The past and present of Windows... Let's take a look at the ancestors of the XP we commonly use.

Below, let us take a look at the "past and present" of Windows:

**A Brief History of Windows**

1. Windows was announced by Microsoft in November 1983 and released two years later in November 1985.

2. Windows 2.0 was officially launched in the market in November 1987. This version made some improvements to the user interface. Windows 2.0 also enhanced the keyboard and mouse interfaces, especially by adding menus and dialog boxes.

3. Windows 3.0 was released on May 22, 1990. It combined Windows/286 and Windows/386 into one product. Windows 3.0 was the first version to gain a foothold in both the home and office markets.

4. Microsoft Windows 3.1 was released in April 1992. Like OS/2, Windows 3.1 could only run in protected mode and required a PC with at least 1MB of memory and a 286 or 386 processor.

5. Windows NT, released in July 1993, was the first version of Windows to support the 32-bit protected mode for Intel 386, 486, and Pentium microprocessors. Additionally, Windows NT could be ported to non-Intel processors and ran on several workstations using RISC chips.

6. Windows 95 was released in August 1995. Although it lacked some features of Windows NT, such as high security and portability to RISC machines, Windows 95 had the advantage of requiring fewer hardware resources.

7. Windows 98 was released in June 1998 and came with many enhancements, including improved performance, better hardware support, and closer integration with the Internet and the World Wide Web (www).

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