Windows 10 All-In-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Introduction

Windows has a long and glorious history, stretching all the way back to Windows 1.0 in 1985. It was sent to the bit bucket in the sky at the end of 2001. Windows 3.0, starting in 1990, began to fill Microsoft’s coffers and 3.1 (1992) is widely held as a landmark achievement in the history of computing. Then came Windows NT — a completely new beast, built to be a server — and the reunification of consumer and server side in Windows 95 (Chicago), Windows 98 (Memphis — the first version to ship with Internet Explorer built-in), 2000, and the much-maligned Windows ME.

With Windows XP (Whistler) in 2001, Microsoft took on the mantle of juggernaut, and blew away everything in its path. Also in 2001, the US Department of Justice sued Microsoft for using its monopoly power to roll over other Internet browsers. XP has such staying power that it’s still used in a significant number of PCs.

Windows Vista came along in 2006/2007, but it was upstaged in 2009 by Windows 7 — arguably the most-loved version of Windows. It continues to capture a large share of Windows users and was only recently upstaged by Windows 10.

Then, in 2012, there was Windows 8. Think of Windows 8/8.1 as an extended, bad, no-good, horrible nightmare. Microsoft’s woken up now. They fired almost everybody who ran the Win8 operation, cleaned out the house, and brought in some truly gifted engineers. Windows 10 is a brand-new day. Whether it’s your brand-new day is another story.

Windows 10, released in July ...