Windows 3.1x
Encyclopedia
Windows 3.1x is a series of 16-bit
operating system
s produced by Microsoft
for use on personal computer
s. The series began with Windows 3.1, which was first sold during March 1992 as a successor to Windows 3.0
. Further editions were released between 1992 and 1994 until the series was superseded by Windows 95
.
, of which two betas were published), released on April 6, 1992, includes a TrueType
font
system (and a set of highly legible fonts), which effectively made Windows a viable desktop publishing
platform for the first time. Similar functionality was available for Windows 3.0
through the Adobe Type Manager
(ATM) font system from Adobe
.
Windows 3.1 was designed to have backward compatibility
with older Windows platforms. As with Windows 3.0
, version 3.1 had File Manager and Program Manager
, but unlike all previous versions, Windows 3.1 and later support 32-bit disk access
, cannot run in real mode
, and included Minesweeper
instead of Reversi
(though Reversi was included in some copies).
Windows 3.1 Multimedia PC Version (Beta only, released Nov 1992 — codenamed Bombay) Included a media viewer, and the ability to play video files. It was targeted to the new multi-media PC and included sound and video integration with CD-ROM support.
(Windows-1250
) and supported its use in violation of many countries' ISO standards (e.g., the official Polish
codepage is ISO-8859-2, which was ignored by Microsoft but is supported by contemporary Internet Explorer
versions). Similarly, Microsoft also released Windows 3.1J with support for the Japanese language
, which shipped 1.46 million copies in its first year on the market (1993) in Japan.
s. For those who did not own Windows 3.1, full disk sets of Windows 3.11 were available at the time.
.
version of Windows for the Chinese
market. The updated system identified itself as Windows 3.2. Thus, Windows 3.2 is the Chinese version of Windows 3.11. The update was limited to this language version, as it fixed only issues related to the complex writing system of the Chinese language
.
Windows 3.2 was generally sold by computer manufacturers with a ten-disk version of MS-DOS
that also had Simplified Chinese characters in basic output and some translated utilities.
Windows for Workgroups is an extension that allowed users to share their resources and to request those of others without a centralized authentication server. It used the SMB
protocol over NetBIOS
.
file sharing support via the NetBIOS
based NBF and/or IPX
network transport protocols, includes the Hearts card game, and introduced VSHARE.386, the Virtual Device Driver
version of the SHARE.EXE
Terminate and Stay Resident
program.
, full 32-bit network redirectors, and the VCACHE.386 file cache, shared between them. The standard execution mode of the Windows kernel was discontinued in Windows for Workgroups 3.11.
A Winsock
package was required to support TCP/IP networking
in Windows 3.x. Usually third-party packages were used, but in August 1994, Microsoft released an add-on package (codenamed Wolverine) that provided TCP/IP support in Windows for Workgroups 3.11. Wolverine was a 32-bit stack (accessible from 16-bit Windows application via WinSock thunk
s), which gave it superior performance to most of the third-party TCP/IP Windows stacks available. However, it was only compatible with Windows for Workgroups 3.11, and lacked support for dial-up. The Wolverine stack was an early version of the TCP/IP stack that would later ship with Windows 95, and provided an early testbed for the 16-to-32-bit compatibility layer that was crucial to Windows 95's success.
's QuickTime
technology which added digital video to the Macintosh platform. Costing around $200, the software included editing and encoding programs for use with video input boards. A runtime version for viewing videos only was also made available. Originally released as a free add-on to Windows 3.1 and Windows 3.11, it then became an integral component of Windows 95
and later.
Like QuickTime there were three components in Video for Windows. The technology introduced a file format designed to store digital video, Audio Video Interleave
(AVI). The technology provided an application programming interface
that allowed software developer
s working on the Windows platform to add the ability to play or manipulate digital video
to their own applications. Lastly, it included a suite of software for playing and manipulating digital video.
-produced add-ons for Microsoft Windows
versions in the mid-1990s with additional tools for tablet PC
s. Windows for Pen Computing (also known as Pen Windows and W4PC) was developed as Microsoft's Pen computing
response to the PenPoint OS
by GO Corporation. Windows for Pen Computing was rendered obsolete by the Tablet PC
support for Windows XP Tablet PC Edition in 2002.
used by Windows NT
by another add-on package, Win32s
. There was rumor that Microsoft did not want to increment any mainstream Windows 3.1x version to something like "Windows 3.2" because it could be confused with the Win32 API or otherwise distract consumers from upgrading to a "real 32-bit OS" like the then-upcoming Windows 95 was, though Windows NT 3.1
and 3.5
were both 32-bit operating systems that looked similar in appearance. For testing of the new Win32s functions the game FreeCell
was included.
