History of Microsoft and how the Software Company Shaped the Technology Industry

Technology has come a long way from where it was in the 80s with the first computers being put into first-time production.

---

When I got my first computer it had Windows 98 as it's OS, Microsoft has versions of Windows that look different from each other, I could start with, say Windows 2.0 which only had so many gigs of space available for storage on the hard drive, which means you could only put so many programs on at a time. Now as time progressed and technology began advancing you had more details in the graphics of programs and services by the early 90s, and when Windows 95 came out everybody wanted what this version had to offer from it's faster processor to the beautiful colors and abilities older versions didn't offer.

Then in 1998 another updated version of 95 Windows 98 which as I said earlier my first system had installed on it came out with features like added security and a firewall for internet browsing with the pre-packaged Internet Explorer yet had the same idea and layout as the latter operating system. The image below is the Windows logo Microsoft used up until 2001.

When the year 2000 came there were two versions that came out with similar characteristics, the first was a trial version of Windows 2000 called Windows ME, the letters stood for Millinium, this system had multiple issues including crashing unexpectedly causing users to lose all of the data saved in storage, Microsoft eventually released Windows 2000 with all the kinks worked out that the beta version came with. I was aware of this as one of my grandparents had this and every time I used the Gateway computer she had it would crash right in the middle of a task, which was always a huge mess, if I had to come up with a nickname for ME it would be "The crash before the storm of Windows."

I also had a Gateway brand computer at my house and in 2001 we upgraded to Windows XP, which stood for experience, this brought fresh and crisp graphics that were pleasing to the eye, Windows changed the logo from a flag with dots to a gradient flag with the same color squares. My first time with XP was quite an interesting thing to see, everything looked so modern and crisp with a boost in security as well making Windows XP the top choice for both home and the office. I used Home Edition on my family computer and Business was installed on my school district's computers, the difference between these packages was mainly the programs they came with, an example could be the office suite with common things like Word and PowerPoint for presentations.

Then the mid 2000s brought in Windows Vista with an even greater emphasis on HD style contrast for modern day monitors, I got an E Machine for a Christmas present one year with the Home Premium installed and it was the best thing I got since XP came out, the Vista system needed a lot more memory to be put on older computers and mine I had before did not have enough space. Here is a glimpse of the early Vista logo.

Windows 7 would come along in 2010 which was another change in the logo and themes of the desktop itself, in this one the blue circle is dropped and it's back to just the iconic squares. The app interface is the mainstay for both Windows 7 and 8, I have a tablet with Windows RT on it which was optimized for tablets with it's touch friendly start menu. The Windows logo would again be updated to blue squares with a flat graphic.

That's how Windows and Microsoft changed how people use technology. I can see an awesome future for this company for a long time.

-Tristan