All Microsoft Windows Operating System (OS) Releases

Hi all,
I started learning computer programming fundamentals using Microsoft Windows Operating System. Like me , may be a large number of people belong to this category. I'm a Windows OS fan because of it's many good features. The Contents below includes all Microsoft Windows OS releases with its release dates.

Latest Version to come:

Windows 7, For release on October 22, 2009

Future Releases:

Windows Server 2008 R2, slated to be Windows Server 2008's successor
Windows 8, Currently being created, the successsor to windows 7. Release date unkown

Early Releases:

1985 November 20 - Windows 1.01
1986 May - Windows 1.02
1986 August - Windows 1.03
1987 April - Windows 1.04
1987 December 9 - Windows 2.03
1988 May 27 - Windows 2.10
1989 March 13 - Windows 2.11
1990 May 22 - Windows 3.0
1992 August - Windows 3.1
1992 October - Windows for Workgroups 3.1
1993 August - Windows NT 3.1
1993 October - Windows 3.2 This Version of Windows was only released in simplified Chinese.
1993 November - Windows for Workgroups 3.11
1994 September - Windows NT 3.5

Windows 95

1995 June - Windows NT 3.51 (Version number: NT 3.51.1057)
1995 August 24 - Windows 95 (Version number: 4.00.950)
1995 December 31 - Windows 95 SP1 (Version number: 4.00.950A)
1996 August 24 - Windows 95 OSR2 (Version number: 4.00.1111 (also listed as 4.0.950B))
1997 August 27 - Windows 95 OSR2.1 (Version number: 4.00.1212 (also listed as 4.0.950B))
1997 August 27 - Windows 95 OSR2.5 (Version number: 4.00.1214 (also listed as 4.0.950C))

1996 July 29 - Windows NT 4.0 - the last version which ran on RISC architectures like DEC Alpha, MIPS and PowerPC. Later versions concentrated on x86-based hardware and - mainly as server OSs - the IA-64 line of CPUs. (Version number: NT 4.0.1381)

Windows 98

1998 June 25 - Windows 98 (Version number: 4.10.1998 (Security Version 4.10.1998A))
1999 May 5 - Windows 98 Second Edition (Version number: 4.10.2222 or 4.10.2222A (Security Version 4.10.2222C))

Windows 2000 (Version number: NT 5.0.2195)

2000 February 17:
Windows 2000 Professional
Windows 2000 Server
Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Windows 2000 Datacenter Server

2000 June 19 - Windows Me (Version number: 4.90.3000 (Security Version 4.90.3000A))

Windows XP for desktops and laptops (notebooks)

Windows XP Starter Edition, for new computer users in developing countries
Windows XP Home Edition, for home desktops and laptops
Windows XP Home Edition N, as above, but without a default installation of Windows Media Player, as mandated by an EU ruling
Windows XP Professional, for business and power users (Version number: NT 5.1.2600)
Windows XP Professional N, as above, but without a default installation of Windows Media Player, as mandated by an EU ruling
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, for PCs with x86-64 processors (based on Windows Server 2003)
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, for notebooks with a touch screen or a pen-sensitive screen
Windows XP Media Center Edition for desktops and notebooks with an emphasis on audio, video, and PVR capability. There are four versions:
Windows XP Media Center Edition
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2003
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

2001 October 25 - Windows XP 64-bit Edition - A version of Windows XP roughly analogous to Windows XP Professional for Intel's IA-64 (Itanium) line of CPUs. It was discontinued in early 2005 after manufacturers stopped shipping Itanium systems marketed as 'workstations'.

Windows Server 2003 for servers
Small Business Server for first server installations (up to 2 processors)
Web Edition for basic Web serving (up to 2 processors)
Standard Edition for smaller server applications that don't require clustering (up to 4 processors)
Enterprise Edition for larger server applications, and clustering (up to 8 processors)
Datacenter Edition for mainframe like servers (up to 128 processors)
Storage Server for Network Attached Storage Devices

Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, for tablet PCs

Windows Mobile 6.1 for smartphones and PDAs

Windows Home Server Announced at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Windows Home Server is intended to be a solution for homes with multiple connected PCs to offer file sharing, automated backups, and remote access.

