Interesting facts about windows 7. Interesting facts and useful tips. Operating system MS-DOS

In 1975, Gates and Allen created a company called Microsoft. Like most newly created enterprises, Microsoft begins its history on a small scale, but has a global goal - a computer for every desktop and in every home. Over the next few years, Microsoft begins to change the way society operates.

In June 1980, Gates and Allen hire Steve Ballmer ( Steve Ballmer), with whom Gates attended Harvard University, to help run the company. Next month, IBM approaches Microsoft about a project code-named Chess. As a result, Microsoft is concentrating its efforts on a new operating system - software, which controls the operation of computer hardware and acts as a link between hardware and programs, e.g. word processor. It is a platform on which programs can be executed. The company named its new operating system MS‑DOS.

When the IBM PC personal computer running MS‑DOS was released in 1981, the public was absolutely new language. Typing various fancy commands after “C:” is slowly becoming part of everyday work. Users discover the backslash (\) key.

operating system MS‑DOS has proven to be effective, but difficult for many people to understand. Therefore, a better way to create an operating system is required.

Windows was probably the first operating system that no one ordered from Gates, and he undertook to develop it at his own peril and risk. What's so special about it? Firstly, the graphical interface. At that time only the notorious MacOS. Secondly, multitasking. Of course, some operating systems allowed you to run an additional task in the background, but they were painfully hemorrhoids. In general, in November 1985 it was released Windows 1.0.

The windows in it did not overlap; on 8086 processors the kernel was terribly buggy due to the obvious lack of optimization for this stone. The main platform was the 286th vehicle. Exactly two years later, in November 1987, it was released Windows 2.0, a year and a half later 2.10 was released. There was nothing special about them, except that the windows learned to overlap.

May 1990, a time of great achievements and overthrows. In short, I left Windows 3.0. What was not there: DOS applications ran in a separate window on full screen, and Copy-Paste worked to exchange data with DOS applications, and Windows itself worked in several memory modes: in real ( basic 640 KB), in protected ( version 80286) and extended ( 80386 ). At the same time, it was possible to run applications whose size exceeds the size of physical memory. There was also dynamic data exchange ( DDE A couple of years later, version Windows 3.1 was released, which no longer included hemorrhoids with basic memory ( If anyone launched old games, they remember how they required either 560 kB or some more, although the RAM could have been 16 MB). A newfangled gadget was also introduced that supports True Type fonts. Normal operation in the local network is ensured. Drag&Drop appeared ( moving files and directories with the mouse). OLE appeared ( Object Linking & Embedding). In version Windows 3.11, network support was improved and several more minor features were introduced. Windows was released at the same time NT 3.5, which at that time was a collection of basic networking gadgets taken from OS/2.

In June 1995, the entire computer community was excited by Microsoft's announcement of the release in August of a new operating system, significantly different from Windows 3.11, but at the same time following the canons of MS - windows and more windows. August 24th – official release date Windows-95 (other names: Windows 4.0, Windows Chicago). Now it was not just an operating environment - it was a full-fledged operating system that did not require a disk operating system to boot. The 32-bit kernel made it possible to improve access to files and network features. 32-bit applications were better protected from each other's errors, and there was support for multi-user mode on one computer with one system. There are many differences in the interface, a lot of settings and improvements “for the user” - just the Start button, which has become a byword, is worth it...

There was also an update specifically for Windows 3.1x - OSR1, which was not installed from DOS, but simply upgraded the “three-elevens”. By the way, the delivery included the so-called DOS 7.0, which, unfortunately, had strong differences from DOS 6.22 and, alas, not for the better.

In 1996 it was published Windows-95 OSR2 ( if I'm not mistaken, this stands for Open Service Release). The distribution included Internet Explorer 3.0 and some ancient version of Outlook ( then simply called Exchange). The main features include FAT32 support, an improved hardware and driver initializer. Some settings (including video) can be changed without rebooting. There was also built-in DOS 7.10 with FAT32 support

Blackcomb.

