The only product that Bill Gates thought of making in the initial days of Microsoft was Windows, which also led Gates to get his foot in the door for Apple’s first ever Macintosh.
Bill Gates ran Microsoft in a small room when he approached IBM to offer them OS support to their computers. An OS was then something that IBM couldn’t say no to. The offer also grabbed the attention of the then young sensation, Apple founder Steve Jobs.
Jobs pulled in Gates' technology for his Macintosh 1 in the early '80s. But, Gates' certainly had bigger dreams and wasn’t planning just to stop with providing OS support to Apple computers. While working on the Macintosh, Gates, inspired by Apple's technologies, launched Microsoft Word, which later Apple claimed was stolen from them.
However, this did not stop the evolution of Microsoft Windows, and shortly after, Gates came up with Windows 1.01, the first ever graphical personal computer operating environment by the company. That legacy would continue for four decades and today we are using its 15th version — Windows 10.
"Right now we're releasing Windows 10, and because Windows 10 is the last version of Windows, we're all still working on Windows 10," Microsoft employee Jerry Nixon, mentioned in a Verge report.
Here is a throwback on the journey of Windows, since its first version was launched on November 20, 1985:
• Microsoft Windows came into existence with Windows 1.01 in 1984, which later had three upgrades - 1.02 (in 1986), 1.03 (in 1987), and 1.04 (in 1987). All these versions looked similar and ran on MS-DOS - with minor technical changes.
• Along with upgrading previous versions, the company also launched the next version of Windows - Windows 2.03 - in 1987. This version later had two upgrades - 2.10 (in 1987) and 2.11 (in 1988) respectively.
• In 1990, Microsoft came up with Windows 3. The company did not introduce anything new to the market for next two years until Windows 3.1 arrived in 1992. In next two years, Windows 3 had five upgrades - Windows NT 3.1, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Windows 3.2, Windows NT 3.5 and Windows NT 3.51 respectively.
• Microsoft then launched Windows 95, in 1995. The success was stunning. It quickly became one of the most widely used operating systems across the world. Who doesn’t remember the square with four coloured divisions flying across a blue screen?
• Windows NT 4.0 that was released in 1996 as part of Microsoft's NT line OS. The graphical environment of Windows NT 4.0 was quite similar to that of Windows 95 and was available for both personal computers and server systems.
• Microsoft followed 95 with Windows 98 in 1998, which proved to be even more popular. In India especially, the OS entered the market just as computers began to make inroads into the country - soon becoming the standard introduction to computers for an entire generation. It had an upgrade in 1999. By 2014, a billion copies of the OS had been sold. Windows XP remains the third most popular Microsoft OS - behind Windows 7 and Windows 10.
• Coinciding with the new millennium, Microsoft launched Windows 2000. Technically it was a successor to Windows NT 4.0. Along with it, the company also launched Windows ME in the same year.
• 2001 was the year when Microsoft released the now legendary Windows XP, which was a part of the Windows NT family that included the 'processor-independent, multiprocessing, multi-user operating system.' Windows XP was later upgraded in the year 2005, and Windows XP Professional was released.
• In 2007, Windows Vista came with a set of all new graphics, which tried to redefine user experience. However, it couldn’t last very long due to its various technical challenges that reduced system efficiency and was widely panned. Critics considered the OS to be not quite complete, but packed with promising ideas.
• Windows 7 was released in 2009 was also a part of the Windows NT family and ruled the world personal computers all over the world for three years until 2012. Unlike Windows Vista, Windows 7 received glowing critical reviews as it not only increased system efficiency but also ran many complex programs quite quickly on desktop computers. It also perfected many of the perceived faults of Vista, including a better-looking graphics and more smooth User Interface (UI).
• 2012 was the year when Microsoft yet another major revolution when it released Windows 8. The OS was very similar to Windows 7 on the PC, but the real change was in the mobile market.
Now, with smartphones in a significant number of pockets and iPhones capturing the entire market, Microsoft decided to come up with a Windows phone to counter its archenemies. However, the device could never come near to what Apple’s iPhone was in the market. Microsoft was stuck with a tough challenge to operate Windows phone, while Apple was simplifying its device. Windows 8 got upgraded to 8.1 a year later in 2013, but that got a lacklustre response.
Eventually, in 2016, Mircosoft pulled out the mobile market entirely.
• The latest Windows, Windows 10, was released in 2015, which Microsoft has already called its last Operating System. A part of the Windows NT family, Windows 10 is an incredibly powerful compilation of various operations. It was a huge development by Microsoft as this version of Windows could do a lot more than just running the personal computers. Tablets, smartphones, embedded systems, Xbox One, Surface Hub, Windows Holographic, etc., could also use the OS after Windows 10 was launched.
Microsoft, however, has said that the company would not come up with any other OS in the future, but would keep upgrading Windows 10. The tech giant's faith in the OS itself shows that it has great prospects thanks to its updates in the future.
But, another fact can’t be denied is that this decision of Microsoft would give Apple a de facto monopoly over the market, especially now that Apple is set to celebrate the iPhone’s 10th anniversary next year.