Windows

Introduction

Microsoft Windows is a series of graphical interface operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Microsoft.

Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as a graphical operating system shell for MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUI). Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal computer market with over 90% market share, overtaking Mac OS, which had been introduced in 1984.

As of April 2013, the most recent versions of Windows for personal computers,mobile devices, server computers and embedded devices are respectivelyWindows 8, Windows Phone 8, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Embedded 8.

operating system designed and produced by Microsoft Corporation. Similar to other operating systems, Windows makes a computer system user-friendly by providing a graphical display and organizing information so that it can be easily accessed. The operating system utilizes icons and tools that simplify the complex operations performed by computers. Estimates suggest that 90% of personal computers use the Windows operating system. Microsoft introduced the operating system in 1985 and it has continued to be widely used despite competition from Apple's Macintosh operating system.

Importance of operating system

Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also include accounting for cost allocation of processor time, mass storage, printing, and other resources.

For hardware functions such as input and output and memory allocation, the operating system acts as an intermediary between programs and the computer hardware,[1][2] although the application code is usually executed directly by the hardware and will frequently make a system call to an OS function or be interrupted by it. Operating systems can be found on almost any device that contains a computer—from cellular phones and video game...