOS operating system (this definition is often applied to later versions of Windows as well). In fact, Windows 1.0 ran from MS-DOS, its programs could call MS-DOS functions, and GUI programs ran from the same executable EXE files as regular MS-DOS programs. However, Windows executable files had a different format (NE - new executable), which could only be processed by Windows and which, for example, allowed loading code and data on request. Applications were required to manage memory only using Windows' native memory management system, which allowed the use of virtual memory.

The definition of Windows 1.0 as a "shell for DOS" comes from the fact that it was created only as a graphical environment for running applications, and not as a full-featured OS. However, Windows 1.0 included its own drivers for video cards, mice, keyboards, printers, and serial ports. Applications were expected to only call APIs built on top of these drivers. Given that graphics and peripheral support in MS-DOS is extremely limited, applications had to go directly to the hardware (or, in some cases, the BIOS) to perform the necessary actions. Thus, Windows 1.0 was not just a shell for MS-DOS, but complemented and partially replaced features not provided in MS-DOS. The level of replacement for MS-DOS increased in subsequent versions of Windows.

The first version of Windows released was version 1.01. Version 1.0 was not released due to a serious bug that prevented this version from being released.

Version 1.02, released in May 1986, was international and had localizations for various European languages.

Version 1.03, released in August 1986, was a US-only release and contained improvements that made it more similar to an international release. It included drivers for European keyboards and additional drivers for screens and printers.

Version 1.04, released in April 1987, added support for VGA graphics adapters introduced in IBM's new PS/2 series computers. At the same time, Microsoft, together with IBM, announced the OS/2 operating system with a graphical interface - Presentation Manager, which, according to the companies' plans, was supposed to eventually replace both MS-DOS and Windows.

Windows 1.0 was replaced by Windows 2.0, released in November 1987.

Windows 2.x

Instead of the tiling of windows that was in Windows 1.x, Windows 2.x implements a system of overlapping windows. In addition, the advantages of the protected mode of the 80286 and higher processors are used, which allows programs to go beyond the DOS main memory capacity of 640 KB. In June 1988, version 2.1 was released, renamed Windows 286. Also on December 9, 1987, Windows 386 was released - an edition of Windows 2.0 optimized for the latest Intel CPU. It has some impact on the market, but mainly due to the ability to run multiple DOS programs in<виртуальных машинах>CPU 386; it laid the foundation for most of the future features of Windows 3.0.

Windows 3.x

Windows 3.x is the generic name for a family of Microsoft operating systems released from 1990 to 1994. The first widely used version of Microsoft Windows was 3.0, allowing Microsoft to compete with the Macintosh and Commodore Amiga in the field of graphical user interface operating systems.

Windows 3.0 was released on May 22, 1990, and featured a significantly updated user interface as well as technical improvements to take advantage of the memory management capabilities of the Intel 80286 and 80386 processors. Text programs created for MS-DOS could be launched in a window (this feature was previously available in a more limited form in Windows/386 2.1). This made the system suitable for use as a simple multitasking base for older programs; however, for home computers this feature was of little importance, since most games and entertainment applications still required direct access to DOS.

The MS-DOS Executive tool, previously used to launch programs and manage files, has been replaced by the Program Manager and File Manager tools, which have simplified these actions. However, MS-DOS Executive still came with the system as an alternative user interface. The Control Panel, previously an ordinary applet, has been redesigned and began to look more like its counterpart in the Mac OS operating system. It centralized system settings, including limited control over the interface color scheme. A few simple applications were included, such as the Notepad text editor and the Write word processor (both legacy versions of Windows), a macro recorder (new in Windows 3.0; since removed), and a calculator (also from previous versions) . The older game Reversi was supplemented by the solitaire card game Solitaire.

Windows 3.0 was the last version of Windows that Microsoft stated supported full compatibility with older Windows applications.

Media extensions were released in the fall of 1991 to support CD drives and sound cards as they became more common. These extensions were released to OEMs, primarily CD drive and sound card manufacturers. They added simple audio I/O and an audio CD player to Windows 3.0. New media extension capabilities were not available when running in real mode. Subsequently, many of the features of these extensions were included in Windows 3.1.

Windows 3.1 (originally codenamed Janus), released on March 18, 1992, was an extension of Windows 3.0. It included the TrueType font system (and a pre-installed set of pretty good fonts), making Windows a serious desktop publishing platform for the first time. Similar capabilities could be obtained in Windows 3.0 using the Adobe Type Manager application. This version of Windows also included a simple antivirus program, Microsoft Anti-Virus for Windows, which later became famous for identifying Windows 95 Setup as containing a computer virus. Starting with this version, Windows systems support 32-bit hard disk access.

Windows 3.1 was designed to have the maximum level of backward compatibility with older Windows platforms. Like version 3.0, Windows 3.1 had a File Manager and Program Manager.

A special version was also released, called Windows 3.1 for Central and Eastern Europe, which supported the Cyrillic alphabet and had fonts with diacritics.

Built-in networking support was introduced in Windows for Workgroups 3.1, an enhanced version of Windows 3.1. It included SMB support for file sharing over NetBEUI and/or IPX protocols, and also contained the computer game Hearts and VSHARE.386, a virtual device driver for the SHARE.EXE program. Windows for Workgroups 3.11 supported 32-bit file access, full 32-bit network redirectors, and the VCACHE.386 file cache. In addition, version 3.11 removed support for the standard mode and the Reversi game. Support for TCP/IP protocols in Windows 3.x relied on separate packages from third parties (for example, Winsock). An add-on from Microsoft (codenamed Snowball) also provided TCP/IP support in Windows for Workgroups, but this package did not become widely available.

Limited compatibility with the new 32-bit Win32 API used in Windows NT was provided by the Win32s add-on package.

Windows 3.2 was a Chinese-only version.

Over time, Windows 3.x was replaced by Windows 95, Windows 98 and later versions, which integrated MS-DOS and Windows components into a single product.

Later, Windows 3.x found application in embedded systems. On November 1, 2008, Microsoft stopped issuing licenses for its use.

Windows NT

Windows NT (colloquially simply NT) is a line of operating systems (OS) produced by Microsoft Corporation and the name of the first versions of the OS.

