While the world has focused with hand-wringing angst about the fate of XP, it has paid no heed to the fact that this month, Microsoft finally retired its most popular desktop OS ever, the 29-year-old Windows 3.x, reports the BBC. On Nov. 1, Microsoft officially stopped issuing licenses for Windows 3.x.
Windows 3.x was launched in May 1990 and it would prove to be the death knell for DOS and, eventually, for text-based software altogether. The GUI operating system, uncoupled from the hardware, arguably made Microsoft. For those of you that have clung to your ancient PCs, making them chug away in your basements (connected to your dot matrix printers?) you would have known that Microsoft maintained support for Windows 3.x until the end of 2001, but maybe you didn’t know that the OS lived on as embedded operating system until Nov. 1, the story reports. It says:
“As an embedded system, it was used to power such things as cash tills in large stores and ticketing systems. One of its more glamorous uses as an embedded operating system is to power the in-flight entertainment systems on some Virgin and Qantas long-haul jets.”
And so we say to Windows 3.x, so long old pal. The world has turned its attention toward the hotly anticipated birth of your great grandchild — Windows 7.