, Microsoft Bob
being one of the programs.
until Windows XP Service Pack 1. A non-operable icon library named progman.exe is included in Windows XP Service Pack 2, and the file was removed entirely from Windows Vista
.
If Program Manager is started under Windows XP Service Pack 2 and later, it does not appear to run, but when a .grp file created for Windows 3.1 is processed, it converts the .grp file contents to a Start Menu folder.
from 2.0
up to the first release of version 5.0
for Windows 3.1.
, were designed to introduce a broader audience to Windows. Windows 3.1 was shipped worldwide on April 6, 1992, and reached three million sales two months later. The year of Windows 3.1's release was successful for Microsoft, which was named the "Most Innovative Company Operating in the U.S." by Forbes Magazine, while Windows became the most widely-used GUI
-based operating environment.
). The code ran several functional tests that succeeded on MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS, but resulted in a technical support message on competing operating systems. If the system was not MS-DOS, the installer would fail. Digital Research, who owned DR-DOS, released a patch within weeks to allow the installer to continue. Microsoft disabled, but did not remove, this warning message for the final release of Windows 3.1. When Caldera
bought DR-DOS from Novell
, they brought a lawsuit against Microsoft over the AARD code, which was later settled.
in August 1995.
Windows 3.1 found a niche market as an embedded operating system
after becoming obsolete in the PC world. Up until November 2008, both Virgin Atlantic and Qantas
employed it for some of the onboard entertainment systems on long-distance jets. It also sees continued use as an embedded OS in retail cash tills.
On July 9, 2008, it was announced that Windows for Workgroups 3.11 for the embedded devices channel would no longer be made available for OEM
distribution as of November 1, 2008.
16-bit application
A 16 bit application is any software written for MS-DOS, OS/2 1.x or early versions of Microsoft Windows which originally ran on the 16-bit Intel 8088 and Intel 80286 microprocessors. Such applications used a 20-bit or 24-bit segment or selector-offset address representation to extend the range of...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s produced by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
for use on personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s. The series began with Windows 3.1, which was first sold during March 1992 as a successor to Windows 3.0
Windows 3.0
Windows 3.0, a graphical environment, is the third major release of Microsoft Windows, and was released on 22 May 1990. It became the first widely successful version of Windows and a rival to Apple Macintosh and the Commodore Amiga on the GUI front...
. Further editions were released between 1992 and 1994 until the series was superseded by Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
.
Base version
Windows 3.1 (originally codenamed JanusJanus (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Janus is the god of beginnings and transitions, thence also of gates, doors, doorways, endings and time. He is usually a two-faced god since he looks to the future and the past...
, of which two betas were published), released on April 6, 1992, includes a TrueType
TrueType
TrueType is an outline font standard originally developed by Apple Computer in the late 1980s as a competitor to Adobe's Type 1 fonts used in PostScript...
font
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
system (and a set of highly legible fonts), which effectively made Windows a viable desktop publishing
Desktop publishing
Desktop publishing is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal computer.The term has been used for publishing at all levels, from small-circulation documents such as local newsletters to books, magazines and newspapers...
platform for the first time. Similar functionality was available for Windows 3.0
Windows 3.0
Windows 3.0, a graphical environment, is the third major release of Microsoft Windows, and was released on 22 May 1990. It became the first widely successful version of Windows and a rival to Apple Macintosh and the Commodore Amiga on the GUI front...
through the Adobe Type Manager
Adobe Type Manager
Adobe Type Manager is the name of a family of computer programs created and marketed by Adobe Systems for use with their Type 1 fonts. The current version is Adobe ATM Light 4.1.2, available from Adobe's FTP .-Apple Macintosh:...
(ATM) font system from Adobe
Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...
.
Windows 3.1 was designed to have backward compatibility
Backward compatibility
In the context of telecommunications and computing, a device or technology is said to be backward or downward compatible if it can work with input generated by an older device...
with older Windows platforms. As with Windows 3.0
Windows 3.0
Windows 3.0, a graphical environment, is the third major release of Microsoft Windows, and was released on 22 May 1990. It became the first widely successful version of Windows and a rival to Apple Macintosh and the Commodore Amiga on the GUI front...