Code name Blackcomb belonged to Windows NT 6.0, the operating system that was planned to be the next after Windows XP. Blackcomb was intended to be the successor to this OS for both desktop and server workstations. In late 2001, Blackcomb was scheduled for release in 2005, and in August 2002 it was announced that Windows Longhorn would be an interim release, which would be an update to the Windows NT 5.x kernel.

During development Windows Longhorn some Blackcomb features were added to it and assigned the number 6.0. Blackcomb has been surrounded by confusion, with some reports suggesting that marketing plans have been heavily revised and that it should be a Windows 6.x server OS, but with improvements.

In January 2006, Microsoft announced that the new client OS would be Vienna, which was scheduled for release in 2010.

In March 2006, it became known that the successor to Windows Vista would be Fiji, which was scheduled for release in 2008.

In 2008, as a result of complaints from Fijians that the new OS would be named after their country, new information about Fiji became known. According to Fijians, Ben Green said that Fiji will add new TV formats, support for interactive services and user interface improvements for Windows Media Center. It is likely that the Windows Media Center program included with Windows 7 has already been updated with changes that were supposed to be in Fiji.

Windows 7

Windows 7- operating system of the Windows NT family, following Windows Vista. In the Windows NT line, the system has version number 6.1 (Windows 2000 - 5.0, Windows XP - 5.1, Windows Server 2003 - 5.2, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 - 6.0). The server version is Windows Server 2008 R2, the version for integrated systems is Windows Embedded Standard 2011 (Quebec), the mobile version is Windows Embedded Compact 2011 (Chelan, Windows CE 7.0)

The operating system went on sale on October 22, 2009, less than three years after the release of the previous operating system, Windows Vista. Partners and clients with a Volume Licensing license were granted access to RTM on July 24, 2009. The final (copy from disks that later went on sale) pirated version was available to everyone from the first days of August 2009.

Windows 7 includes some developments that were excluded from Windows Vista, as well as innovations in the interface and built-in programs. The games Inkball and Ultimate Extras were excluded from Windows 7; applications that have analogues in Windows Live ( Windows Mail, Windows Calendar, etc..), Microsoft Agent technology, Windows Meeting Space; The option to return to the classic menu and automatic docking of the browser and email client have disappeared from the Start menu.

On July 24, 2007, Microsoft officially changed the code name Vienna on Windows 7. The number of Windows 7 in the NT line in which it will be located is 6.1 ( at one time, systems of this family received the numbers: Windows 2000 - 5.0, Windows XP - 5.1, Windows Server 2003 - 5.2, Windows Vista - 6.0, Windows Server 2008 - 6.0).

On October 13, 2008, Microsoft Vice President Mike Nash announced that the code name Windows 7 would become the official name of the new version. Initial edition ( Windows 7 Starter) will be distributed exclusively with new computers, it will not include functional parts for playing H.264, AAC, MPEG-2.

An amazing feature of man is the herd feeling. At certain points in time, the part of the brain that is responsible for the mind is switched off and copying the behavior of others is turned on. Of course, you understand everything, we are talking about the fact that you are all diligently paying one well-known American corporation with money, time and nerves, ask the question “why?” Yes, of course, most of you, following the tradition established during Perestroika, use Windows. Moreover, the majority of this majority will not be able, upon closer examination, to explain why they do this. Linux is much more convenient and stable than Windows, it’s just that Microsoft’s marketers managed to get other people into the head. Meanwhile, the author of this blog uses Linux Fedora, and the blog itself (web server) also runs on Linux Gentoo. Let's tell you some more interesting facts about Linux:

1. The first Linux was written in 1991 by Finnish student Linus Torvalds. Now this operating system is being created by many hundreds of thousands of developers around the world, including full-time developers of such well-known corporations as IBM, Intel, Google, Samsung, Oracle, Hitachi, LG Electronics, NEC, Sony, Panasonic, Qualcomm. For comparison, Microsoft has about 80,000 developers and they released their first iconic Windows 95... Guess what year...

