1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,640 It all started on November 20th 1985 when Microsoft unleashed Windows 1.0 on the world. 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:14,480 But did you know it wasn't even a real operating system? Instead of being a standalone OS, Windows 1.0 was a graphical shell 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:19,120 that ran on top of MS-DOS to make it easier to use than a tedious command line. 4 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:25,200 Even so though, many reviewers didn't like it as Windows 1.0 was quite demanding on the systems 5 00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:32,160 and it relied so much on a mouse. I mean, those are so uncommon, where am I going to find one? 6 00:00:32,160 --> 00:00:40,480 Making it difficult to use. Windows 2.0 came on the scene in late 1987 and was quite a bit more polished. 7 00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:45,200 The Windows themselves could actually overlap for the first time 8 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:49,600 and you could display a whopping 256 colors on your screen. 9 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:54,880 Third-party application support was still spotty, but Word and Excel for Windows 10 00:00:54,880 --> 00:01:03,440 both made their debuts on Windows 2.0. The 2.1 variant released the next year was actually the first version of Windows to require a hard 11 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:10,400 drive as previous versions could run off of floppy disks. 1990s Windows 3.0 was a major change 12 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:14,880 and not just because Microsoft dropped $3 million on the launch event. 13 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:20,560 Not only did it look a lot nicer, it also enabled a much more seamless multitasking experience 14 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:26,640 and featured a GUI based around icons for the first time, making it far easier to use than 15 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:32,480 previous versions. Windows 3.0 also brought a CD-ROM support and sound playback 16 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:37,440 and Microsoft even sold some simple games like Minesweeper for Windows 3.0, 17 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:42,720 games that became extremely popular and got people thinking about the PC as a gaming platform. 18 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:49,520 Windows 3.1 followed in 1992 and introduced drag-and-drop icons as well as true-type fonts, 19 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:53,840 meaning that what you saw on your screen would end up being what you get when you printed a hard 20 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:59,360 copy. The next year brought us Windows 3.2, which was just a Chinese version of 3.1, 21 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:06,480 as well as Windows NT 3.1. But despite the similar name, NT represented a fundamental 22 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:11,120 architectural change. Other versions of Windows were still running on top of DOS, 23 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:15,920 but NT ran on an entirely separate kernel which allowed more advanced features. 24 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:20,000 In fact, modern versions of Windows are part of that same NT lineage. 25 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,320 But that doesn't mean that Microsoft was ready to ditch DOS-based Windows just yet. 26 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:32,000 Although we did get NT 3.5 in 1994, 1995 brought us the blockbuster Windows 95. 27 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:37,280 And although it still ran on top of DOS, it marked the point where Windows really came into its own 28 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:42,480 as an operating system, with familiar features like the start menu and task bar, 29 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:48,480 and support for USB in later updates. The NT series also got an update in 1996 30 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:53,760 with Windows NT 4.0 using basically the same GUI as Windows 95. 31 00:02:53,760 --> 00:03:00,000 Windows 98, appropriately released in 1998, was a souped-up version of Windows 95 that was supposed 32 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:06,160 to integrate better with the internet. But infamously, 98 was quite buggy. In fact, 33 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:11,520 the bugs were so prevalent that it prompted Microsoft to release Windows 98 Second Edition 34 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:19,120 in 1999 alongside another version of NT called Windows 2000, which was much more stable than 98. 35 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:25,520 But also resulted in Microsoft getting egg on its face as it contained a boatload of security flaws 36 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,360 despite Redmond billing it as the most secure Windows ever. 37 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:34,080 Microsoft wouldn't exactly write the ship in the year 2000, as we got an absolute 38 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:39,280 turd of an operating system called Windows ME. I mean, it did introduce System Restore, 39 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:44,400 which is admittedly a very useful feature, but the OS was extremely unstable, 40 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:48,560 leading people to say that ME stood for Mistake Edition. 41 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:52,240 Following ME's failure, DOS-based Windows was axed permanently, 42 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:59,120 and in 2001, we got the legendary Windows XP. XP brought Windows NT as well as the 43 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:03,840 NTFS file system which supported large hard drives to home users for the first time. 44 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:10,800 XP also came in professional and 64-bit editions, as well as a stripped-down version for older 45 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:17,520 systems. XP's stability, eye-pleasing GUI, and powerful performance made it an extremely popular 46 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:23,120 OS, although users weren't thrilled with the anti-piracy scheme product activation, 47 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:28,640 which made its first appearance in XP. Nevertheless, XP remained very popular all 48 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:34,160 the way to 2009, thanks in part to the fact that the release of Windows Vista in 2007 49 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:40,080 was an unmitigated disaster. Vista attempted to modernize the Windows GUI with Aero glass 50 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:46,320 and patched security holes present in XP, but it also featured very onerous DRM schemes and had 51 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:51,840 lots of hardware compatibility issues. Some people blamed this on just how different Vista was from 52 00:04:51,840 --> 00:04:56,960 its predecessor, while others pointed out that OEMs just didn't update their drivers in time 53 00:04:56,960 --> 00:05:02,880 and mis-marketed low-end systems as technically being ready for Vista, even though the experience 54 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:08,960 was not very good. In any event, Microsoft released Windows 7 in 2009, which was visually 55 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:14,240 similar to Vista, but significantly more stable, especially since PC hardware had had some time 56 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:20,000 to catch up to this revamped version of the OS. Windows 7 became so popular that it held its 57 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:25,440 own against its successor operating system well into the late 2010s, and some editions of Windows 58 00:05:25,840 --> 00:05:31,440 7 are actually still supported through 2023. Of course, part of the reason Windows 7 remained 59 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:36,400 popular was because 2012's Windows 8 was a rather confusing piece of software. I mean, 60 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:42,160 it wasn't a bad OS in terms of stability or features or performance, it's just that many 61 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:48,000 users disliked it because Microsoft attempted to take an OS geared towards tablets, like their 62 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:52,720 surface lineup that they were pushing hard at the time, and then shoehorn it into a desktop 63 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:59,440 environment with a new start screen instead of menu, live tiles, and metro apps that just didn't 64 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:04,720 have a lot of purpose for existing for keyboard and mouse users. The major criticism from mainstream 65 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:09,680 users centered around the fact that Microsoft took away the start button and start menu completely, 66 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:14,320 prompting the release of Windows 8.1 in 2013, which restored these features 67 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:20,160 and added some new ones, like Miracast and support for 3D printers. 8.1 proved to be more popular 68 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:25,600 than 8, but in 2015, Windows 10 made its grand entrance, which scrapped the start screen, 69 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:31,120 but has still proven to be usable on desktops and tablets alike. Unlike previous versions of 70 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:35,920 Windows, Microsoft has said that Windows 10 will be updated continuously as a service, 71 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:42,400 making it the last version of Windows ever, and therefore, the point at which today's story ends. 72 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:48,240 But wait, you didn't talk about the server and embedded versions of Windows. You're right, we 73 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:52,480 didn't. But the name of the channel isn't tech-lengthy, although we're not against doing it in a future 74 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:57,520 episode, so let us know in the comments if you're interested. So thanks for watching guys, like, 75 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:01,440 dislike if you felt that way about it, check out our other videos, leave a comment if you have 76 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:05,200 a suggestion for our future one, and don't forget to subscribe.