Windows Vista, for home and business desktops and portable computers

Windows Vista Starter Much like Windows XP Starter Edition, this edition will be limited to emerging markets such as Colombia, India, Thailand, and Indonesia, mainly to offer a legal alternative to using unauthorized copies. It will not be available in the United States, Canada, Europe, or Australia.

Windows Vista Home Basic Similar to Windows XP Home Edition, Home Basic is intended for budget users not requiring advanced media support for home use. The Windows Aero theme with translucent effects will not be included with this edition.

Windows Vista Home Premium Like Windows XP Media Center Edition, this edition will support more advanced multimedia and entertainment authoring, premium games, mobile and tablet PC support, Network Projector, Windows Aero, Touch Screen, and auxiliary display (via Windows Side Show) support.

Windows Vista Business Comparable to Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, Windows Vista Business Edition is aimed at the business market. Includes all the features of Home Premium with the exception of Windows Media Center and related technologies, Parental Controls, and Windows DVD and Movie Maker HD.

Windows Vista Enterprise (Microsoft Windows NT 6.0.6000.0) This edition is aimed at the enterprise segment of the market, and is a superset of the Business edition. Additional features include multilingual user interface support, BitLocker Drive Encryption, and UNIX application support. This edition will not be available through retail or OEM channels

Windows Vista Ultimate This edition combines all the features of the Home Premium and Enterprise editions, a game performance tweaker (WinSAT), and "Ultimate Extras". On January 7, 2007, at CES, Microsoft began to announce what some of these Ultimate Extras will be.

Windows Server 2008 for servers.

Windows Web Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition
Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition (Microsoft Windows NT 6.0.6001 Service Pack 1)
Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition
Windows Storage Server 2008
Windows Small Business Server 2008 (Codenamed "Cougar") for small businesses
Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (Codenamed "Centro") for medium-sized businesses
Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems
Windows HPC Server 2008 for high Performance supercomputers

Windows XP Embedded, for embedded systems requiring parts of the Windows XP infrastructure.

Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs, a low-end version of Windows XP that is intended to be a thin-client that works with older hardware.

Windows Embedded CE 6.0, for embedded systems (not based on the Windows NT kernel)

Windows Mobile 6 for smartphones and PDA

Windows Mobile 6 Standard for smartphones
Windows Mobile 6 Classic for PDA without GSM
Windows Mobile 6 for PDA with GSM

Windows CE-based (Microsoft does not explain the "CE," it is reported to have originally stood for "Consumer Electronics.")

1996 November - Windows CE 1.0
1997 November - Windows CE 2.0
1998 July - Windows CE 2.1
1998 October - Windows CE 2.11
1999 August - Windows CE 2.12
2000 July - Windows CE 3.0, with version for smart phones and PDAs sold as Pocket PC 2000
2002 Windows CE 4.0, with version for smart phones and PDAs sold as Pocket PC 2002
2003 Windows CE 4.1, with version for smart phones and PDAs sold as Pocket PC 2003
2004 Windows CE 4.2, with version for smart phones and PDAs sold as Windows Mobile 2003 SE
2005 Windows CE 5.0, with version for smart phones and PDAs sold as Windows Mobile 5.0
2006 Windows CE 6.0
2008 Windows Mobile 6.1, based on Windows CE 5.2.19202

Cancelled versions

1999 December - Windows Neptune was sent out to beta testers but was never released. Would have been a consumer version (i.e. home edition) of Windows 2000.
1996 May 3 - Windows Nashville (Windows 96) (cancelled) (Became Windows 95B.)
1991-1998 - Cairo (a "true object-oriented OS") planned after Windows NT

Cheers,
Jenson