Windows NT was developed from scratch, developed separately from other operating systems of the Windows family (Windows 3.x and Windows 9x) and, unlike them, was positioned as a reliable solution for workstations (Windows NT Workstation) and servers (Windows NT Server ). Windows NT gave rise to a family of operating systems that includes Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and Windows 7.

Development of Windows NT, under the working title NT OS/2, began in November 1988 by a group of specialists led by David Cutler, who moved to Microsoft from DEC, where they developed VAX and VMS. The work proceeded in parallel with IBM's development of its own OS, OS/2 2.0, which was finally released only in April 1992. At the same time, Microsoft continued to develop its operating systems of the DOS and Windows families, which have lower requirements for computer resources than IBM OS/2. After Windows 3.0 was released in May 1990, Microsoft decided to add a Windows API compatible programming interface (API) to NT OS/2. This decision caused serious friction between Microsoft and IBM, which ended in a break in their collaboration. IBM continued to develop OS/2 on its own, while Microsoft began working on the system that was eventually released under the name Windows NT. Although it did not achieve immediate popularity like DOS or Windows, Windows NT was significantly more successful than OS/2.

It should be noted that OS/2 and then POSIX APIs were initially planned as NT OS programming interfaces; Windows API support was added last. In addition, Intel i860 and then MIPS were initially planned as the hardware platform for NT, support for Intel x86 was also added later. Then, as the OS evolved, support for both originally planned software interfaces and both originally planned hardware platforms disappeared. There was not even a single release version of this OS for the i860, although the name of the NT OS itself comes from the code name of this processor, N10. Microsoft now deciphers the abbreviation NT as New Technology. And as an alternative to the POSIX subsystem, Microsoft began to offer the Microsoft Windows Services for UNIX package.

Portability of NT was one of her top priorities. That is why the development of this OS was initially carried out for the i860 processor, although binary compatibility with OS/2, which was one of the conditions of the NT OS/2 project, in any case would have required the creation of a version of NT for x86, or the inclusion of emulation of this platform in it. The number of platforms for which there were release versions of the Windows NT family of operating systems is impressive: in addition to the aforementioned MIPS and Intel x86, this includes PowerPC, DEC Alpha, Itanium and AMD x86-64. Independent computer system manufacturers have also developed versions of Windows NT for the Clipper and SPARC architectures; however, these versions were not released as standalone software products. Unix and Mach operating systems were taken as examples for highly portable operating systems during the development of NT.

To develop the NT OS, Microsoft invited a group of specialists from DEC, led by David Cutler, with experience in creating multitasking operating systems such as VAX/VMS and RSX-11. Some similarities noted between the internal architectures of Windows NT and the VMS family of operating systems gave grounds to accuse the newly hired Microsoft employees of stealing DEC intellectual property. The resulting conflict was resolved peacefully: DEC recognized Microsoft's ownership of the technologies underlying Windows NT, and Microsoft created and supported a version of Windows NT for the DEC Alpha architecture.

Despite their common roots, the compatibility of Windows NT and OS/2 decreased with each new release of this OS. OS/2 2.0 API support, although planned for NT, was never completed; Windows NT 4.0 removed support for the HPFS file system, and Windows XP removed the program support subsystem for OS/2 1.x.

The user interface subsystem in Windows NT implements a window interface similar to that of previous versions of Windows. Two types of objects in this subsystem that were not present in 16-bit versions of Windows and Windows 9x are window stations and desktops. A window station corresponds to one Windows NT user session - for example, when connecting via the Remote Desktop Service, a new window station is created. Each running process belongs to one of the window stations; Services other than those marked as being able to interact with the desktop run in separate, invisible window stations.

Each window station has its own clipboard, a set of global atoms (used for DDE operations), and a set of desktops. The desktop is the context for all global UI subsystem operations, such as installing hooks and broadcasting messages. Each running thread belongs to one of the desktops - the one where the windows it serves are located; in particular, one thread cannot create multiple windows belonging to different desktops. One of the desktops can be active (visible to the user and able to respond to his actions), the remaining desktops are hidden. The ability to create and switch between multiple desktops in a single session has not been provided in the standard Windows user interface until now, although there are third-party programs that provide access to this functionality.

Window stations and desktops are the only Windows NT user interface subsystem objects that can be assigned access rights. The remaining types of objects - windows and menus - provide full access to any process that is in the same window station with them. This is why Windows NT services run in separate window stations by default: they run with elevated privileges, and allowing user processes to manipulate service windows indefinitely could lead to crashes and/or security problems.

Windows NT provides several sets of APIs for application programs. The most basic of them is the so-called “native” API (NT Native API), implemented in the dynamically linked library ntdll and consisting of two parts: NT kernel system calls (functions with the Nt and Zw prefixes, transferring execution to ntoskrnl kernel functions with the same names ) and functions implemented in user mode (prefixed with Rtl). Some of the functions of the second group use system calls internally; the rest consist entirely of unprivileged code, and can be called not only from user-mode code, but also from drivers. In addition to the Native API functions, ntdll also includes functions of the C standard library.

Official documentation for the Native API is very sparse, but communities of enthusiasts have managed to gather quite a lot of information about this interface through trial and error. In particular, in February 2000, Gary Nebbett's book “A Guide to Basic Windows NT/2000 API Functions” () was published; in 2002 it was translated into Russian (). The source of information about the Native API can be the Windows DDK, which describes some of the kernel functions available through the Native API, as well as studying the Windows code (reverse engineering) - through disassembly, or using the Windows 2000 source code that became available as a result of a leak, or using the source code Windows 2003 texts available through the Windows Research Kernel program.

Programs that run before loading the subsystems that provide the rest of the Windows NT APIs are limited to using the Native API. For example, the autochk program, which checks disks when loading the OS after an incorrect shutdown, uses only the Native API.

Most often, application programs for Windows NT use the Win32 API - an interface created on the basis of the Windows 3.1 OS API, which allows you to recompile existing programs for 16-bit versions of Windows with minimal changes to the source code. The compatibility of the Win32 API and the 16-bit Windows API is so great that 32-bit and 16-bit applications can freely exchange messages, work with each other's windows, etc. In addition to supporting the functions of the existing Windows API, a number of new features, including support for console programs, multithreading, and synchronization objects such as mutexes and semaphores. Documentation for the Win32 API is included in the Microsoft Platform SDK and is available on the website.