2. Linux can be found on over 87% of systems and on ~500 of the world's top supercomputers. Most smartphones and smartwatches run Android modified with Linux, and your router most likely runs Linux too.

3. The Linux kernel is written in C.

4. Now the share of code written by Linus Torvalds in the kernel is less than 2%, however, it is Linus who is the main developer and makes the decision to include the code in the kernel and release the next version.

5. The Linux kernel version 1.0.0 was released at 176,250 lines of code. The Linux kernel currently consists of more than 10 million lines of code.

6. An asteroid (Torvalds) and its satellite (Linus) were named in honor of Linus Torvalds.

7. Linux is the most easily portable operating system, capable of running both on a watch and in a supercluster consisting of several floors of servers.

8. The official mascot of the Linux operating system is a penguin named Tux. According to legend, a penguin pecked Linus at the zoo, after which they began a friendship.

9. At first, Torvalds wanted to name his brainchild Freax (a hybrid of the words free, freak and the letter X, denoting belonging to Unix systems), but the system administrator, who allocated him space on the server for distributing the operating system, named the directory Linux.

10. Linux principles are taken from Unix systems and tested by their long history.

11. When the uninitiated talk about Linux, they think of something complicated from a hacker movie, while many handy graphical tools appeared in Linux long before Microsoft could. Much in Windows is done so inconveniently and clumsily that Linux users who have to use Windows swear a lot.

12. After Windows 8 came out, many users switched to Linux because it was more familiar than the Windows hack.

13. The Linux operating system has nothing to do with the drug called "Linex"

14. The "vanilla kernel" is not ice cream, but an unmodified version of the Linux kernel.

15. There are many different games for Linux, in a variety of genres.

16. Linux can be updated while you're using it. There are no forced updates or reboots.

17. Linux can run Windows programs, but not vice versa.

18. Linux code is open, you can always see what exactly is running on your computer. Windows collects your data and sends it to someone...

19. Linux is run by the community, eliminating the situation, as in the case of Windows 8, when everyone gave a damn about the final result. Even if you remain in the minority, it will be possible to install a different graphical environment.

20. Linux does not have one shell, like Windows. There are many of them. Look at the pictures using the keywords Gnome, KDE, XFCE, Unity, choose the one you like.

21. Linux can also run on old and weak computers. Look at LUbuntu or Puppy Linux. Puppy can even run on 256MB of RAM!

22. The absence of viruses in Linux is not a myth. More precisely, there are viruses, but most of them work on the Brute force principle, i.e. They are not capable of doing more than trying out passwords for your computer.

23. In Linux, you don't have to surf the Internet to download a program. Programs are selected in a convenient application store (like Google Play). Windows is just starting to try to implement this.

24. On Linux, programs don't store their settings in an ever-swelling registry. For this reason, it does not need to be reinstalled once a year, and settings from a computer to another can be transferred by simply copying it.

25. The Linux community is so large that you will find a place to ask your question if something doesn't work. In any language.

1. All printed text

It doesn't matter what application you use. Keystrokes are intercepted at the operating system level, the data is collected into packets and sent once every 30 minutes to Microsoft servers.
Formal explanation from Microsoft: needed to improve the performance of the predictive input system (faster text typing).

2. Geolocation data

And names of Wi-Fi networks nearby. They accumulate and are transmitted every 30 minutes. Allows you to track the user’s physical movements with an accuracy of several meters.
Microsoft's explanation: The data is needed for the Bing search engine to provide more relevant answers.
What this means for the user: Microsoft knows your home address. If you have mobile device with Windows 10, Microsoft knows every place you go.

3. Record from a microphone

The microphone in Windows 10 is always on. At first it was suggested that this was necessary for the operation of the Cortana service (voice assistant), but a little later it became known that disabling Cortana does not solve the problem. User voice recordings can accumulate, some of them are sent to Microsoft servers.

