Do you have fond memories of Window's 3.1's retro graphics? Do you remember the wonder you felt the first time you used the taskbar? Well we do, and that's why we're using Windows 7 Week as an excuse to take a moment for a quick, visual tour of Windows’ constantly-changing GUI. From 1.01 to Windows 7, we’ll show you how the operating system has gradually evolved from an ugly duckling to snazzy, Aero-powered swan.

Windows 1.0

The very first version of Microsoft’s massive OS franchise was little more than a graphical front-end for DOS. Though capable of handling layered windows, legal concerns about similarities with the Macintosh forced Microsoft to limit Windows 1.0 to use tiled Windows, except for notification boxes.

Windows 2.0

Windows 2.0 didn’t shake things up too much, although it did enable support for overlapping Windows, which had been previously disabled. Additionally, Windows 2.0 introduced the now familiar “Minimize” and “Maximize” terminology. Before that, the functions had been called “Iconize” and “Zoom.” It also allowed minimized programs to be moved around the desktop.

Windows 3.x

The first widely adopted version of Windows brought with it a number of GUI improvements. Windows 3.0 was first to introduce the Program Manager shell, which allows programs to be launched by clicking on icons. Previous versions had used a file manager called the MS-DOS Executive to launch applications. Additionally, this was the first release to allow users to select their desktop background, and all the icons in Windows 3.0 were given an overhaul to take advantage of all 16 colors available with VGA. Additionally, in this release buttons were given the familiar “3D” effect with shading, though the windows themselves didn’t receive this treatment until the next release. Windows 3.1 gained wider use than 3.0, and was notable primarily for support of TrueType fonts, something that required third-party software in Windows 3.0.

Windows 95

Windows 95 is the first version of the OS that introduced the user interface concepts that are common to every version of Windows since. Windows Explorer replaced the File Manager, and the old Program Manager was replaced by the Taskbar and the Start Menu.

Windows 98

Windows 98 was the first version of Windows to support Active Desktop, out of the box. Active Desktop, which allows users to add HTML-based content onto the desktop, was also included in the “Windows Desktop Update” for Windows 95, which was installed with Internet Explorer 4.0. It was also the first version of Windows that shipped with the Quick Launch shortcut bar enabled.

Windows ME

Windows Millennium Edition was designed specifically for home computer users, and included a streamlined and simplified UI, which was widely panned. Windows ME also added on a System Restore feature allowing users to roll back their systems to a date or time of the past before an issue occurred.