, version 3.1 had File Manager and Program Manager
Program Manager
Program Manager is the shell of Windows 3.x and Windows NT 3.x operating systems. This shell exposed a task-oriented graphical user interface , consisting of icons arranged into program groups. It replaced MS-DOS Executive, a file manager, as the default Windows shell.The program derives from the...
, but unlike all previous versions, Windows 3.1 and later support 32-bit disk access
32-bit Disk Access
32-bit Disk Access refers to a special disk access and caching mode available in older, MS-DOS-based Microsoft Windows operating systems. It was a set of protected mode device drivers that worked together to enhance the system's BIOS...
, cannot run in real mode
Real mode
Real mode, also called real address mode, is an operating mode of 80286 and later x86-compatible CPUs. Real mode is characterized by a 20 bit segmented memory address space and unlimited direct software access to all memory, I/O addresses and peripheral hardware...
, and included Minesweeper
Minesweeper (computer game)
Minesweeper is a single-player video game. The object of the game is to clear an abstract minefield without detonating a mine. The game has been written for many system platforms in use today....
instead of Reversi
Reversi
Reversi is a board game involving abstract strategy and played by two players on a board with 8 rows and 8 columns and a set of distinct pieces for each side. Pieces typically are disks with a light and a dark face, each face belonging to one player...
(though Reversi was included in some copies).
Windows 3.1 Multimedia PC Version (Beta only, released Nov 1992 — codenamed Bombay) Included a media viewer, and the ability to play video files. It was targeted to the new multi-media PC and included sound and video integration with CD-ROM support.
Versions with special font support
A special version named Windows 3.1 for Central and Eastern Europe was released that allowed the use of Cyrillic and had fonts with diacritical marks characteristic of Central and Eastern European languages. Microsoft introduced its own codepageCode page
Code page is another term for character encoding. It consists of a table of values that describes the character set for a particular language. The term code page originated from IBM's EBCDIC-based mainframe systems, but many vendors use this term including Microsoft, SAP, and Oracle Corporation...
(Windows-1250
Windows-1250
Windows-1250 is a code page used under Microsoft Windows to represent texts in Central European and Eastern European languages that use Latin script, such as Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Slovene, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian , Romanian and Albanian...
) and supported its use in violation of many countries' ISO standards (e.g., the official Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
codepage is ISO-8859-2, which was ignored by Microsoft but is supported by contemporary Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
versions). Similarly, Microsoft also released Windows 3.1J with support for the Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, which shipped 1.46 million copies in its first year on the market (1993) in Japan.
Windows 3.11
On December 31, 1993, Microsoft released an update for Windows 3.1 known as Windows 3.11. Thus, Windows 3.11 is not a standalone version of Windows, but rather a software update from Windows 3.1, much like modern Windows service packService pack
A service pack is a collection of updates, fixes or enhancements to a software program delivered in the form of a single installable package. Many companies, such as Microsoft or Autodesk, typically release a service pack when the number of individual patches to a given program reaches a certain ...
s. For those who did not own Windows 3.1, full disk sets of Windows 3.11 were available at the time.
Modular Windows
Modular Windows is a special version of Windows 3.1, designed to run on the Tandy Video Information SystemTandy Video Information System
Tandy Memorex Visual Information System was an interactive, multimedia CD-ROM player produced by the Tandy Corporation starting in 1992. It was similar in function to the Philips CD-i and Commodore CDTV systems...
.
Windows 3.2
In 1993, Microsoft released a Simplified ChineseSimplified Chinese character
Simplified Chinese characters are standardized Chinese characters prescribed in the Xiandai Hanyu Tongyong Zibiao for use in Mainland China. Along with traditional Chinese characters, it is one of many standard character sets of the contemporary Chinese written language...
version of Windows for the Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
market. The updated system identified itself as Windows 3.2. Thus, Windows 3.2 is the Chinese version of Windows 3.11. The update was limited to this language version, as it fixed only issues related to the complex writing system of the Chinese language
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
.
Windows 3.2 was generally sold by computer manufacturers with a ten-disk version of MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
that also had Simplified Chinese characters in basic output and some translated utilities.
