Windows 3.0, a graphical environment, is the third major release of Microsoft Windows, and was released on May 22,

1990. It became the first widely successful version of Windows and a rival to Apple Macintosh and the Commodore

Amiga on the GUI front. It was followed by Windows 3.1.

 

Windows 3.0 originated in 1989 when a group of Microsoft programmers independently decided to develop a

protected mode Windows as an experiment. They cobbled together a rough prototype and presented it to company

executives, who were impressed enough to approve it as an official project.

 

 

Features:

 

Windows 3.0 succeeded Windows 2.1x and included a significantly revamped user interface as well as technical

improvements to make better use of the memory management capabilities of Intel's 80286 and 80386 processors.

Text-mode programs written for MS-DOS could be run within a window (a feature previously available in a more

limited form with Windows/386 2.1), making the system usable as a crude multitasking base for legacy programs.

However, this was of limited use for the home market, where most games and entertainment programs continued to

require raw DOS access.

 

The MS-DOS Executive file manager/program launcher was replaced with the icon-based Program Manager and the

list-based File Manager, thereby simplifying the launching of applications. The MS-DOS Executive is also included as an

alternative to these. The Control Panel, previously available as a standard-looking applet, was re-modeled after the

one in Mac OS. It centralized system settings, including limited control over the color scheme of the interface.

A number of simple applications were included, such as the text editor Notepad and the word processor Write (both

inherited from earlier versions of Windows), a macro recorder (new; later dropped), the paint program Paintbrush

(inherited but substantially improved), and a calculator (also inherited). Also, the earlier Reversi game was

complemented with the card game Solitaire.

 

The Windows icons and graphics support a full 16 colors in EGA and VGA mode while Windows 2.x only had colored

menus and window boxes with in-application graphics being monochrome. 256 color VGA mode was supported for the

first time.

 

Windows 3.0 includes a Protected/Enhanced mode which allows Windows applications to use more memory in a more

painless manner than their DOS counterparts could. It can run in any of Real, Standard, or 386 Enhanced modes, and

is compatible with any Intel processor from the 8086/8088 up to 80286 and 80386. Windows 3.0 tries to auto detect

which mode to run in, although it can be forced to run in a specific mode using the switches: /r (real mode), /s

("standard" 286 protected mode) and /3 (386 enhanced protected mode) respectively. Since Windows 3.0 (and later

Windows 3.1) runs in 16-bit 286 protected mode and not 32-bit 386 protected mode, applications must still work with

64k memory segments like in DOS although 32-bit instructions may be contained in the code (Ami Pro was the first

Windows application to require a 386). Because of this, Windows 3.0 can only access 16MB total of RAM even on 386

CPUs which have the theoretical capability of utilizing 4GB.

 

This was the first version to run Windows programs in protected mode, although the 386 enhanced mode kernel was

an enhanced version of the protected mode kernel for Windows/286.

A "multimedia" version, Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions 1.0, was released later in 1991. This was bundled

with "multimedia upgrade kits", comprising a CD-ROM drive and a sound card, such as the Creative Labs Sound Blaster

Pro. This version was the precursor to the multimedia features available in Windows 3.1 and later, and was part of

Microsoft's specification for the Multimedia PC.

 

Windows 3.0 was the last version of Windows to advertise 100% compatibility with older Windows applications. This

only applies to real mode.