Windows 2.0 Explained

Version Of:Microsoft Windows
Windows 2.0
Logo Alt:Logo of Microsoft Windows 2.0x versions
Developer:Microsoft
Family:Microsoft Windows
Source Model:Closed source
Latest Release Version:2.03
License:Commercial software
Preceded By:Windows 1.0 (1985)
Succeeded By:Windows 2.1 (1988)
Support Status:Unsupported as of December 31, 2001

Windows 2.0 is a major release of Microsoft Windows, a family of graphical operating systems for personal computers developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on December 9, 1987, as a successor to Windows 1.0.

The product includes two different variants: a base edition for 8086 real mode, and Windows/386, an enhanced edition for i386 protected mode. Windows 2.0 differs from its predecessor by allowing users to overlap and resize application windows, while the operating environment also introduced desktop icons, keyboard shortcuts, and support for 16-color VGA graphics. It also introduced Microsoft Word and Excel.

Noted as an improvement of its predecessor, Microsoft Windows gained more sales and popularity after the release of the operating environment, although it is also considered to be the incarnation that remained a work in progress. Due to the introduction of overlapping windows, Apple Inc. had filed a lawsuit against Microsoft in March 1988 after accusing them of violating copyrights Apple held; in the end, however, the judge ruled in favor of Microsoft. The operating environment was succeeded by Windows 2.1 in May 1988, while Microsoft ended its support on December 31, 2001.

Release versions

The operating environment came in two different variants with different names and CPU support.[1] [2] The basic edition supported the 8086 mode of the 80386 microprocessor.[3] Despite its configuration, the variant was fully operational on an 8088 or 8086 processor, although the high memory area would not be available on an 8086-class processor;[4] [5] however, expanded memory could still be used.[6] [7] IBM's PS/2 Model 25, which had an option to ship with a "DOS 4.00 and Windows kit" for educational markets, shipped Windows with 8086 hardware.[8] [9] The basic edition would be later renamed to Windows/286 with the release of Windows 2.1 in 1988.

The other variant, named Windows/386, was available as early as September 1987,[10] pre-dating the release of Windows 2.0 in December 1987.[11] [12] It was much more advanced than its other sibling.[13] [14] It introduced a protected mode kernel, above which the GUI and applications run as a virtual 8086 mode task.[15] [16] The variant had fully preemptive multitasking, and allowed several MS-DOS programs to run in parallel in "virtual 8086" CPU mode, rather than always suspending background applications.[17] With the exception of a few kilobytes of overhead, each DOS application could use any available low memory before Windows was started.[18] Windows/386 also provided EMS emulation, using the memory management features of the i386 to make RAM beyond 640k behave like the banked memory previously only supplied by add-in cards and used by popular DOS applications.[19] There was no support for disk-based virtual memory, so multiple DOS programs had to fit inside the available physical memory.[20] Users could run more applications on the 386 version.[21]

Neither of these versions worked with DOS memory managers like CEMM or QEMM or with DOS extenders, which have their own extended memory management and run in protected mode as well.[22] This was remedied in version 3.0, which is compatible with Virtual Control Program Interface (VCPI) in "standard mode" and with DOS Protected Mode Interface (DPMI) in "386 enhanced" mode.[23] [24] Microsoft ended its support for Windows 2.0 on December 31, 2001.[25] [26]

Features

Unlike its predecessor, Windows 2.0 allows the user to overlap and resize application windows.[27] [28] It has also introduced desktop icons, keyboard shortcuts, and the terminology "minimize" and "maximize", as opposed to "iconize" and "zoom" which was used in Windows 1.0.[29] Support for 16-color VGA graphics, EMS memory, and new capabilities of the i386 CPU in some versions were also added.[30] Windows 2.0 is the last version of Windows that ran solely on floppy disks.[31]

The operating environment is shipped with fifteen programs,[32] and it also introduced the GUI based programs Microsoft Word and Excel, to compete against the then-reigning competitors WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3. Software such as the Aldus Pagemaker and CorelDRAW were also developed for Windows 2.0.[33] It is also the first Windows version to integrate the Control Panel and program information files.[34] [35]

The Windows API functions are largely handled by KERNEL.EXE, USER.EXE, and GDI.EXE. These files along with device drivers, printer drivers being the exception, are combined by the Windows setup program into WIN200.BIN and WIN200.OVL.[36] The system files WINOLDAP.MOD and WINOLDAP.GRB are used to run MS-DOS programs.