4. Telemetry

A fantastic feature in its potential unsafety, which is not even hidden by the developer company. Telemetry is the transmission of data to Microsoft about the state of your computer and your activity. Literally everything is collected: which programs are installed, which are running, the amount of occupied memory, application logs, fragments of RAM, and so on.
Considering that anything can be in RAM - from data for official use to credit card numbers - such transfer to other people's servers is a potential vulnerability.

5. Fight against piracy

Windows 10 looks at the names of user files and checks them against a constantly updated list of pirated new products. If matches are found, user directory listings are sent to Microsoft. In fact, the computer denounces its own owner.
Let us remind you that data on the anti-piracy activity of Windows 10 has been known for a long time. But it was assumed that the emphasis would be on combating counterfeit games. It is now becoming clear that the main goal is to deprive users of the ability to download pirated copies of American films and TV series from torrents.

6. Portrait for memory

Some users have noticed that after the first activation of Windows 10, the webcam turns on for a short period. Research confirms this - 35 MB of data is transferred to Microsoft immediately after activating and turning on the built-in camera. Presumably, the data is tied to the user's Microsoft account.

Even people far from IT technologies have heard about Microsoft Windows. According to figures from July 2017, Windows is installed on 35.7% of all computers in the world. The corporation itself ranks first in the world in terms of software distribution rates and coverage of the Internet technology market segment itself. The company did not reach such indicators right away and, of course, its path was not a well-trodden path, since Microsoft Windows is a kind of pioneer among the operating systems and it was this company that had to “hit” more than a dozen bumps before universal recognition.

A brief excursion into history

Microsoft itself has officially been operating on the market since 1975. On at the moment it is one of the largest in the world and sells software not only for PCs, but also for other computer equipment, including set-top boxes, PDAs, and its own line of smartphones.

Windows is the main brainchild of the corporation, an operating system with a priority for the graphical component in the management process, which is also not without oddities in its history of formation. The first release took place on November 20, 1985.

Scandals surrounding Microsoft monopoly

There are many scandals in the history of Microsoft, Windows, and Office, the essence of which lies in the corporation’s claims to monopoly within the segment. No need to look too far, the latest “showdown” between Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft over the position of browsers in Windows 10 is a clear confirmation that the company is not losing its ambitions to conquer the entire market as a whole.

In addition, on November 10, 2016, the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia registered a claim from Kaspersky Lab regarding Microsoft’s monopolistic behavior in the context of the services provided in the field of anti-virus software. In early versions of Microsoft Windows 10, it is quite difficult to disable the built-in antivirus. He even considers some programs from other developers to be spyware and removes them.

Operating system MS-DOS

Despite the fact that the “first try” of Microsoft Windows, namely the MS-DOS disk operating system, was not received very well on the market, the project as a whole was considered successful. This version of the software was released in the 80s and early 90s, was modeled on the x86 system and was distinguished by a significant number of “holes” in the code. Also, few people know, but the truly first OS from Microsoft is XENIX, it was developed for UNIX, but for some reason the project was closed. MS-DOS is considered a "dirty" version of the UNIX original and, according to unconfirmed rumors, was released in an incredible hurry.

Windows 95-98

The first version of the OS, controlled via a graphical manipulator rather than a text string, was introduced in 1995. Without taking into account the NT OS version, this software is considered the corporation's first serious commercial success in the field of Internet technologies. The OS was intended primarily for the retail, home segment of customers, rather than the business sector. In addition, it was this version of Microsoft Windows that became iconic for the company as a whole. Having replaced Windows 3.0, the OS came out under its own brand with the famous “windows”.

Windows 95 - latest version the original OS, which can be installed using floppy disks. More precisely, we are talking about 13 floppy disks and a minimum version of software. The famous singer and showman Bob Rivers dedicated an entire musical composition to this version of the OS, in which he tried to describe how tired he was of the constant crashes. Despite some skepticism, Windows 95 turned out to be competitive, and the 98th version of the OS only strengthened the position of the software.

