Microsoft Windows

Windows NT
– Windows NT is an operating system for server computers and workstations.
– It has three subfamilies that share the same kernel.
– Windows NT is targeted for consumer and corporate desktops.

Windows
– Windows is an operating system for personal computers and tablets.
– It competes with macOS, iPadOS, and Android.
– Windows is the most popular desktop operating system with a 70% market share as of March 2023.

Windows Server
– Windows Server is an operating system designed for server computers.
– It has a strong naming scheme and competition from Linux.

Windows PE
– Windows PE is a lightweight version of Windows used for installation, recovery, and troubleshooting.
– It is used for installing Windows on bare-metal computers.

Windows IoT
– Windows IoT is a general-purpose operating system for resource-limited devices.
– It is developed for embedded systems and is folded under the Windows Compact trademark.
– Windows families no longer being developed include Windows 9x, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, and Windows Embedded Compact.

Microsoft Windows (Wikipedia)

"Windows" redirects here. For the part of a building, see Window. For other uses, see Windows (disambiguation).

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 instance, Windows NT for consumer and corporate desktops, Windows Server for servers, and Windows IoT for embedded systems. Defunct Windows families include Windows 9x, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, and Windows Embedded Compact.

Microsoft Windows

Developer	Microsoft
Source model	Closed-source Source-available (through Shared Source Initiative)
Initial release	November 20, 1985; 38 years ago (1985-11-20)
Latest release	23H2 (10.0.22631.2861) (December 12, 2023; 23 days ago (2023-12-12)) [±]
Latest preview	Release Preview Channel 23H2 (10.0.22631.2861) (December 12, 2023; 23 days ago (2023-12-12)) [±] Beta Channel 23H2 (10.0.22635.2915) (December 14, 2023; 21 days ago (2023-12-14)) [±] Dev Channel 10.0.23606.1000 (December 13, 2023; 22 days ago (2023-12-13)) [±] Canary Channel 10.0.26016.1012 (December 15, 2023; 20 days ago (2023-12-15)) [±]
Marketing target	Personal computing
Available in	110 languages
Update method	Windows Update Microsoft Store Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)
Package manager	Windows Installer (.msi, .msp), App Installer (.msix, .msixbundle), Microsoft Store (.appx, .appxbundle), Windows Package Manager
Platforms	IA-32, x86-64, ARM, ARM64 Previously: 16-bit x86, DEC Alpha, MIPS, PowerPC, Itanium
Kernel type	Windows NT family: Hybrid Windows Embedded Compact/Windows CE: Hybrid Windows 9x and earlier: Monolithic (MS-DOS)
Default user interface	Windows shell
License	Proprietary commercial software
Official website	www.microsoft.com/en-us/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).

Windows is the most popular desktop operating system in the world, with a 70% market share as of March 2023^[update], according to StatCounter. However, Windows is not the most used operating system when including both mobile and desktop OSes, due to Android's massive growth.

As of December 2023^[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.