IBM licensed Windows's GUI for OS/2 as Presentation Manager, and the two companies stated that it and Windows 2.0 would be almost identical.[37]

System requirements

The official system requirements for Windows 2.0 include the following.

! style="width: 45%;"
Windows 2.01[38] Windows 2.03[39]
CPU80286 or 80386 processor
RAM512 KB of memory
StorageTwo double-sided floppy disk drives or a hard disk
VideoEGA or VGA adapters
OSMS-DOS 3.0 or higher
MouseA Microsoft-compatible pointing device is recommended, but not required

Windows 2.0 was dependent on the DOS system and random-access memory was restricted to a maximum of 1 MB due to running in real mode.

Reception

Windows 2.0 is considered to be an incremental improvement of its predecessor, but still a work in process.[40] Due to its improvements, Microsoft Windows gained more popularity after its release and its interface was considered to be easier to manage.[41] Stewart Alsop II predicted in January 1988 that "Any transition to a graphical environment on IBM-style machines is bound to be maddeningly slow and driven strictly by market forces", because the GUI had "serious deficiencies" and users had to switch to DOS for many tasks. CNET considered that Windows 2.0 "wasn't much better than Windows 1.0".[42] BYTE magazine listed the variant as among the "distinction" winner of the BYTE Awards in 1989, describing it as a "serious competition for OS/2" as it "taps into the power of the 80386".[43]

The operating environment cost $99.[44] Sales of Microsoft Windows reached one million in 1988, and by January 1990, it had reached less than two million, although Windows 2.0 was not widely used.[45] [46] It was succeeded by Windows 2.1, which was released in the United States and Canada in May 1988.[47]

