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Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of operating systems. The first operating system in the 9x family, it is the successor to Windows 3.1x, and was released to manufacturing on July 14, 1995, and generally to retail on August 24, 1995, almost three months after the release of Windows NT 3.51. Windows 95 merged Microsoft's formerly separate MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows products, and featured significant improvements over its predecessor, most notably in the graphical user interface (GUI) and in its simplified "plug-and-play" features. There were also major changes made to the core components of the operating system, such as moving from a mainly cooperatively multitasked 16-bit architecture to a 32-bit preemptive multitasking architecture, at least when running only 32-bit protected mode applications.Microsoft Windows 95
A version of the Windows 9x operating system
Startup Sound
Developer:
Microsoft
Source model:
Closed source
Released to
manufacturing:
July 14, 1995; 26 years ago
General
availability:
August 24, 1995; 26 years ago
Latest release:
OEM Service Release 2.5 (4.0.950 C) / November 26, 1997; 24 years ago
Platforms:
IA-32
Kernel type:
Monolithic
License:
Proprietary commercial software
Preceded by:
Windows 3.1x
A version of the Microsoft Windows operating system
Startup Sound
Developer:
Microsoft
Source model:
Closed source
Released to
manufacturing:
April 6, 1992; 30 years ago
Latest release:
3.11 / December 31, 1993; 28 years ago
License:
Commercial software
Preceded by:
Windows 3.0
Succeeded by:
Windows 95
Windows NT 3.1
Support status:
Retail:
Unsupported as of December 31, 2001
WFW 3.11 embedded:
Unsupported as of November 1, 2008
On December 31, 2001, Microsoft declared Windows 3.1 obsolete and stopped providing support and updates for the system. However, OEM licensing for Windows for Workgroups 3.11 on embedded systems continued to be available until November 1, 2008.
Succeeded by:
Microsoft Windows 98
A version of the Windows 9x operating system
Startup Sound
Developer:
Microsoft
Source model:
Closed source
Released to
manufacturing:
May 15, 1998; 23 years ago
General
availability:
June 25, 1998; 23 years ago
Final release:
Second Edition (4.10.2222 A) / May 5, 1999; 22 years ago
Platforms:
IA-32
Kernel type:
Monolithic kernel (DOS)
License:
Commercial software
Preceded by:
page=dispatch/id=1696449
Succeeded by:
Windows Me (2000)
Official website:
Windows 98
Support status:
Mainstream support ended on June 30, 2002
Extended support ended on July 11, 2006
Windows 98 is a heavily web-integrated operating system that bears numerous similarities to its predecessor and relies on the HTML language. Most of its improvements were cosmetic or designed to improve the user experience, but there were also a handful of features introduced to enhance system functionality and capabilities, including improved USB support and accessibility, as well as support for hardware advancements such as DVD players. Windows 98 was the first edition of Windows to adopt the Windows Driver Model, and introduced features that would become standard in future generations of Windows, such as Disk Cleanup, Windows Update, multi-monitor support, and Internet Connection Sharing.
Microsoft had marketed Windows 98 as a "tune-up" to Windows 95, rather than an entirely improved next generation of Windows. Upon release, it was generally well-received for its web-integrated interface and ease of use, as well as its addressing of issues present in Windows 95, although some pointed out that it was not significantly more stable than its predecessor. Windows 98 sold an estimated 58 million licenses, and saw one major update, known as Windows 98 Second Edition (SE), released on May 5, 1999. After the release of its successor, Windows Me in 2000, mainstream support for Windows 98 and 98 SE ended on June 30, 2002, followed by extended support on July 11, 2006.
Official website:
Windows 95
Support status:
Mainstream support ended on December 31, 2000
Extended support ended on December 31, 2001
Accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign, Windows 95 introduced numerous functions and features that were featured in later Windows versions, such as the taskbar, notification area, and the "Start" button.
Three years after its introduction, Windows 95 was followed by Windows 98. Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows 95 on December 31, 2000. Like Windows NT 3.51, Windows 95 received only one year of extended support, which means that support for Windows 95 would end on the same day as support for Windows NT 3.51 Workstation would, on December 31, 2001.