Windows for Workgroups
Server Message Block
In computer networking, Server Message Block , also known as Common Internet File System operates as an application-layer network protocol mainly used to provide shared access to files, printers, serial ports, and miscellaneous communications between nodes on a network. It also provides an...
protocol over NetBIOS
NetBIOS
NetBIOS is an acronym for Network Basic Input/Output System. It provides services related to the session layer of the OSI model allowing applications on separate computers to communicate over a local area network. As strictly an API, NetBIOS is not a networking protocol...
.
Windows for Workgroups 3.1
Windows for Workgroups 3.1 (originally codenamed Winball and later Sparta), released in October 1992, features native networking support. Windows for Workgroups 3.1 is an extended version of Windows 3.1 that comes with SMBServer Message Block
In computer networking, Server Message Block , also known as Common Internet File System operates as an application-layer network protocol mainly used to provide shared access to files, printers, serial ports, and miscellaneous communications between nodes on a network. It also provides an...
file sharing support via the NetBIOS
NetBIOS
NetBIOS is an acronym for Network Basic Input/Output System. It provides services related to the session layer of the OSI model allowing applications on separate computers to communicate over a local area network. As strictly an API, NetBIOS is not a networking protocol...
based NBF and/or IPX
IPX
Internetwork Packet Exchange is the OSI-model Network layer protocol in the IPX/SPX protocol stack.The IPX/SPXM protocol stack is supported by Novell's NetWare network operating system. Because of Netware's popularity through the late 1980s into the mid 1990s, IPX became a popular internetworking...
network transport protocols, includes the Hearts card game, and introduced VSHARE.386, the Virtual Device Driver
VxD
VxD is the device driver model used in Microsoft Windows/386, the 386 enhanced mode of Windows 3.x, Windows 9x, and to some extend also by the Novell DOS 7, OpenDOS 7.01, and DR-DOS 7.02 multitasker...
version of the SHARE.EXE
SHARE.EXE
In computing, share is a command for MS-DOS that allowed software to perform file locks. Locking files became necessary when MS-DOS began allowing files to be accessed simultaneously by multiple programs, either through multitasking or networking....
Terminate and Stay Resident
Terminate and Stay Resident
Terminate and Stay Resident is a computer system call in DOS computer operating systems that returns control to the system as if the program has quit, but keeps the program in memory...
program.
Windows for Workgroups 3.11
Windows for Workgroups 3.11 (originally codenamed Snowball) was released on August 11, 1993, and shipped in November 1993. It supported 32-bit file access32-bit File Access
32-bit file access refers to the higher performance, protected mode disk caching method introduced in Windows for Workgroups 3.11, which replaced SmartDrive . It bypassed MS-DOS and directly accessed the disk, either via the BIOS or 32-bit disk access...
, full 32-bit network redirectors, and the VCACHE.386 file cache, shared between them. The standard execution mode of the Windows kernel was discontinued in Windows for Workgroups 3.11.
A Winsock
Winsock
In computing, the Windows Sockets API , which was later shortened to Winsock, is a technical specification that defines how Windows network software should access network services, especially TCP/IP. It defines a standard interface between a Windows TCP/IP client application and the underlying...
package was required to support TCP/IP networking
Computer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
in Windows 3.x. Usually third-party packages were used, but in August 1994, Microsoft released an add-on package (codenamed Wolverine) that provided TCP/IP support in Windows for Workgroups 3.11. Wolverine was a 32-bit stack (accessible from 16-bit Windows application via WinSock thunk
Thunk
Thunk may refer to:* Thunk , a piece of code to perform a delayed computation * Thunk : a feature of some virtual function table implementations...
s), which gave it superior performance to most of the third-party TCP/IP Windows stacks available. However, it was only compatible with Windows for Workgroups 3.11, and lacked support for dial-up. The Wolverine stack was an early version of the TCP/IP stack that would later ship with Windows 95, and provided an early testbed for the 16-to-32-bit compatibility layer that was crucial to Windows 95's success.
Video for Windows
Video for Windows was first introduced in November 1992 as a reaction to Apple ComputerApple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
's QuickTime
QuickTime
QuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
technology which added digital video to the Macintosh platform. Costing around $200, the software included editing and encoding programs for use with video input boards. A runtime version for viewing videos only was also made available. Originally released as a free add-on to Windows 3.1 and Windows 3.11, it then became an integral component of Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
and later.