Legal conflict with Apple

See main article: ''Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp.''. On March 17, 1988, Apple Inc. filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, accusing them of violating copyrights Apple held on the Macintosh System Software.[48] [49] Apple claimed the "look and feel" of the Macintosh operating system, taken as a whole, was protected by copyright and that Windows 2.0 violated this copyright by having the same icons.[50] [51] [52] The judge ruled in favor of Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft on all but 10 of the 189 graphical user interface elements on which Apple sued, and the court found the remaining 10 GUI elements could not be copyrighted.[53]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Byte . McGraw-Hill . 1990 . 15 . 131 . en . July 2, 2022 . September 8, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210908021705/https://books.google.com/books?id=jTRVAAAAMAAJ&q=infoworld+%22windows%2F286%22 . live .
  2. News: Miller . Michael . April 13, 1987 . First Look . 9 . 46 . InfoWorld . InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. . September 16, 2022 . 0199-6649 . September 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220922143213/https://books.google.com/books?id=HDwEAAAAMBAJ . live .
  3. News: November 24, 1987 . Apple Takes on IBM . 6 . 170 . PC Magazine . Ziff Davis, Inc. . 20 . April 18, 2022 . 0888-8507 . April 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220407091647/https://books.google.com/books?id=KU7dCBpP7fsC . live .
  4. News: September 27, 1988 . High-Impact Graphics . 7 . 38 . PC Magazine . Ziff Davis, Inc. . 16 . live . April 18, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220702112502/https://books.google.com/books?id=UenCawr7OowC . July 2, 2022 . 0888-8507.
  5. News: Patton . Carole . Mace . Scott . July 4, 1988 . Windows Gets More Memory With Upgrade . 10 . 1 . Info World . InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. . July 9, 2022 . 0199-6649 . September 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220922142905/https://books.google.com/books?id=4z4EAAAAMBAJ . live .
  6. News: Lendino . Jamie . November 20, 2015 . Microsoft Windows turns 30: A brief retrospective . ExtremeTech . July 9, 2022 . December 23, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191223025101/https://www.extremetech.com/computing/218336-microsoft-windows-turns-30-a-brief-retrospective . live .
  7. News: Jones . Stephen . November 9, 1987 . Testers laud soon-to-ship Windows/386 . 21 . 20 . Computerworld . IDG Enterprise . July 10, 2022 . 0010-4841 . September 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220922143221/https://books.google.com/books?id=0OuJCcQkEzEC . live .
  8. Book: IBM Personal System 2 and IBM Personal Computer Product Reference . IBM . 1988 . 4 . New York . 78.
  9. News: Miller . Michael . August 17, 1987 . First Look . 9 . 44 . Info World . InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. . July 9, 2022 . 0199-6649 . April 8, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220408145524/https://books.google.com/books?id=2jsEAAAAMBAJ . live .
  10. News: Keefe . Patricia . April 30, 1990 . For many, DOS can still do it . 24 . 13 . Computerworld . IDG Enterprise . July 10, 2022 . 0010-4841 . September 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220922143221/https://books.google.com/books?id=3tUVCzAncZ0C . live .
  11. Web site: 2012 . A History of Windows . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160610182515/http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/history#T1=era0 . June 10, 2016 . Microsoft.
  12. Book: Elliott, Susan S. . Across the Divide: Navigating the Digital Revolution as a Woman, Entrepreneur and CEO . Images Publishing . 2011 . 978-1864704556 . 161 . July 10, 2022 . September 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220922143221/https://books.google.com/books?id=wGqcxT-y-LsC . live .
  13. Book: Purcaru, Bogdan Ion . Games vs. Hardware. The History of PC video games: The 80's . 2014 . 415.
  14. News: Pavlac . Ross . December 4, 1989 . Computer-Aided Software Engineering . 11 . 64 . Info World . InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. . July 10, 2022 . 0199-6649 . March 7, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160307092434/https://books.google.de/books?hl=de&id=CTAEAAAAMBAJ . live .
  15. News: Chen . Raymond . April 7, 2004 . A very brief anecdote about Windows 3.0 . Microsoft . July 10, 2022 . September 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220922143221/https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20040407-00/?p=39893 . live .
  16. Ray Duncan . September 1987 . Character-Oriented Display Services Using OS/2's VIO Subsystem . . . 1–15.
  17. News: Hall . William . June 26, 1990 . Windows . 9 . 427 . PC Magazine . Ziff Davis, Inc. . July 9, 2022 . 0888-8507 . September 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220922143221/https://books.google.com/books?id=3bSfCwxhFmMC . live .
