1985 - Microsoft releases Windows 1.0, a 16-bit DOS shell with a
graphical user interface that underwhelms a world used to the sophistication
of the Apple Macintosh.
1988 - David Cutler joins Microsoft to develop a next-generation,
32-bit, micro-kernel-based operating system.
1990 - Microsoft releases Windows 3.0, the first successful version of
Windows.
1992 - Microsoft releases Windows 3.1, a minor update to Windows 3.0
that sold millions and established Windows as a de-facto standard.
1993 - Microsoft releases Windows NT 3.1, the first version of Windows
NT. Windows NT 3.1 features the Windows user interface and a new 32-bit API
for programmers dubbed Win32.
1994 - Microsoft releases Windows NT 3.5, which focuses on size and
performance issues.
1995 - Microsoft releases Windows NT 3.51, and Windows 95, the 32-bit
successor to Windows 3.1. Both OSes feature a mostly-compatible Win32 API for
programmers, while Windows 95 offers up the new "Cairo" user
interface, now known as Explorer.
1996 - Microsoft releases Windows NT 4.0, which features the
"Cairo" user interface from Windows 95, some enhancements to Remote
Access Services (RAS), which becomes known as Dial-up Networking (DUN), and a
change in the display driver model, which moves into the kernel.
1997 - Microsoft releases Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise Edition, which
features Enterprise features such as large memory support and limited
clustering capabilities. Windows NT 5.0 Beta 1 is released.
1998 - Microsoft releases Windows 98, the Web-integrated successor to
Windows 95, and Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server, which brings multi-user
capabilities to NT. Windows NT 5.0 Beta 2 is released. Microsoft announces that
Windows NT 5.0 will be named Windows 2000 when it is released.
1999 - Microsoft releases Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) with some minor
changes and bug fixes.
2000 - Microsoft releases Windows 2000, the successor to Windows NT 4.0.
Windows 2000 ships in three Editions initially, Professional, Server, and Advanced
Server, with DataCenter Server Edition shipping separately in mid-2000. Microsoft also
releases the next Consumer Windows, Windows Millennium Edition ("Windows Me"),
which is based on the Windows 9x kernel.
2001 - Microsoft to release the next version of Windows 2000, code-name
"Whistler". This OS will also work with non-PC devices such as Web
terminals and game consoles.