Like QuickTime there were three components in Video for Windows. The technology introduced a file format designed to store digital video, Audio Video Interleave
Audio Video Interleave
Audio Video Interleave , known by its acronym AVI, is a multimedia container format introduced by Microsoft in November 1992 as part of its Video for Windows technology. AVI files can contain both audio and video data in a file container that allows synchronous audio-with-video playback...
(AVI). The technology provided an application programming interface
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
that allowed software developer
Software developer
A software developer is a person concerned with facets of the software development process. Their work includes researching, designing, developing, and testing software. A software developer may take part in design, computer programming, or software project management...
s working on the Windows platform to add the ability to play or manipulate digital video
Digital video
Digital video is a type of digital recording system that works by using a digital rather than an analog video signal.The terms camera, video camera, and camcorder are used interchangeably in this article.- History :...
to their own applications. Lastly, it included a suite of software for playing and manipulating digital video.
Windows for Pen Computing
Windows for Pen Computing was a series of MicrosoftMicrosoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
-produced add-ons for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
versions in the mid-1990s with additional tools for tablet PC
Tablet computer
A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...
s. Windows for Pen Computing (also known as Pen Windows and W4PC) was developed as Microsoft's Pen computing
Pen computing
Pen computing refers to a computer user-interface using a pen and tablet, rather than devices such as a keyboard, joysticks or a mouse....
response to the PenPoint OS
PenPoint OS
The PenPoint OS was a product of GO Corporation and was one of the earliest operating systems written specifically for graphical tablets and personal digital assistants...
by GO Corporation. Windows for Pen Computing was rendered obsolete by the Tablet PC
Tablet computer
A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...
support for Windows XP Tablet PC Edition in 2002.
Win32s
Windows 3.1x was given limited compatibility with the then-new 32-bit Windows APIWindows API
The Windows API, informally WinAPI, is Microsoft's core set of application programming interfaces available in the Microsoft Windows operating systems. It was formerly called the Win32 API; however, the name "Windows API" more accurately reflects its roots in 16-bit Windows and its support on...
used by Windows NT
Windows NT
Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. It was a powerful high-level-language-based, processor-independent, multiprocessing, multiuser operating system with features comparable to Unix. It was intended to complement...
by another add-on package, Win32s
Win32s
Win32s is a 32-bit application runtime environment for the Microsoft Windows 3.1 and 3.11 operating systems. It allowed some 32-bit applications to run on the 16-bit operating system using call thunks.- Concept and Characteristics :...
. There was rumor that Microsoft did not want to increment any mainstream Windows 3.1x version to something like "Windows 3.2" because it could be confused with the Win32 API or otherwise distract consumers from upgrading to a "real 32-bit OS" like the then-upcoming Windows 95 was, though Windows NT 3.1
Windows NT 3.1
Windows NT 3.1 is the first release of Microsoft's Windows NT line of server and business desktop operating systems, and was released to manufacturing on 27 July 1993. The version number was chosen to match the one of Windows 3.1, the then-latest operating environment from Microsoft, on account of...
and 3.5
Windows NT 3.5
Windows NT 3.5 is the second release of the Microsoft Windows NT operating system. It was released on 21 September 1994.One of the primary goals during Windows NT 3.5's development was to increase the speed of the operating system; as a result, the project was given the codename "Daytona" in...
were both 32-bit operating systems that looked similar in appearance. For testing of the new Win32s functions the game FreeCell
FreeCell
FreeCell is a solitaire-based card game played with a 52-card standard deck. It is fundamentally different from most solitaire games in that nearly all deals can be solved...
was included.
Applications
Windows 3.1x introduced new possibilities for applications, especially multimedia applications. During this era, Microsoft developed a new range of software that was implemented on this operating environment, called Microsoft HomeMicrosoft Home
Microsoft Home is a defunct line of software applications and personal hardware products published by Microsoft. Microsoft Home software titles first appeared in the middle of 1993. These applications were designed to bring multimedia to Microsoft Windows and Macintosh personal computers...
, Microsoft Bob
Microsoft Bob
Microsoft Bob was a Microsoft software product, released in March 1995, which provided a new, nontechnical interface to desktop computing operations. It was one of Microsoft's more visible product failures...
being one of the programs.
Program Manager
Program Manager was included in all versions of Windows from version 3.0Windows 3.0
Windows 3.0, a graphical environment, is the third major release of Microsoft Windows, and was released on 22 May 1990. It became the first widely successful version of Windows and a rival to Apple Macintosh and the Commodore Amiga on the GUI front...
until Windows XP Service Pack 1. A non-operable icon library named progman.exe is included in Windows XP Service Pack 2, and the file was removed entirely from Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
.