  18. Book: Emery Davis, Frederic . The Windows 3.1 Bible . Peachpit Press . 1993 . 1566090156 . Pennsylvania . 644.
  19. News: Rosch . Winn . May 30, 1989 . Multitasking Without OS/2 . 8 . 340 . PC Magazine . Ziff Davis, Inc. . July 10, 2022 . 0888-8507 . July 2, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220702112954/https://books.google.com/books?id=HpsOD9ZeqScC . live .
  20. News: Rosch . Winn . November 24, 1987 . The Taskmasters: Real 386 Operating Environments . 6 . 170 . PC Magazine . Ziff Davis, Inc. . July 10, 2022 . 0888-8507 . April 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220407091647/https://books.google.com/books?id=KU7dCBpP7fsC . live .
  21. News: Compton . Jason . November 2005 . Happy Birthday, Windows! . 36 . Maximum PC . Future US, Inc. . September 16, 2022 . 1522-4279 . September 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220922143519/https://books.google.com/books?id=vQIAAAAAMBAJ . live .
  22. News: Miller . Michael . March 26, 1990 . OS/2: The Right Stuff? . 12 . 54 . Info World . InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. . July 9, 2022 . 0199-6649 . September 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220922143433/https://books.google.com/books?id=1DsEAAAAMBAJ . live .
  23. Web site: November 15, 2006 . New EMM386.exe fixes problem receiving NMI in protected mode . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130927175659/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/137870 . September 27, 2013 . August 15, 2013 . Microsoft Support.
  24. News: Schulman . Andrew . June 11, 1991 . Windows 3.0: All That Memory, All Those Modes . 10 . 352 . PC Magazine . Ziff Davis, Inc. . July 10, 2022 . 0888-8507 . September 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220922143438/https://books.google.com/books?id=LNhQLiJ8TgQC . live .
  25. Web site: July 25, 2011 . Obsolete Products . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20050814234847/http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifeobsoleteproducts . August 14, 2005 . Support . Microsoft.
  26. Book: Cowart, Robert . Special edition using Microsoft Windows XP home . 2005 . Que . Brian Knittel . 0-7897-3279-3 . 3 . Indianapolis, Ind. . 92 . 56647752 . April 18, 2022 . June 4, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220604163856/https://www.worldcat.org/title/special-edition-using-microsoft-windows-xp-home/oclc/56647752 . live .
  27. Web site: August 3, 2009 . A Brief History of Microsoft Windows . April 18, 2022 . InformIT . 2 . March 19, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220319201811/https://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1358665&seqNum=2 . live .
  28. News: Angus . Jeff . Mace . Scott . April 6, 1987 . IBM Introduces OS/2, DOS 3.3 as New Operating Systems . 9 . 2 . Info World . InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. . July 10, 2022 . 0199-6649 . September 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220922143440/https://books.google.com/books?id=lj0EAAAAMBAJ . live .
  29. Web site: Mahesh Dabade . September 1, 2015 . History of Windows Operating System . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151104221528/http://techtrickle.com/history-of-windows/ . November 4, 2015 . November 21, 2015 . TechTrickle.
  30. Web site: Molina . Brett . June 24, 2021 . From Windows 1.0 to Windows 10: A history of Microsoft's signature PC software . April 18, 2022 . USA Today . en-US . April 18, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220418124401/https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/06/24/windows-history-look-back-microsoft-os/5319007001/ . live .
  31. Book: Apple Vs. Microsoft . BookCaps Study Guides . 2012 . 978-1621073208 . 20.
  32. Web site: . Windows 2.03 . August 7, 2013 . Toasty Tech . February 7, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130207050745/http://toastytech.com/guis/win203.html . live .
  33. Book: Shinder, Thomas W. . MCSA/MCSE managing and maintaining a Windows server 2003 environment: exam 70-290 study guide and DVD training . 2003 . Syngress . Debra Shinder Littlejohn, Jeffrey A. Martin . 978-0-08-047925-5 . [Rockland, Mass.] . 5 . 55664320 . April 18, 2022 . June 4, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220604163857/https://www.worldcat.org/title/mcsamcse-managing-and-maintaining-a-windows-server-2003-environment-exam-70-290-study-guide-and-dvd-training/oclc/55664320 . live .
  34. Web site: Gibbs . Samuel . October 2, 2014 . From Windows 1 to Windows 10: 29 years of Windows evolution . April 16, 2022 . The Guardian . en . April 14, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220414091918/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/02/from-windows-1-to-windows-10-29-years-of-windows-evolution . live .
  35. Web site: November 19, 2015 . Windows 1.0 to 10: The changing face of Microsoft's landmark OS . April 18, 2022 . ZDNet . en . April 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220422225609/https://www.zdnet.com/pictures/windows-1-0-to-10-the-changing-face-of-microsofts-landmark-os/2/ . dead .
