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OSdata.com: Windows 3.1 

OSdata.com

Windows 3.1

see also: Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT

Also see the summary at Windows.

summary

    Windows 3.1 is a desktop operating systems made by Microsoft that runs on Intel 80x86.

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special topics

Intended purpose

server/mainframe: Only very low end servers can run on this operating system.

desktop/workstation: Primarily a desktop operating system for small businesses running old hardware.

handheld: not appropriate

real time: not appropriate

Kind of OS: proprietary

Release Date: Windows 3.0 released 22 May 1990

Current Version: 3.1; replaced by Windows 98

Cost:

Hardware Supported:

Maximum Number of Processors: 1

Number of bits: 16

Kernel: proprietary

POSIX: not supported

Peripherals:

File Systems Supported: FAT (NRWF), SMB (RW) (see SMB and firewalls)

Other Systems Emulated:

Graphics Engine:

Text Command Shell: DOS command line

User Interface (graphic):

Graphic Command Shell: Explorere80

Windows 3.1 screen shot

click on the preview image for a larger version

screen shot courtesy of Pat Gunn’s Operating Systemsw59

Disabled support:

Internet Services:

    “Older operating systems, some of which largely predated the mass exodus of businesses to the Internet, such as Windows 3.x, are highly vulnerable, says Lynn Bernstein, president of ECG Consulting Inc., in Montclair, NJ.” —Joe Paone, MicroTimes; Oct 8, 2001m6

Application Programs:

Security:

    “As Windows users are being plagued by computer viruses, spam, buggy software, and Web pop-up ads, some are questioning why the Redmond, Wash.-based software behemoth has failed to integrate security and repair features that could make computers less prone to problems.
    “ ‘Microsoft has added lots of bells and whistles to Windows to protect their operating system franchise over the years, but when it comes to Windows security and reliability, they’ve done comparitively little until recently,’ said Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute, a Bethesda, Md.-based computer security and training organization.
    “ ‘It’s like they are selling faster cars with more powerful engines but leaving off the seat belts and air bags — all those critical things that make customers safe when using their products,’ he added.
    “Microsoft’s critics say the reason the company isn’t eager to add security features is simple: Doing so wouldn’t help it fend off competitors whose products could undermine the spread of Windows.
    “ ‘You would think there would be money to be made in Microsoft having some kind of more effective antiviral program of their own,’ said Andrew Gavil, an antitrust expert and law professor at Howard University. ‘But virus programs don’t present any threat to their operating system monopoly.’ ” —Los Angeles Times, “Microsoft Runs Into Bundling Dilemma”, March 27, 2004n4

    Microsoft falsely claimed that it would make security a company-wide priority in its much publicized 2002 “trustworthy computing initiaitve”. Since then, Microsoft Windows (all versions) has become even more vulnerable to viruses and other internet attacks. Security is a purposely false and misleading marketing slogan at Microsoft.

    “Ironically, some experts say, product bundling is partly to blame for Windows’ security woes.
    “Lee A. Hollaar, a computer science professor at University of Utah, said the widespread proliferation of the Melissa computer virus stemmed from the tight integration of Microsoft’s Outlook e-mail program with its writing application, Word.
    “ ‘The Melissa virus exists only because Microsoft expanded Word documents to contain functions that let it access the Outlook address book’, Hollaar said.
    “Similarly, he explained, when the Internet Explorer Web browser was folded into the operating system, it exposed Windows to greater security risks from the Net.’ ” —Los Angeles Times, “Microsoft Runs Into Bundling Dilemma”, March 27, 2004n4

Other:

alternatives to Windows

opinion

    “Microsoft enjoyed its great success not because it had great software but because people were stuck with it. Market domination, not innovation, drove the company’s success,” wrote James Wallace in the book “Overdrive: Bill Gates and the Race to Control Cyberspace”, John Wiley & Sons, September 1997.


1.1 MB QuickTime movie of Bill Gates explaining his criteria for selecting the best operating system.

    “Windows machines have advantages, too, such as more configuration options, cheaper up front cost, availability of software, snappier response on window controls, cheaper components, more peripherals.” —Why Monopolies Are Bad, by Jeff Adkinsw77

    Commentary: Quite simply, Windows guarantees more work for the M.I.S. departments — because it computers require far more technical support to do the same work. And when the M.I.S. departments make computer recommendations to management, they tend to look out for their own job security over the best interests of the business. The same reason that many retail stores also push Wintel machines — it guarantees more work for their highly profitable service departments.

