Why Is It Called Windows 7 October 22nd, 2009
There seems to be a lot of confusion over the new naming convention for Windows 7. Microsoft in all their wisdom seem to change direction each time a new version of Windows is released and each time, the name doesn’t seem to follow the previous. So, I thought I’d explain the logic behind why the latest version is called Windows 7.
Microsoft has decided to start calling this and future releases of their Windows operating system based on their version numbers. Versions previously known by other numbers (95 and 98) or name (Me, XP and Vista) used internal version numbers. XP was version 5.1 and Vista was version 6.0 for example.
So the story in the evolution of Windows so far is:
Windows 1 was released in November 1985, 2.0 in October 1987, and 2.1 (which was also known as Windows /286 and Windows /386) in May 1998.
Windows 3, which first introduced 32-bit capabilities came to market in May 1990, and came into its own with versions 3.1 in April 1992.
Microsoft then split off a ‘new technology’ version of Windows to compete with UNIX. It was influenced by Microsoft’s then partnership with IBM who created OS/2. The development of this new version began as OS/2 version 3. It shipped as Windows NT 3.1 in July 1993 and was a fully 32-bit operating system. It was also the first version of Windows that did not run as a shell on top of DOS. Windows NT 3.5 shipped in 1994, and 4.0 in 1996.
Windows 4 came out as Windows 95 in August 1995 and was the first consumer version with 32-bit support and pre-emptive multitasking. Windows 98 arrived in July 1998, and a second edition (Windows 98 SE) replaced it in 1999. Windows Me shipped in September 2000 and was the final consumer version of Windows 4; it was also a complete flop.
Windows 5 arrived as Windows 2000 in February 2000 and was a replacement for NT 4.0. The consumer version, known as Windows XP (or Windows 5.1), was released to manufacturers in August 2001 although not available on the retail market until October. The latest version is SP3. Windows Server 2003 (Windows 5.2) replaced Windows 2000 in April 2003, and its latest version is SP2. Microsoft released separate 64-bit versions of Windows XP and Sever 2003 in April 2005.
Windows 6 was named Windows Vista, released to manufacturers in November 2006 and reached the retail market in January 2007. Vista is also available in 64-bit editions. Windows Server 2008 is also another version of Windows 6.
So there we have it the story so far and today, we see the official launch of the 7th incarnation of the Windows family – Windows 7.
Makes perfect sense really doesn’t it?
Tags: Microsoft, vista, windows 7, xp
This entry was posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 11:17 pm and is filed under Blah, Microsoft, Technology Related, Windows 7, Windows Vista. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