  36. Book: Duncan, Ray . The MS-DOS Encyclopedia . Microsoft Press . 1988 .
  37. Alsop . Stewart II . January 18, 1988 . Microsoft Windows: Eclectism in UI . P.C. Letter . 4 . 2 . 6–7 . November 23, 2017 . March 8, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210308060223/http://vintagecomputer.net/cisc367/PC-Letter_19880118.pdf . live .
  38. News: November 8, 2005 . Windows: what's next . 24 . 136 . PC Magazine . Ziff Davis, Inc. . April 18, 2022 . 0888-8507 . May 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220513144423/https://books.google.com/books?id=TwX8bN2drQ0C . live .
  39. Web site: September 23, 2011 . Windows Version History . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061107143753/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/32905 . November 7, 2006 . Support . . 4.0.
  40. Web site: Martin . James . November 20, 2013 . Microsoft Windows 1.0, where it all began . April 18, 2022 . CNET . en . April 18, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220418124401/https://www.cnet.com/pictures/microsoft-windows-1-0-where-it-all-began-pictures/3/ . live .
  41. Book: O'Regan, Gerard . Introduction to the history of computing: a computing history primer . 2016 . 978-3-319-33138-6 . Switzerland . 220 . 953036113 . April 18, 2022 . June 4, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220604163903/https://www.worldcat.org/title/introduction-to-the-history-of-computing-a-computing-history-primer/oclc/953036113 . live .
  42. Web site: Cooper . Charles . Windows 1.0: The flop that created an empire . April 18, 2022 . CNET . en . April 16, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220416194245/https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/windows-1-0-the-flop-that-created-an-empire/ . live .
  43. January 1989 . The BYTE Awards . BYTE . 327 . April 18, 2022.
  44. News: Rosenthal . Morton . January 11, 1988 . The raging battle between the spreadsheets . 22 . 33 . Computerworld . IDG Enterprise . April 18, 2022 . 0010-4841 . July 2, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220702112502/https://books.google.com/books?id=BGi-jgk0bNIC . live .
  45. McCracken . Harry . May 7, 2013 . A Brief History of Windows Sales Figures, 1985-Present . en-US . Time . April 18, 2022 . 0040-781X . April 18, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220418124401/https://techland.time.com/2013/05/07/a-brief-history-of-windows-sales-figures-1985-present/#:~:text=Windows%20sales%20in%201988%20(Windows,less%20than%202%20million%20(InfoWorld) . live .
  46. Web site: Definition of Windows 2.0 . April 18, 2022 . PC Magazine . en . October 6, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211006084343/https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/windows-20 . live .
  47. Book: The Facts on File dictionary of computer science . 2006 . Facts On File . John Daintith, Edmund Wright, Inc Facts on File . 978-1-4381-0939-8 . New York . 240 . 234235258 . April 18, 2022 . July 2, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220702112503/https://www.worldcat.org/title/facts-on-file-dictionary-of-computer-science/oclc/234235258 . live .
  48. Web site: March 17: Apple Sues Microsoft for Copyright Infringement . September 16, 2022 . Computer History Museum . July 26, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210726205909/https://www.computerhistory.org/tdih/march/17/ . live .
  49. News: Keefe . Patricia . February 5, 1990 . Precedents may aid Lotus case . 24 . 144 . Computerworld . IDG Enterprise . September 16, 2022 . 0010-4841 . September 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220922143440/https://books.google.com/books?id=jHa3f3JQIkUC . live .
  50. Web site: November 5, 2013 . Tech Giant Showdown: Microsoft vs. Apple . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131105232645/http://www.newmaconline.com/tech-giant-showdown-microsoft-vs-apple_2010-06-02/ . November 5, 2013 . September 16, 2022 . NewMac.
  51. News: Pollack . Andrew . Times . Special To the New York . March 18, 1988 . Apple Sues Microsoft And Hewlett-Packard . en-US . The New York Times . September 16, 2022 . 0362-4331 . January 27, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220127154355/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/18/business/company-news-apple-sues-microsoft-and-hewlett-packard.html . live .
  52. Book: O'Regan, Gerard . A Brief History of Computing . Springer Science & Business Media . 2008 . 9781848000841 . Cork, Ireland . 87 . 10.1007/978-1-4471-2359-0 . 11516909 . September 16, 2022 . March 20, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220320130019/https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4471-2359-0 . live .
  53. Book: Birkinbine, Benjamin J. . Incorporating the digital commons: corporate involvement in free and open source software . 2020 . University of Westminster Press . 978-1-912656-43-1 . London . 56 . 1155440332.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Windows 2.0".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.