First Windows was released 40 years ago
Windows 1.0 and 11 Source: Wikipedia/Microsoft
Forty years ago, on 20 November 1985, Microsoft released Windows 1.0, a graphical shell for MS DOS that ran on 8088 based PCs with as little as 256 KB of RAM. It used tiled windows, menus and mouse input on top of DOS applications and was more a GUI layer than a full operating system, but it set the Windows name on the path that still defines the PC desktop today.
From there the platform moved fast. Windows 2.0 in December 1987 added overlapping and resizable windows, edging closer to what we now think of as a standard desktop, while Windows 3.0 and 3.1 in 1990 and 1992 overhauled the interface, brought Program Manager, icons, TrueType fonts and basic multimedia, and finally turned Windows into a best seller. Windows 95 in August 1995 introduced the Start menu, taskbar and a mostly 32 bit desktop, then Windows 98, Me and 2000 pushed better USB support, power management and the NT kernel into homes and offices. XP in 2001 unified the consumer and business lines, Vista in 2007 delivered Aero (hey Apple!) and a new driver model, and Windows 7 in 2009 cleaned that up into what many still see as the peak “classic” Windows release.
Windows 95 and Windows 7, Source: Wikipedia
Windows releases:
- Windows 1.0 – 20 Nov 1985
- Windows 2.0 – 9 Dec 1987
- Windows 3.0 – 22 May 1990
- Windows 3.1 – 6 Apr 1992
- Windows 95 – 24 Aug 1995
- Windows 98 – 25 Jun 1998
- Windows Me – 14 Sep 2000
- Windows 2000 – 17 Feb 2000
- Windows XP – 25 Oct 2001
- Windows Vista – 30 Jan 2007
- Windows 7 – 22 Oct 2009
- Windows 8 – 26 Oct 2012
- Windows 8.1 – 17 Oct 2013
- Windows 10 – 29 Jul 2015
- Windows 11 – 5 Oct 2021
Later releases shifted focus again. Windows 8’s Metro Start screen tried to merge desktop and tablet usage with full screen tiles instead of the old Start menu, while 8.1 softened that move with easier desktop access. I still remember half of my family asking how to disable it.
Windows 10 in 2015 blended the two worlds into a Start menu that mixed a classic list with live tiles, adopted a Windows as a service model with frequent feature drops and made DirectX 12 the baseline API for modern games. With regular support for Windows 10 officially ending on 14 October 2025, that chapter has now closed for most users.
Windows 11 and AI focus
Windows 11, released in October 2021, keeps the NT core but pushes harder into a new look and new business priorities: centered taskbar, rounded UI, locked down hardware requirements, and deep OS level AI with Copilot, Recall and now agent style automation. There has been a push for better gaming experience as well, with special version for ASUS Xbox gaming handheld.
Windows is evolving into an agentic OS, connecting devices, cloud, and AI to unlock intelligent productivity and secure work anywhere. Join us at #MSIgnite to see how frontier firms are transforming with Windows and what’s next for the platform. We can’t wait to show you!…
— Pavan Davuluri (@pavandavuluri) November 10, 2025
Jeez there so many cynics! It cracks me up when I hear people call AI underwhelming. I grew up playing Snake on a Nokia phone! The fact that people are unimpressed that we can have a fluent conversation with a super smart AI that can generate any image/video is mindblowing to me.
— Mustafa Suleyman (@mustafasuleyman) November 19, 2025
My first Windows was 95 and Windows 7 is easily my favorite. With Windows 11, I’m starting to lose track of what was added and why. The tweets above may explain it.
