This latest version of Windows also marks a big change in Microsoft’s approach to their flagship OS – rather than releasing a brand new Windows version every few years, the company has decided to build and improve upon Windows 10 with numerous free updates. Today, we have the most advanced and most reliable version of Windows yet: Windows 10. XP was followed by a controversial and bug-ridden Windows Vista which was quickly replaced by a much more refined Windows 7.Īfter that came Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, another controversial release criticized for forcing a tablet-oriented UI on desktop PCs. It is only during the era of the universally-loved Windows XP that the PC gaming scene boomed. Over the years, Windows had seen numerous subsequent incarnations: Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, and other minor variations. When Microsoft first released Windows 3.0 in 1990, it was considered revolutionary because of how it simplified the user interface and brought computers closer to the mainstream public. Microsoft Windows is, without a doubt, the most widespread and popular operating system. In this section, we will briefly go over the history of each of the three operating systems, as well as look at their basic characteristics.

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