If Program Manager is started under Windows XP Service Pack 2 and later, it does not appear to run, but when a .grp file created for Windows 3.1 is processed, it converts the .grp file contents to a Start Menu folder.
Internet Explorer
Microsoft released versions of Internet ExplorerInternet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
from 2.0
Internet Explorer 2
Microsoft Internet Explorer 2 is a graphical web browser released on November 22, 1995 by Microsoft for Windows 95 and Windows NT and in April 1996 for Apple Macintosh and Windows 3.1....
up to the first release of version 5.0
Internet Explorer 5
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 was a graphical web browser released in March 1999 by Microsoft, primarily for Microsoft Windows, but initially with versions available for Apple Macintosh, Sun Solaris, and HP-UX. It was one of the main participants of the first browser war...
for Windows 3.1.
Promotion and reception
Microsoft began a television advertising campaign for the first time on March 1, 1992. The advertisements, developed by Ogilvy & MatherOgilvy & Mather
Ogilvy & Mather is an international advertising, marketing and public relations agency based in Manhattan and owned by the WPP Group. The company operates 497 offices in 125 countries with approximately 16,000 employees.-History:...
, were designed to introduce a broader audience to Windows. Windows 3.1 was shipped worldwide on April 6, 1992, and reached three million sales two months later. The year of Windows 3.1's release was successful for Microsoft, which was named the "Most Innovative Company Operating in the U.S." by Forbes Magazine, while Windows became the most widely-used GUI
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
-based operating environment.
DR-DOS compatibility
The installer to the beta release used code that checked whether it was running on Microsoft-licensed DOS or another DOS operating system (such as DR-DOSDR-DOS
DR-DOS is an MS-DOS-compatible operating system for IBM PC-compatible personal computers, originally developed by Gary Kildall's Digital Research and derived from Concurrent PC DOS 6.0, which was an advanced successor of CP/M-86...
). The code ran several functional tests that succeeded on MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS, but resulted in a technical support message on competing operating systems. If the system was not MS-DOS, the installer would fail. Digital Research, who owned DR-DOS, released a patch within weeks to allow the installer to continue. Microsoft disabled, but did not remove, this warning message for the final release of Windows 3.1. When Caldera
Caldera (company)
Caldera was a US-based software company founded in 1994 to develop Linux- and DOS-based operating system products.- Caldera :Caldera, Inc...
bought DR-DOS from Novell
Novell
Novell, Inc. is a multinational software and services company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group. It specializes in network operating systems, such as Novell NetWare; systems management solutions, such as Novell ZENworks; and collaboration solutions, such as Novell Groupwise...
, they brought a lawsuit against Microsoft over the AARD code, which was later settled.
Legacy
Windows 3.x was superseded by the release of Windows 95Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
in August 1995.
Windows 3.1 found a niche market as an embedded operating system
Embedded operating system
An embedded operating system is an operating system for embedded computer systems. These operating systems are designed to be compact, efficient, and reliable, forsaking many functions that non-embedded computer operating systems provide, and which may not be used by the specialized applications...
after becoming obsolete in the PC world. Up until November 2008, both Virgin Atlantic and Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
employed it for some of the onboard entertainment systems on long-distance jets. It also sees continued use as an embedded OS in retail cash tills.
On July 9, 2008, it was announced that Windows for Workgroups 3.11 for the embedded devices channel would no longer be made available for OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer
An original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, manufactures products or components that are purchased by a company and retailed under that purchasing company's brand name. OEM refers to the company that originally manufactured the product. When referring to automotive parts, OEM designates a...
distribution as of November 1, 2008.
Microsoft Knowledge Base
- Microsoft Windows for Workgroups Resource Kit
See Also
- 32-bit file access32-bit File Access32-bit file access refers to the higher performance, protected mode disk caching method introduced in Windows for Workgroups 3.11, which replaced SmartDrive . It bypassed MS-DOS and directly accessed the disk, either via the BIOS or 32-bit disk access...
based on IFSHLP.SYSIFSHLP.SYSIFSHLP.SYS is an MS-DOS device driver included with Microsoft Windows. It enables Windows to make direct file system calls bypassing MS-DOS methods and use native 32-bit file access for both local and network devices...
was introduced with WfW 3.11.