The Win32 API support libraries are basically named the same as the Windows 3.x system libraries, with the addition of a 32 suffix: these are the kernel32, advapi32, gdi32, user32, comctl32, comdlg32, shell32 and several others. Win32 API functions can either independently implement the required functionality in user mode, or call the Native API functions described above, or access the csrss subsystem via the LPC mechanism, or make a system call to the win32k library, which implements the necessary mode support for the Win32 API kernels. The four options listed can also be combined in any combination: for example, the Win32 API WriteFile function calls the Native API NtWriteFile function to write to a disk file, and calls the corresponding csrss function to output to the console.

Win32 API support is included in the Windows 9x family of operating systems; in addition, it can be added to Windows 3.1x by installing the Win32s package. To make it easier to port existing Windows applications that use MBCS encodings to represent strings, all Win32 API functions that accept string parameters have been created in two versions: functions with the A (ANSI) suffix accept MBCS strings, and functions with the W (wide) suffix ) accept Unicode strings. In Win32s and Windows 9x, only A-functions are supported, whereas in Windows NT, where all strings within the OS are stored exclusively in Unicode, each A-function simply converts its string parameters to Unicode and calls the W version of the same function. When a function name is specified without a suffix in a program's source code, whether the A or W version of that function is used is determined by the compilation options. It is important to note that most of the new features introduced in Windows 2000 or later Windows NT operating systems exist only in the Unicode version, because the task of ensuring compatibility with older programs and with Windows 9x is no longer as pressing as before

Unlike most "free" Unix-like operating systems, Windows NT is certified by NIST to be compliant with the POSIX.1 standard, and even with the more stringent FIPS 151-2 standard. The psxdll library exports standard POSIX functions, as well as some Native API functions that have no analogues in POSIX - for example, for working with the heap, with structural exceptions, with Unicode encoding. These functions use both the Native API and LPC calls to the psxss subsystem, which is a regular Win32 process. The posix console shell program is used to load this subsystem and execute the POSIX program. The POSIX support included in Windows NT does not include extensions for graphics or multithreaded applications.

To run 16-bit programs written for OS/2 1.x, Windows NT includes two OS/2 system libraries (doscalls and netapi) and an os2 console emulator program that loads and uses the os2srv and subsystems via LPC calls. os2ss. The rest of the OS/2 system libraries, except for the two mentioned (kbdcalls, mailslot, moncalls, nampipes, quecalls, viocalls and a dozen more), are not stored as separate files, but are emulated. Programs written for OS/2 2.0 and higher, as well as window programs and programs that directly work with computer devices, including drivers, are not supported by Windows NT.

Both of these subsystems, which are optional for most applications, were removed in Windows XP and subsequent releases of Windows. Using registry manipulations, they could be disabled in previous versions of Windows NT, which was recommended by computer security experts in order to reduce the attack surface of a computer system.

To provide binary compatibility with existing programs for previous Microsoft OS families, Windows NT added the ntvdm emulator program, which implements a VDM (virtual DOS machine) within which a DOS program can run. Each DOS program executed has its own VDM, while several 16-bit Windows programs can be executed in separate threads within a single VDM, which in this case plays the role of a subsystem. In order for Windows programs to be executed inside the VDM, the wowexec program must first be loaded into it, which establishes a connection between the VDM and the WOW platform (“Windows on Win32”), which allows the use of 16-bit Windows applications along with 32-bit ones. The ntvdm emulator program itself runs inside the Win32 subsystem, which allows Win32 programs to access DOS program windows as regular console windows, and Win16 program windows as regular graphical windows.

Another binary compatibility technology implemented in Windows NT is thunks, which allow 32-bit programs to use 16-bit DLLs (for Windows or OS/2), and vice versa. Thunks for Win16 are implemented in the wow32 (32-bit entry points) and krnl386 (16-bit entry points) libraries; thunks for OS/2 - in the doscalls library (16-bit entry points). The 16-bit system libraries included in Windows NT for use by WOW technology include krnl386, gdi, user, commctrl, commdlg, shell, etc. Support for DOS programs by the Windows NT virtual DOS machine is not limited to emulating the real mode of the x86 processor : DPMI interface is supported, allowing DOS programs to access extended memory. However, support for programs for DOS and Win16 in Windows NT is limited by security requirements: programs that directly work with computer devices, including drivers, are not supported.

Due to hardware limitations of 64-bit platforms, support for VDM and WOW has been removed from 64-bit versions of Windows, and it is not possible to run 16-bit programs on them. The main API of these versions of Windows NT is the 64-bit version of the Win32 API; To run 32-bit programs, WOW64 technology is used, similar to traditional WOW.

As already noted, the creation of an x86 version of NT was required to ensure compatibility with OS/2, but in order to ensure the portability of the generated code, NT development began with versions for RISC architectures, and only then x86 support was added. The x86 version of Windows NT was originally designed for the 80486 processor, but by the time Windows NT 3.1 was released, support for the 80386 was also added. The last version to support i386 was Windows NT 3.51, and starting with Windows 2000, support for i486 was also discontinued.

The i860 processor, for which the NT OS was initially developed, did not receive the support from computer manufacturers that Intel and Microsoft were counting on by the time work on Windows NT was completed. As a result, the three platforms that were included in Windows NT 3.1 were x86, Alpha, and MIPS. In the releases of Windows NT 3.x, support for these platforms was retained, and in Windows NT 3.51 it was also supplemented with the PReP architecture based on the PowerPC processor. However, Windows NT 3.51 was not compatible with Macintosh computers with the same processor; in fact, only IBM PC clones with a PowerPC processor instead of an x86 were supported. Such computers were produced mainly by the creators of PowerPC - IBM and Motorola.

The first release of Windows NT 4 supported four platforms (x86, Alpha, MIPS and PowerPC), but support for less common platforms was reduced as service packs were released: MIPS support was removed from SP1, and PowerPC support from SP3. The latest releases of Windows NT 4 supported only x86 and Alpha; although Alpha support was planned for inclusion in Windows 2000, it was removed from the RC2 release.

Windows 95

Windows 95 (codename Chicago) is a hybrid 16-bit and 32-bit graphical operating system released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft Corporation. The Russian version went on sale on November 10, 1995.

