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Comparison of Microsoft Windows versions. Microsoft Windows is the name of several families of computer software operating systems created by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs).
The 32-bit version can become the default Windows Shell. Windows XP x64 Edition also includes both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Internet Explorer 6, so that users can still use browser extensions or ActiveX controls that are not available in 64-bit versions. Only 64-bit drivers are supported in Windows XP x64 Edition, but 32-bit codecs are ...
The 32-bit variants of Windows 10 will remain available via non-OEM channels, and Microsoft will continue to "[provide] feature and security updates on these devices". This was later followed by Windows 11 dropping support for 32-bit hardware altogether, thus making Windows 10 the final version of Windows to have a 32-bit version available.
WoW64. In computing on Microsoft platforms, WoW64 ( W indows 32-bit o n W indows 64 -bit) is a subsystem of the Windows operating system capable of running 32-bit applications on 64-bit Windows. [1] It is included in all 64-bit versions of Windows, except in Windows Server Server Core where it is an optional component, and Windows Nano Server ...
Windows 8.1, a free upgrade to Windows 8, was released in 2013. The following version of Windows, Windows 10, which was released in 2015, reintroduced the Start menu and added the ability to run Universal Windows Platform apps in a window instead of always in full screen. Windows 10 was generally well-received, with many reviewers stating that ...
Windows Vista Windows 7 Windows 8.x Windows 10 Windows 11 Windows Defender: Available as a free download: Yes Yes (added antivirus capabilities, available in older versions as the Microsoft Security Essentials download) Windows Firewall: Yes Windows Security Center: Yes (starting with SP2) Yes Yes (replaced by Action Center)
Extended support ended on July 11, 2023. [5] Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012, made available for download via MSDN and TechNet on August 15, 2012, [6] and generally released for retail on October 26, 2012.
The Windows API, informally WinAPI, is the foundational application programming interface (API) that allows a computer program to access the features of the Microsoft Windows operating system in which the program is running. Each major version of the Windows API has another name that identifies a compatibility aspect of that version.