    Study after study has shown that Macintoshes are less expensive to support and maintain than Wintel machines. Wintel computers typically cost four to 10 times as much in support costs. Even Intel’s own internal study showed that it was costing them four times as much to support Windows machines as it did to support their Macintoshes (yes, Intel used Macintoshes for mission critical work — and since that study they have been expanding their use of Macintoshes).

    Independent studies over the years continually show that worker productivity is substantially higher on Macintoshes than on Wintel computers. And the difference is greatest in the creative fields (pre-press, illustration, digital photography, 2-D and 3-D animation, 3-D modelling and rendering, film special effects, broadcast video editting, CD-ROM production, multi-media, music composition and performance, sound editting, and web site production), where the Macintosh is the most prevalent computer (even more than the high end graphics work stations — and Macintosh OS X (formerly Rhapsody) brings the Macintosh to the high end graphics work stations). Macintosh OS X is numerically the most used form of UNIX, bringing the flexibility, reliability, power, and speed of NeXT’s object oriented frameworks together with some of the ease of use, user interface, and consumer software of the Macintosh.

    BeOS and OS/2 also offer excellent desktop alternatives to the Windows family of operating systems. Any of the many free and commercial versions of UNIX offer a better high end operating system than Windows NT. See John Kirch’s article “Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX” at http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/.

    Ethics: Bill Gates is a longtime member of the Augusta National Golf Club, the official site of the Masters Golf Tournament. The Augusta National Golf Club refuses to allow any women join their club and for decades refused to allow Blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities to join, only relenting in 1990 to allow a few token Black members when facing criminal charges for Civil Rights violations. The only reason that Microsoft hires women and minorities is because of tough federal Civil Rights laws. If you are a woman, Black, Hispanic, Asian, or a member of any other minority group, remember that Bill Gates and Microsoft hate you and only take your money becuase they are forced to by law.

references

references within this web site

(for your convenience, look for this symbol marking passages about Windows 3.1)

further reading: web sites

Please send recommendations on additional URLs to Milo.

official web sites

FAQs

(Frequently Asked Questions)

user group web sites

other related web sites

further reading: books

If you want your book reviewed, please send a copy to: Milo, POB 1361, Tustin, CA 92781, USA.

Price listings are for courtesy purposes only and may be changed by the referenced businesses at any time without notice.

further reading: books: introductory/general

    Windows 3.11 for Dummies; 3rd edition; by Andy Rathbone; IDG Books Worldwide; March 1, 1995; ISBN 1568843704; paperback; 384 pages; $13.56

    1 Microsoft Way: A Cookbook To Breaking Bill Gates Windows Monopoly Without Breaking Windows (with Linux CD Operating System); by Reginald P Burgess; American Group Publishing; April 27, 1998; ISBN 1891950088; paperback; 208 pages; $17.95

further reading: books: administration

The Complete Guide to Netware 4.11/Intranetware; 2nd edition; by James E. Gaskin; Sybex; December 1996; ISBN 078211931X; paperback; $47.99; includes information on getting NetWare working with Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, and OS/2


further reading: books: internet

further reading: books: enterprise/business

further reading: books: content creation

    The Multimedia Production Handbook for the PC, Macintosh, and Amiga; by Tom Yager; Academic Press Professional; December 1993; ISBN 0127680306; Paperback; 382 pages; $31.96

further reading: books: programming

further reading: books: hardware

further reading: books: miscellaneous

In Association with Amazon.com

If you want your book reviewed, please send a copy to: Milo, POB 1361, Tustin, CA 92781, USA.


    Also see the summary at Windows.


geek humor

    “WindowsError 009: Memory hog error. More RAM needed. More! More!” —Matt Garrison,MacLine

1985 ad forr Windows 1.0
from 1985 ad for Windows 1


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    Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 Milo

    Last Updated: May 22, 2004

    Created: June 22, 1998

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