This is the first system of the Windows family, the interface of which is used in all subsequent versions of Windows: it was in it that graphical interface elements such as the desktop with icons, the taskbar and the Start menu appeared.

Windows 95 is the result of the merger of MS-DOS and Windows products, which were previously distributed separately. Windows 95 is the third (after Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and Windows NT) Windows system that lacks support for standard and real mode x86 processors and requires an Intel 80386-level processor or higher in protected mode. Windows 95 contains significant improvements to the graphical interface and system internals, including the desktop and Start menu, support for long (up to 256 characters) file names, and a plug and play system.

The main innovation in Windows 95 was the ability to run 32-bit applications based on the Win32 API. This feature first appeared in Windows NT, but systems in this family had higher hardware requirements and therefore could not compare in popularity with the “regular” Windows series (which was represented by the Windows 3.x family before the release of Windows 95).

Windows 95 provided only a fraction of the Win32 capabilities available in Windows NT. However, this was enough to ensure that many applications developed based on the Win32 API could run on both Windows NT (which was positioned as a system for business applications) and Windows 95 (targeted for the consumer market). This contributed to the popularity of Windows 95.

The introduction of 32-bit file access in Windows for Workgroups 3.11 meant that 16-bit MS-DOS real mode was no longer used for working with files at Windows runtime, and the introduction of 32-bit disk access in Windows 3.1 avoided the use BIOS for managing hard drives. As a result, the role of MS-DOS was essentially reduced to loading the Windows kernel, which runs in protected mode. DOS could still be used to run older device drivers for compatibility purposes, but Microsoft recommended against using them as it interfered with proper multitasking and reduced system stability. Using the Control Panel, the user could determine which MS-DOS components were still in use on their system; optimal performance was achieved if there were none. The Windows kernel still used the old "MS-DOS-style" calls in what was known as failsafe mode, but this mode was only used to correct problems loading native protected mode drivers.

32-bit file access was required for long file names, a feature available in Windows 95 through the use of the VFAT file system (a variant of FAT16). This feature was available to both Windows programs and MS-DOS programs running from Windows (they needed to be tweaked a bit, since accessing files by long names required using a larger path buffer and, as a result, other system calls). Other DOS-compatible operating systems required an update to take advantage of long file names. Using older versions of DOS file management utilities could corrupt long file names when copying and moving them. During the automatic upgrade process from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95, DOS and third party utilities that could corrupt long file names were detected and disabled. For those cases where there was a need to use older disk utilities that did not accept long file names (for example, the defrag program from the MS-DOS 6.22 package), the LFNBACK program was provided to save and restore long names. The program is located in the \ADMIN\APPTOOLS\LFNBACK directory on the Windows 95 CD.

The graphical interface of Windows 95 became much more powerful and easier to use, resulting in the competition in the desktop operating system market ending in victory for Microsoft. Windows 95 was an undoubted success on the market, and within a year or two of its release, it became the most successful operating system ever created. Windows 95 made GUI features such as the Start button and taskbar available to the masses (although similar features had been implemented earlier - in the Arthur and RISC OS operating systems - the market for these systems was extremely limited). These functions became a permanent feature of all subsequent versions of Windows, and were subsequently copied in other graphical interfaces.

The “plug and play” system implemented in Windows 95 automatically installs device drivers, assigns interrupt numbers to them, etc. - previously this had to be done manually. In turn, the advent of Windows 95 led to the emergence of devices specifically designed to be “plug and play” - for example, they are inactive until the system assigns addresses and interrupts to them. At the early stage of implementation, numerous equipment recognition errors occurred, so “plug and play” was often jokingly called “plug and pray.”

The release of Windows 95 was accompanied by a massive advertising campaign (by many estimates, the largest in software history), including a commercial featuring the song “Start Me Up” (a reference to the Start button) performed by the Rolling Stones. The campaign also included stories from people queuing outside stores to purchase a copy of the system; there were even tales of people who didn't own computers buying Windows 95 simply because of all the hype, without even knowing what Windows even was.

Initially, Windows 95 was sold on 13 floppy disks in a special DMF format (Distribution Media Format, capacity 1.68 MB) or on CDs (the CD version included many useful additional files). Some developments that could not be completed by the time Windows 95 was officially released were later included in Microsoft Plus! (for example, Internet Explorer).

The first versions of Windows 95 did not have built-in support for working with the Internet, but there was a “Microsoft Network” icon on the desktop - it was later removed.

Windows 95 was replaced by other operating systems in the Windows 9x line - Windows 98, Windows 98 SE and Windows ME. The Windows NT kernel, used in Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista, is much more stable and capable than its predecessors used in the Windows 9x line, but does not support older MS-DOS games and applications well. To date, all operating systems in the Windows 9x line, especially Windows 95, are almost obsolete. On December 31, 2002, Microsoft ended support for Windows 95.

Windows 98

Windows 98 (codenamed Memphis) is a graphical operating system released by Microsoft on June 25, 1998.

Essentially, this operating system is an updated version of Windows 95, which is still a hybrid 16/32-bit product based on MS-DOS. AGP support has been improved, USB drivers have been improved, support for working with multiple monitors and WebTV support have been added. As in Windows 95 OSR 2.5, Internet Explorer 4 (Active Desktop function) is integrated into the system interface.

The internal number of the "first edition" of Windows 98 is 10/4/1998, SE - 10/4/2222.

System requirements for Windows 98: 486DX/66 MHz processor or better, 16 MB of RAM and at least 195 MB of free disk space with a standard installation.

Windows 98 Second Edition (Windows 98 SE) was released on May 5, 1999. The updated version includes many fixes, Internet Explorer 4 has been replaced by the much faster and lighter Internet Explorer 5, and the Internet Connection Sharing feature has appeared. MS NetMeeting 3 and support for DVD playback have also been added.

System requirements for RAM for Windows 98 SE have increased to 24 MB.

Microsoft planned to end support for Windows 98 on July 16, 2004. However, due to the incredible popularity of this operating system, support was extended until July 30, 2006.

Windows 2000

Windows 2000 (also called Win2k, W2k or Windows NT 5.0, codenamed Cairo) is a Microsoft Windows NT family operating system designed to run on computers with 32-bit processors (Intel IA-32 compatible architecture).