Windows 2000

If the previous OS was a hybrid for 16 and 32-bit systems, then Win2k became a real breakthrough in an already well-trodden field. This project was supposed to be the "swan song" of the NT project inside Microsoft Windows, but it was released under its own brand. There is now support for installing software and drivers via a USB port, as well as wireless technologies.

In general, according to reviews, Windows 2000 is one of the corporation's most successful ideas and is extremely stable. Few people know, but this version was the first to introduce File Protection from digging.

Windows XP

Minus the not-so-new Millennium Edition, which was introduced in 2000, Windows XP has become Microsoft's main trump card, which has given it the loyalty of users. An interesting fact: the development of the OS took 600 days; 5,734 people were employed in the project, which was a record number for the corporation at that time. Several innovations appeared in the OS, for example, “Start” was divided into two columns, and the integrated software acquired new “skins” and innovations.

On the eve of the first teasers of the OS to the public, the corporation's marketing department came up with a slogan that was supposed to personify the speed of Windows XP. It sounded like Prepare to Fly, but it was replaced due to the unpleasant analogy to the events of September 11, 2001. Later, the familiar Yes You Can appeared (translation - “Yes, you can”).

Windows Vista

From the point of view of users, this is the first failure of the corporation. Replacing the classic interface with a new one, which is also quite inconvenient, became one of the key disadvantages of this version of the OS, which was released on January 30, 2007. The OS turned out to be extremely “heavy”, almost 1.4 times larger than the size of the XP version. In addition, the sold-out circulation hardly repaid the corporation's costs. The bet on the home segment and exclusive for PC did not work, leaving the company behind its competitors.

This is the first OS version from the company to feature an integrated sidebar that complements the control panel. It also became possible to add a transparency effect to the Windows Aero design. Some supporters of the original version of the OS said that Windows created a graphically improved, but technically worse Windows XP.

Windows 7

In 2009, Windows 7 was released, becoming the corporation's second major success in the global market. The graphical component of the system has become better; themes that looked crude in Windows Vista have become one of the most popular tools and a reason for creativity among users. Integrated Windows Search has been improved, made more complete, and functionality expanded. Technically, Windows 7 has become more advanced. The corporation did not provide stunning innovations, but the OS has become much more stable in operation. It is no longer supported by the company, but is still popular.

Microsoft Office for Windows 7 is considered one of the most convenient text editors in the entire line. The program has acquired many useful functions and is also in demand. Microsoft visual Windows 7 has also been improved and has a more user-friendly interface.

Windows 8

"Eight" appeared in public format in 2012. Not everyone appreciated the “tiles,” but luckily the innovations didn’t end there. A task manager appeared, parameters synchronization, as well as the corporation’s first commercial efforts inside its own software. By the way, there is an interesting incident associated with the popularization of Windows Store. Valve criticized Windows 8 on the eve of the latter's presentation due to the fact that it feared for the position of Steam against the backdrop of Microsoft's internal store. This was one of the first accusations against the company of monopolizing the software segment.

Windows 10

The current version of Windows was introduced in 2015 and remains the most controversial. Microsoft was accused of forcibly distributing the OS among licensed users, infringing on the rights of other software developers, creating a market imbalance, promoting its own projects within an already promoted brand, and commercializing the process as a whole. It will be enough to mention that the OS was updated on its own, completely ignoring the user’s attempts to cancel the process. For a short period, Microsoft Office for Windows 10 was not available at all in the company's business package.

Other software

Incidents also occurred with other software from Microsoft. Microsoft Office Window 7 remains one of the company's most successful third-party projects, but Office, released in 2010, has acquired its own fans. For example, this particular version has a convenient interface for integrating visual content within a document. Also, Microsoft Windows 2010, namely the Office package, received more convenient tools for managing documentation, creating screenshots and sending papers by mail. And, for example, Excel was created entirely as software for the Macintosh.

As you can see, the history of the formation of Microsoft is rich in all sorts of incidents and “interesting things”. It is impossible to cover them all, since the corporation has been reaching its positions for more than three decades. However, given the current trend, commercial motives within the company can cancel out the hard-earned audience and simply set the company back.