Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for servers, and Windows IoT for embedded systems. Defunct Windows families include Windows 9x, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone.
 | |
| Developer | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Source model | |
| Initial release | November 20, 1985 |
| Latest release | 22H2 (10.0.22621.1778) (May 24, 2023[1]) [±] |
| Latest preview |
22H2 (10.0.22621.1778) (May 24, 2023[2][3]) [±]
22H2 (10.0.22631.1830) (June 1, 2023[4]) [±]
10.0.23471.1000 (June 1, 2023[5]) [±]
|
| Marketing target | Personal computing |
| Available in | 110 languages |
| Update method | |
| Package manager | Windows Installer (.msi, .msix, .msp), Microsoft Store (.appx, .appxbundle),[7] Windows Package Manager |
| Platforms | IA-32, x86-64, ARM, ARM64 Previously: 16-bit x86, DEC Alpha, MIPS, PowerPC, Itanium |
| Kernel type |
|
| Default user interface | Windows shell |
| License | Proprietary commercial software |
| Official website | windows |
The first version of Windows was released on November 20, 1985, as a graphical operating system shell for MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs).[8]
Windows is the most popular desktop operating system in the world, with 75% market share as of April 2022[update], according to StatCounter.[9] However, Windows is not the most used operating system when including both mobile and desktop OSes, due to Android's massive growth.[10]
As of September 2022[update], the most recent version of Windows is Windows 11 for consumer PCs and tablets, Windows 11 Enterprise for corporations, and Windows Server 2022 for servers.