The first beta version of the system was released on September 27, 1997. The system was originally called Windows NT 5.0 because it was the next major version of Windows NT after Windows NT 4.0. However, on October 27, 1998, it received its own name, Windows 2000. The final version of the system was released to the general public on February 17, 2000.

Windows 2000 comes in four editions: Professional (for workstations and power users), Server, Advanced Server, and Datacenter Server (for use on servers). In addition, there is a "Limited Edition" of Windows 2000 Advanced Server Limited Edition and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server Limited Edition, designed to run on 64-bit Intel Itanium processors.

Some of the most significant improvements in Windows 2000 over Windows NT 4.0 are: Support for the Active Directory directory service. The Active Directory server side comes with Server, Advanced Server, and Datacenter Server editions, while full client-side service support is provided by the Professional edition. Internet Information Services version 5.0. Compared to IIS 4.0, this version includes, among other things, version 3.0 of the ASP web programming system. File system NTFS version 3.0 (also called NTFS 5.0 in the internal version of Windows 2000 - NT 5.0). In this version of NTFS, support for quotas appeared for the first time, that is, restrictions on the maximum volume of stored files for each user. Updated user interface, including Active Desktop based on Internet Explorer version 5 and thus similar to the interface of Windows 98. Language integration: previous versions of Windows were released in three versions - for European languages ​​​​(single-byte characters, writing only from left to right), for Far Eastern languages (multi-byte characters) and for Middle Eastern languages ​​(right-to-left writing with contextual letter variations). Windows 2000 combines these capabilities; all its localized versions are made on a single basis.

Windows 2000 was subsequently replaced by Windows XP (client side) and Windows Server 2003 (server side). However, Windows 2000 remains popular, especially in large companies, where updating operating systems on a large number of computers involves serious technical and financial difficulties. As of early 2005, Windows 2000 had more than 50% share of Windows workstation operating systems in companies with more than 250 computers, according to research from Assetmetrix. At the same time, in companies with fewer than 250 computers, Windows XP is more popular. Microsoft ended mainstream support for the Windows 2000 operating system on June 30, 2005. Extended support will continue until June 30, 2010.

Windows ME

Windows Millennium Edition (Windows ME; also abbreviated as Windows Me) is a mixed 16/32-bit operating system released by Microsoft Corporation on September 14, 2000. It was named in honor of the new III millennium (Latin millennium - millennium).

It differs from its predecessors - Windows 95 and Windows 98 - in relatively minor updates, such as the new Internet Explorer 5.5 and Windows Media Player 7. Windows Movie Maker has also appeared with basic digital video editing functions. The system interface has changed - features that first appeared in Windows 2000 have been added to it.

One of the most noticeable changes in Windows ME is that in the standard system configuration, the real MS-DOS mode is blocked, which is why you cannot use programs that require this mode. However, with the help of special utilities this function can be unlocked. Booting Windows ME is no different from the same process in Windows 95 and 98.

Windows XP

Windows XP (code name during development - Whistler; internal version - Windows NT 5.1) is an operating system of the Windows NT family from Microsoft Corporation. It was released on October 25, 2001 and is an evolution of Windows 2000 Professional. The name XP comes from the English. experience. The name came into use as a professional version.

Unlike the previous Windows 2000, which came in both server and client versions, Windows XP is a client-only system. Its server version is the later released Windows Server 2003. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 are built on the same operating system kernel, as a result of which their development and updating proceed more or less in parallel.

Microsoft has stopped free support for the Windows XP operating system (OS) since April 14, 2009; now Windows XP users will not be able to contact Microsoft for free technical support in case of incidents, for design changes, and in other situations. Now they will have to use “extended support” services for this - this means that all calls will become paid. Extended support will continue until April 8, 2014.

In addition, free support for the Office 2003 office suite, as well as Windows Server 2003, has ceased.

Windows XP analyzes system performance with certain visual effects and, depending on this, activates them or not, taking into account a possible drop or increase in performance. Users can also change these parameters using settings dialogs, and they can either flexibly select the activity of certain visual effects, or leave it to the system to control it, or choose maximum performance or the best look of the graphical interface. Some effects, such as alpha blending, etc., require a powerful graphics subsystem; on older video cards, performance may drop significantly and Microsoft recommends disabling these features in this case.

In Windows XP, it became possible to use “Visual Styles” to change the graphical user interface. Luna is a new GUI style included with XP and is the default interface for PCs with more than 64 megabytes of RAM. It is possible to use other “Visual Styles”, but they must be digitally signed by Microsoft (as they are important in the functioning of the system).

To bypass this limitation, some users use special software such as TGTSoft's StyleXP, and sometimes a modified version of the uxtheme.dll library.

There is also a "Classic" style, which replicates the Windows 2000 interface style (which uses 4 MB less memory than Luna), as well as numerous styles created by third-party developers. For the Media Center version, Microsoft developed the "Royale" visual style, which is included in this version of Windows XP and is available for installation in other versions of XP.

More than 100 icons have been created for Windows XP by The Iconfactory, known for its set of free icons for the Mac OS X operating system

Windows XP also has a command line interface (CLI), cmd.exe, for controlling the system with commands from the console or running scripts called "batch files" (with cmd extensions), based on MS "batch" files -DOS. The Windows XP CLI syntax is not very well documented in the built-in help system. More general information can be obtained by typing "help" at the command prompt for an overview of available commands and "command name /?". The command line interface is available in both window and full-screen views (switch between them by pressing Alt+Enter), the preferred view can be specified in the corresponding settings dialog, along with parameters such as font size and type, etc. When When working in this mode, the user can call previous commands (for example, the “up” key returns the previous command), use auto-completion of file and directory names, as well as commands.

Microsoft periodically releases service packs for its operating systems that fix identified problems and add new features. At the moment there are three of them.

Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Windows XP was released on September 9, 2002. The most important innovations were support for USB 2.0, a utility that allows you to select default programs for web browsing, mail, instant messaging, and various implementations of the Java virtual machine. Starting with SP1, the EFS encryption file system was able to use the AES encryption algorithm with a 256-bit key.

Starting with SP1, LBA-48 is supported, which allows the operating system to work with HDDs with a capacity of more than 137 GB, activated by default.

