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Windows 3.11
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Windows 3.1
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Windows 95
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Windows 98
EXPLANATION
Windows 3.0, released in May 1990, improved capabilities given to native applications. It also allowed users to better multitask older MS-DOS based software compared to Windows/386, thanks to the introduction of virtual memory.
Windows 3.0's user interface finally resembled a serious competitor to the user interface of the
Macintosh computer. PCs had improved graphics by this time, due to
VGA
video cards, and the protected/enhanced mode allowed Windows
applications to use more memory in a more painless manner than their DOS
counterparts could. Windows 3.0 could run in real, standard, or 386
enhanced modes, and was compatible with any Intel processor from the
8086/
8088 up to the
80286 and
80386. This was the first version to run Windows programs in protected mode, although the 386 enhanced mode
kernel was an enhanced version of the protected mode kernel in Windows/386.
Windows 3.0 received two updates. A few months after
introduction, Windows 3.0a was released as a maintenance release,
resolving bugs and improving stability. A "multimedia" version, Windows
3.0 with Multimedia Extensions 1.0, was released in October 1991. This
was bundled with "multimedia upgrade kits", comprising a
CD-ROM drive and a
sound card, such as the
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Pro. This version was the precursor to the multimedia features available in
Windows 3.1 (first released in April 1992) and later, and was part of Microsoft's specification for the
Multimedia PC.
The features listed above and growing market support from
application software developers made Windows 3.0 wildly successful,
selling around 10 million copies in the two years before the release of
version 3.1. Windows 3.0 became a major source of income for Microsoft,
and led the company to revise some of its earlier plans. Support was
discontinued on December 31, 2001.
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Windows 3.1 was available via 720 KB, 1.2 MB, and 1.44 MB floppy
distributions. It was also the first version of Windows to be
distributed on CD-ROM — although this was more common for Windows for
Workgroups 3.11, which typically came with MS-DOS 6.22 on one CD. Installed size on the hard disk was between 10 MB and 15 MB.