Microsoft Windows is a proprietary operating system developed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families serving different sectors of computing, including Windows for personal computers, Windows Server for servers, and Windows IoT for embedded systems, and further grouped into editions such as Home, Professional, Education and Enterprise for different classes of user. It is sold both as a retail consumer product and to computer manufacturers, who bundle and distribute it with their systems.
Facts
SignificanceMost popular desktop operating system in the world, with 63% market share as of August 2026. 1 Classification
LicenseProprietary (Closed Source) 1 FAQs
Was Windows always a full operating system?
Windows 1.0 in 1985 was a graphical shell for MS-DOS.
Not at first. The first version, Windows 1.0, was released on November 20, 1985 as a graphical operating system shell for MS-DOS, in response to growing interest in graphical user interfaces.
Connections
In Field
Source Microsoft Windows - Wikipedia
Licensed Under
In the Other Atlases
Developed By
Also in Business Atlas: the developer of this subject.
Sources
1. Microsoft Windows - Wikipedia
Introduction section, release sentence
The first version of Windows, Windows 1.0, was released on November 20, 1985 as a graphical operating system shell for MS-DOS.
Introduction section, market share sentence
Windows is the most popular desktop operating system in the world, with a 63% market share as of August 2026.
Lead sentence
Windows is a proprietary operating system developed by Microsoft.
Article text
As of September 2026, Windows 11 is the most used desktop version of Windows, with a market share of 71%.
Lead section
Windows is a proprietary operating system developed by Microsoft.
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