Service Pack 2 (SP2) (codenamed "Springboard") was released on August 6, 2004. SP2 added new features to Windows XP, including an improved firewall; support for Wi-Fi with a setup wizard and Bluetooth, as well as improvements in IE6 - for example, the ability to block “pop-up” windows. This service pack has made significant changes to the security of Windows XP. Thus, the built-in firewall has undergone significant changes, which has been renamed Windows Firewall and is now activated for all created connections by default. Expanded memory protection has appeared, in particular, against buffer overflow attacks using NX-bit technology and a number of other techniques. The changes also affected services - services such as telnet and the messaging service are disabled by default, a number of services are launched with reduced rights, etc. Security changes also affected the Outlook Express mail program and the IE browser. Windows XP Service Pack 2 includes Windows Security Center, which makes it easier to monitor system security by monitoring and reminding the user to install or update an antivirus and its databases, activate a built-in or third-party firewall, update the operating system, or change web browser settings . Third-party antiviruses and firewalls have the ability to interact with it using the API interface. Autorun functions have also been improved when loading a CD or connecting flash drives and similar devices.

In early August 2007, Microsoft began beta testing SP3 with a limited group of beta testers. Despite the fact that the beta version was distributed only to a select few, its distribution appeared on peer-to-peer networks. Since December 12, 2007, version RC1 SP3 is available for download and testing to everyone.

The final version of Windows XP Service Pack 3 was released on April 21, 2008, but only to business customers such as OEMs and MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Other users were able to obtain the third service pack from the Windows Update online service or through the Microsoft Download Center on May 6, as well as using the automatic update service in early summer. Initially, the RTM version of Windows XP SP3 was released in Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Spanish. [source not specified 72 days] And only on May 5 the remaining 18 localizations were released.

The package includes all updates released since Windows XP Service Pack 2 was released in 2004, as well as a number of other new items. Among them is the Network Access Protection function and a new activation model borrowed from Windows Vista, in addition, there is an improved function for detecting so-called “black hole” routers, etc.

On July 1, 2008, Microsoft stopped selling Windows XP SP2 to its suppliers. At the moment, Windows XP SP3 is supplied in OEM and BOX deliveries; downgrade is possible within the framework of corporate licensing. Also on sale is Get Genuine Kit Windows XP SP3, intended for licensing installed pirated software, as part of corporate licensing, the Get Genuine Solution Windows XP package.

Windows XP Service Pack 3 will also be distributed as part of the Windows 7 "Windows XP Mode" component

Windows Server 2003

Windows Server 2003 (code name during development - Whistler Server, internal version - Windows NT 5.2) is an operating system of the Windows NT family from Microsoft, designed to work on servers. It was released on April 24, 2003.

Windows Server 2003 is a development of Windows 2000 Server and a server version of the Windows XP operating system. Microsoft originally planned to call this product "Windows .NET Server" to promote its new Microsoft .NET platform. However, this name was later dropped to avoid causing misconceptions about .NET in the software market.

Windows Server 2008 is the next server version of Windows NT, which will replace Windows Server 2003.

Windows Server 2003 mainly develops the functions contained in the previous version of the system - Windows 2000 Server. This was also indicated by the NT 5.2 version of the system kernel (NT 5.0 for Windows 2000). Below are some of the most notable changes compared to Windows 2000 Server.

Windows Server 2003 is the first Microsoft operating system to come with the .NET Framework pre-installed. This allows this system to act as an application server for the Microsoft .NET platform without installing any additional software.

Windows Server 2003 ships with version 6.0 of Internet Information Services, which has a significantly different architecture than IIS 5.0 available in Windows 2000. In particular, to improve stability, it is now possible to isolate applications from each other in separate processes without impacting performance. A new HTTP.sys driver has also been created to handle HTTP requests. This driver runs in kernel mode, resulting in faster request processing.

According to Microsoft, Windows Server 2003 placed a lot of emphasis on system security. In particular, the system is now installed in the most limited form, without any additional services, which reduces the attack surface. Windows Server 2003 also includes a software firewall called Internet Connection Firewall. Subsequently, a service pack was released for the system, which is entirely focused on improving the security of the system and includes several additional features to protect against attacks. According to the American security standard Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria (TCSEC), Windows Server 2003 belongs to security class C2 - Controlled Access Protection

Windows Server 2003 debuted the Volume Shadow Copy Service, which automatically saves old versions of user files, allowing you to return to a previous version of a document if necessary. Working with shadow copies is only possible if a “shadow copy client” is installed on the user’s PC whose documents need to be restored.

Also in this version of the system, the set of administration utilities called from the command line has been expanded, which simplifies the automation of system management.

A new concept has been introduced - “roles”; server management is based on them. Simply put, to get a file server, you need to add a role - “file server”.

Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs

Windows FLP or Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (Code Name: Eiger) is a version of Microsoft Windows released on July 8, 2006. - Compact OS from Microsoft for older PCs, based on Microsoft Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 2. Intended for use with terminal servers (Microsoft, Citrix). It is also possible to run a small number of local applications.

Windows Vista

Windows Vista is an operating system in the Microsoft Windows NT family, a line of operating systems used on consumer personal computers. At the development stage, this operating system was codenamed “Longhorn”.

In the Windows NT product line, Windows Vista is version 6.0 (Windows 2000 - 5.0, Windows XP - 5.1, Windows Server 2003 - 5.2). The abbreviation "WinVI" is sometimes used to refer to "Windows Vista", which combines the name "Vista" and the version number written in Roman numerals.

Windows Vista, like Windows XP, is a client-only system. Microsoft also released a server version of Windows Vista - Windows Server 2008.

On November 30, 2006, Microsoft officially released Windows Vista and Office 2007 for enterprise customers. On January 30, 2007, sales of the system began for ordinary users.

Early in development, the system was known by the code name Longhorn (named after the Longhorn Saloon near the Whistler ski resort in British Columbia). The name "Vista" was announced on July 22, 2005. A few months later, Microsoft also renamed Windows Longhorn Server to Windows Server 2008. Since November 8, 2006, a full version of Windows Vista has been available to hardware manufacturers. The public release to end users took place on January 30, 2007.

