Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Success with Windows 3.0
Microsoft Windows eventually achieve significant success when stepping version 3.0 which was released in 1990. In addition to offering increased capabilities to Windows applications, Windows 3.0 is also able to allow users to run multiple MS-DOS applications simultaneously (multitasking), because in this version has introduced virtual memory. This version is precisely what makes the IBM PC and compatibles serious challenger to the Apple Macintosh. This is due to improved performance graphics processing at the time (with the graphics card Video Graphics Array (VGA)), and also protected mode / 386 Enhanced mode that allows Windows applications to use more memory in a way that is much easier compared to what offered by MS-DOS.
Windows 3.0 can run in three modes, namely real mode, standard mode, and 386 Enhanced mode, and is compatible with Intel family of processors from Intel 8086/8088, 80286, to 80386 Windows 3.0 will try to detect which mode will used, although the user can force Windows to work in a certain mode using certain switches when running
win / r: force Windows to run in real mode
win / s: forcing Windows to run in standard mode
win / 3: forcing Windows to run in 386 Enhanced mode.
Version 3.0 is also the first version of Windows that runs in protected mode, although the 386 enhanced mode kernel is an enhanced version of the protected mode kernel in Windows / 386.
Because of the backward compatibility feature, Windows 3.0 applications must be compiled using 16-bit environment, so that did not use the capabilities of the Intel 80386 microprocessor, which is actually a 32-bit processor.
Windows 3.0 also comes in a version of "multimedia", called Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions 1.0, which was released a few months later. This version is bundled with the existence of "multimedia upgrade kits", consisting of a CD-ROM drive and a sound card, like Creative Labs Sound Blaster Pro. This version is the pioneer of all the multimedia features present in later versions of Windows, such as Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups, and become part of the Microsoft Multimedia PC specification.
The features mentioned above and support the application software market growing 3.0 makes Windows very successful in the market. Noted, in the two years prior to the release version of Windows 3.1, Windows 3.0 sold 10 million copies. Finally, Windows 3.0 was a major source of income of Microsoft, and Microsoft did make some revisions to the original plan.