It's worth noting that many of the features planned for Windows Vista were dropped by Microsoft due to public outcry. For example, it was assumed that OpenGL would be implemented as an add-on to Direct3D. This would lead to a serious drop in OpenGL performance compared to Direct3D and would result in the OpenGL version being fixed. The fears were not justified; OpenGL support remained in Windows Vista. The WinFS file system was also not included in Windows Vista - this time due to performance problems.

Features of Windows Wista include:

1. According to Microsoft itself, the system boot time is less than in Windows XP and on most computers it is less than a minute. Reduced the time to enter and exit sleep mode to 6 seconds. But with the advent of the user interface, you have to wait much longer to begin full-fledged work, until background processes that greatly complicate the work of third-party programs pass. There is an opinion that Windows Vista is the worst operating system released by Microsoft. Windows Vista also took first place in the “Failure of the Year” competition held by the Pwnie award website, created in 2007. Moreover, according to the website The Inquirer.net, based on a number of unprecedented promotions related to the promotion of WV on the market, it can be concluded that Microsoft management recognized Windows Vista as a failure

2. Thanks to “Windows ReadyBoost” technology, it has become possible to use the capacity of external USB flash drives as RAM, which in some cases increases performance by 40%.

3. The logical model of interaction with graphic devices has been completely redesigned.

4. User Account Control (UAC) - a user account control system that requires explicit user permission when performing any action that requires administrative rights, regardless of the rights of the current user account. If the user is not an administrator, a prompt will be displayed in which you can select an administrative account and perform the operation with its rights by entering a password - this allows you to configure the system and install applications from a limited user account without explicitly using the runas mechanism and without having to switch to another account (which was required in XP, for example, in case of changing TCP/IP parameters). If the user is a member of the “Administrators” group, then he will need (with default settings) to confirm the use of rights by responding to the system prompt. UAC requests data in Secure Desktop mode, which protects against data interception and control of the input window by third-party programs (approximately the same mode was used when entering an NT domain with the requirement to press Ctrl-Alt-Del twice). UAC can be disabled for certain categories of accounts and reconfigured using a local (or group when used in a domain) security policy: for example, you can set a password to be required for all users (including administrators) to use administrative rights, prohibit these actions for users of limited accounts, and etc.

5. Bitlocker Drive Encryption - Provides the ability to encrypt the system drive using the command line interface and other partitions. This uses a USB key or Trusted Platform Module to store encryption keys. To encrypt partitions, by default, the AES algorithm is used with a key length of 128 bits in CBC encryption mode. This feature is present in Vista Enterprise or Ultimate versions.

6. EFS file encryption system. This system, which first appeared in Windows 2000, works in Vista Business, Enterprise or Ultimate editions and provides the ability to transparently encrypt files at the file system level using AES (with a 256-bit key) or 3-DES algorithms. For each file, an encryption key is randomly generated, which, in turn, is encrypted with the public key to users (default 2048 bits). In Vista, using policies, it became possible to set different lengths of the user's public key (1024, 2048, 4096,...), save the key on smart cards (by default, the key is stored locally, protected by the user's password) and encrypt the page file, as well as require mandatory encryption of a user folder with documents.

7. Preventing virus infection from retrievable media. By default, in Windows Vista, autorun of programs from flash cards and USB devices is disabled. This prevents your computer from being infected by viruses that spread through flash cards. There are also policies that control access to external media (including USB), which also helps protect confidential data.

8. Blocking direct recording to disk. Windows Vista prevents direct writing to the disk (\\.\PhysicalDriveX) if the disk has a mounted file system.

There is an opinion that Windows Vista is the worst operating system released by Microsoft. Windows Vista also took first place in the “Failure of the Year” competition held by the Pwnie award website, created in 2007. Moreover, according to the website The Inquirer.net, based on a number of unprecedented promotions related to the promotion of WV on the market, it can be concluded that Microsoft management recognized Windows Vista as a failure.

Windows Home Server

Windows Home Server is a server operating system from Microsoft, which is built on the basis of Windows Server 2003 SP2 and is aimed at home users (as the name suggests - home) for use in home networks.

Windows Server 2008

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (codename "Longhorn Server") is a new version of the server operating system from Microsoft. This version should replace Windows Server 2003 as a representative of the Vista generation operating systems (NT 6.x).

Windows Server 2008 includes an installation option called Server Core. Server Core is a significantly lightweight installation of Windows Server 2008 that does not include the Windows Explorer shell. All configuration and maintenance are performed using the Windows command line interface, or by connecting to the server remotely using the Management Console. Notepad and some control panel elements are available, for example, Regional Settings.

Windows Server 2008 has a significant update to Terminal Services. Terminal Services now supports Remote Desktop Protocol 6.0. The most notable improvement, called Terminal Services RemoteApp, lets you publish one specific application instead of your entire desktop.

Another important feature added to Terminal Services is Terminal Services Gateway and Terminal Services Web Access (now entirely web-based). Terminal Services Gateway allows authorized computers to securely connect to Terminal Services or Remote Desktop from the Internet using RDP over HTTPS without using a VPN. This does not require opening an additional port on the firewall; RDP traffic is tunneled over HTTPS. Terminal Services Web Access allows administrators to provide access to terminal services through a Web interface. When using TS Gateway and TS RemoteApp, data transfer occurs via HTTP(S) and remote applications appear to the user as if they were running locally. Multiple applications run in a single session to ensure no additional user licenses are required.

With Terminal Services Easy Print, administrators no longer need to install any printer drivers on the server. In this case, Easy Print Driver redirects the user interface and all the features of the original printer. In addition, it improves productivity when submitting print jobs by converting jobs to XPS format before sending them to the client.

Windows Server 2008 is the first Windows operating system released with built-in Windows PowerShell, an extensible command-line shell and accompanying scripting language developed by Microsoft. The PowerShell scripting language was designed specifically for administrative tasks and can replace the need for cmd.exe and Windows Script Host.

Self-healing NTFS

In previous versions of Windows, if the operating system encountered errors in the file system of an NTFS volume, it would mark the volume as "dirty"; Error correction on the volume could not be performed immediately. With self-healing NTFS, instead of locking the entire volume, only the damaged files/folders are locked and remain inaccessible during the repair. Thanks to this, there is no longer a need to reboot the server to correct file system errors.

Also, the operating system now displays S.M.A.R.T. information. hard drives to help identify possible hard drive failures. This feature first appeared in Windows Vista.

Server Manager is a new, role-based management tool for Windows Server 2008. It is a combination of Server Management and the Security Configuration Wizard from Windows Server 2003. Server Manager is an enhancement of the Server Configuration Wizard dialog that launched by default in Windows Server 2003 upon logon. Now it allows you not only to add new roles, but also combines all the operations that users can perform on the server, and also provides a consolidated display of the current status of each role in the form of a single portal.

It is currently not possible to use Server Manager remotely, but a client version is planned.

Windows 7

Windows 7 (formerly known by the codenames Blackcomb and Vienna) is a version of the Windows NT family of computer operating systems that follows Windows Vista. In the Windows NT line, the system has version number 6.1 (Windows 2000 - 5.0, Windows XP - 5.1, Windows Server 2003 - 5.2, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 - 6.0). The server version is Windows Server 2008 R2.

Microsoft announced that the operating system would go on sale on October 22, 2009, less than three years after the release of the previous operating system, Windows Vista. Partners and clients with a Volume Licensing license were granted access to RTM on July 24, 2009.

Windows 7 includes some developments excluded from Windows Vista, as well as innovations in the interface and built-in programs.

Windows 7 will have an option to disable or enable Internet Explorer.

Windows 7 will have support for multitouch monitors. This capability was demonstrated by Microsoft at its annual TechEd'08 conference in Orlando. During the demonstration, build 6.1.6856 was used, as well as a prototype laptop model with a multitouch screen. According to some reports, Windows 7 will partially implement the functionality planned in Windows Vista (codenamed “Longhorn”). Closer integration with Windows Live programs and services is also planned.

Windows 7 implements a more flexible setting for User Account Control (UAC), which, unlike Windows Vista, has two more intermediate states between the “Enable” and “Disable” modes.

Changes have been made to the BitLocker encryption technology, and the BitLocker to go removable media encryption function has been added, which allows you to encrypt removable media, even in the absence of a TPM module.

Improvements have also been made to the Windows Firewall - the function of notifying the user that a program is blocked when trying to access the network has returned.

Windows 7 will not be able to play licensed Blu-Ray discs with video, but will be able to read and write information to them.

Using Group Policy and AppLocker, you can prevent certain applications from running.

The Branch Cache feature will reduce latency for users working with their computer remotely. For example, a file accessible over the network is cached locally, so it is no longer downloaded from a remote server, but from a local computer. This feature can work in two modes - Hosted Cache and Distributed Cache. In the first case, the file is stored on a dedicated local server running Windows Server 2008 R2, in the second - on the client’s computer.

DirectAccess allows you to establish a secure connection to a server in the background, unlike VPN, which requires user interaction. DirectAccess can also apply group policies before the user logs on.

Remote Desktop Host allows a user to connect to a remote computer with administrator rights.

Microsoft is also considering the possibility of releasing Windows 7 not only on optical discs, but also on flash media, which should simplify the process of installing the platform on netbooks that do not have a built-in optical drive.

Windows 7 will also use sandbox mode, the implementation of which was discussed during alpha and beta testing (during the development stage of Longhorn). All unmanaged code will run in an environment (sandbox) in which the operating system will restrict the program's access to the computer hardware and network. Access to low-level sockets, as well as direct access to the file system, hardware abstraction layer (HAL), and full access to a memory address, will be prohibited. All access to external applications, files and protocols will be regulated by the operating system and immediately stopped (in theory). If this approach is successful, it promises almost complete security, since with this approach it is theoretically impossible for the malware to cause any damage to the system if it is locked inside the metaphorical “glass box”. This approach evokes associations with Virtual PC. If everything is correct, this environment will be able to adapt to the code base that was written in its language. This will alleviate most of the problems that arise as a result of backward compatibility when moving to a new operating system.

When using applications in Beta 1, memory leaks were discovered in some applications that resulted in complete freezes, despite the sandbox mode. Theoretically, if the regime does not become more effective, this could lead to a surge in the development of programs that deliberately exploit these vulnerabilities for their own purposes.

Bill Gates mentioned the ubiquitous instant search bar (similar to Spotlight). The Content Indexing service has been evolving since Windows XP, and a similar search bar was included in Windows Vista. Windows 7 also uses DirectX 11.

Will Windows 7 get a new kernel?

No. Although it must be said that similar developments were carried out. At least that's what one Microsoft engineer said back in October last year. According to him, 200 of the company's programmers worked on reducing the kernel for Windows 7. The kernel even received its own name MinWin and was supposed to take up six times less memory than the Vista kernel.

However, Flores and Sinofsky said that Windows 7 will not receive a new kernel. "Contrary to some speculation, Microsoft is not creating a new kernel for Windows 7," Flores said. However, Sinofsky said a little differently, “...the kernel in Windows Server 2008 is an evolution of the Windows Vista kernel, and the Windows 7 kernel will be a further evolution of that kernel.”

Windows Server 2008 R2

Windows Server 2008 R2 is a server version of Windows 7 in development. It will be released on October 22, 2009. Like Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 will use the Windows NT 6.1 kernel. New features include improved virtualization, a new version of Active Directory, Internet Information Services 7.5 and support for up to 256 processors. The system will be released only in 64-bit version. Support for booting Windows from partitions containing MBR has also been removed.

Microsoft announced Windows Server 2008 R2 at the Professional Developers Conference as a server variant of Windows 7. On January 7, 2009, a beta version of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 became available to Microsoft TechNet and MSDN subscribers who participated in the Windows 7 Insider Program. On January 9, a beta version version has been made publicly available for download on the Microsoft Download Center. April 30, 2009 - the release candidate (RC) became available to TechNet and MSDN subscribers. May 5, 2009 - Windows Server 2008 R2 RC is available from the Microsoft Download Center June 2, 2009 - Microsoft announced that the RTM version will be available to Microsoft partners in the second half of July 2009. The release will take place on October 22, 2009.

Currently, Microsoft Windows is installed on approximately 88% of personal computers and workstations. In addition, its competitor, Mac OS X, is also gaining momentum (about 10%). Despite the competition, Microsoft and Apple cooperate, constantly increasing the compatibility of the two systems.