Microsoft Falcon

Microsoft Falcon is an Operating System produced by Microsoft as part of the Falcon family of operating systems (formerly URT). It was officially released on the 23rd June 1998 with a minimal advertising campaign starting in April 1998.
== Development ==
Falcon began as a re-tooling of the Windows URT family; it was stated that URT lacked certain progress between Windows NT and it's own kernel: "Ultra Revolutionary Technology", which was still based on NT at the lowest form. During the patching process for URT 1.0 to 1.1, it was confirmed by Microsoft that a new Microsoft Product would be in development by late 1996.
The name "Falcon" wasn't widely used until around 1.2, which the first build of URT Falcon (then codenamed "YoghURT") would be built on. Although it was based on URT, it was to be different as it would use its own extra layer of code, meaning it would have 3 separate codebases working together. This prompted the "Unity" name, which was leaked around the beginning of 1997. It was also revealed by Harold Woodson at Microsoft PDC 1997 that this new version of Windows URT would be built on its own basis. However, this proved to be too ambitious as the NT kernel would have to be completely removed from the operating system, which was still being relied on for URT around the time the decision was made to make it a separate kernel. This ultimately forced Harold Woodson, then director of Codename YoghURT, to decide between rooting for the NT kernel but retaining its restrictions or to completely build it from scratch, which would no longer class it as a URT family product.
=== Switch to the Falcon kernel ===
During mid-late 1997, the NT removal process was considered "too hard to deal with anymore"; and the project was becoming increasingly problematic as many members of the YoghURT team found it hard to co-operate over features, removals, additions or other ideas. Sometime in very early 1998, it was rumored that URT 1.5 (the next anticipated patch) would be dropped in favor for a new project.
This was later confirmed by an anonymous Microsoft developer who had added to their blog about the process of a new project codenamed "Falcon". It was to be based on a completely new kernel that was separate from NT or URT, and it was to have been, according to them, in development since October 1997. However, the leak of confidential information later saw the developer in question being fired. This in turn created a lot of unintentional hype from many fans of Windows.
Microsoft later confirmed that it was indeed true that the new project would be based on itself, and that it would be better than ever.
The switch happened sometime between build 2010 and build 2014, as this is the first build with the debug Falcon boot screen (known as "Debug The Bird" internally). Despite its unfinished explorer shell, the switch was clearly in favor of Microsoft as benchmarking had shown a 31% increase in stability. This was celebrated by a joke in the winter reading "For once we can stop worrying about this!".
As Falcon approached completion, it was decided to make it a universal product, which meant that it would not have a separate Home and Professional version, but rather merge these two editions into one complete package. This was evident by the first reveal of it at PDC 1998, where Harold Woodson himself came on the stage and announced the Universal Product concept, which was considered as a great idea for both sides, since Microsoft didn't have to produce two versions and the consumer wouldn't be confused about which one to buy.
== Overview ==
Microsoft Falcon is the first in the Falcon series of Operating Systems. Its user interface is identical to that of previous versions of Windows. However, it runs on a newer kernel that has been designed to prioritize system services over user services. This push into service prioritization made Falcon a faster and more reliable system to run.
=== Display and Colors ===
Falcon introduced a desktop environment with new icons; these were later reused for Windows 2000 and Millennium Edition as it was to prove how it could run 32 bits flawlessly. The color depth was unrivaled at the time, with being able to display sixteen million colors at once, which was a large selling point for Falcon. It removed the ability to choose monochrome as it was an obsolete technology by then. However, it wasn't completely removed, as monochrome could still be used if a video driver only supported it; there are also user-made registry hacks to re-enable it.
Additionally, this was also the first version of a Windows product to support larger resolutions, such as 1920x1080, natively. Earlier Windows versions could do this, but it would be poorly used and in some cases force the screen to fill the whole space instead, with native resolutions added for higher resolutions. It was able to appeal to those with modern monitors, even though the majority that used Falcon were still on 800x600 screens.
=== Internet ===
This was the first version of any Microsoft product to support High-Speed Broadband. The updated Connect to the Internet Wizard allowed the ability to connect via broadband instead of dial-up. It would then unhide the Internet Explorer icon, allowing the user to browse through any website — the version number for Internet Explorer was 4 when it was first released, with its update to 5.5 in 2000 from Service Pack 1, and finally 6 in Service Pack 2. Though if the user wanted, they could always install their own choice of browser. Microsoft Falcon also added the ability to cut dial-up costs by half; it used a technology which was supported by some Internet Service Providers which would allow the dial up modem to dial an express number. However, this meant that the wait time would be increased by around ≈4%.
=== User Experience ===
Despite Microsoft Falcon looking identical to Windows 95 and later Windows NT 4, it had added a lot more user features than before — obviously implying that Falcon was putting the customer first. However, businesses could turn these features off if needed. Many of the features were a proceeder of Windows XP's user features, such as the login screen and updated Help and Support interfaces. Falcon removed a lot of useless and/or obsolete programs that were introduced in 3.1-NT 4, such as the HyperTerminal, Address Book and WordPad (in favor of Office Lite); these changes were both liked and disliked by users alike, some praising it for removing such features due to lack of usage, others (especially businesses) were critical of these features being removed due to how much use they could have if used correctly, these features could be readied if the user checked "Complete Installation" in the Setup or by inserting the installation CD and selecting "Install additional features".
Another addition that Falcon introduced was better accessibility options, such as colorblind settings, options for people with bad hearing or bad eyesight and settings for people with mobility disabilities; as well as these additions, it improved upon the already existing accessibility software.
== Reception ==
When it was first released, Microsoft Falcon received mostly positive reception from tech critics, praising it for its stability and easier interface as well as general cleaning up of clutter that was present in versions of Windows. Some even went as far as calling it "Microsoft's best product to date", others were not so appeased by Falcon. The main criticisms were the removal of business usage programs and claiming that Falcon was to be more for the consumer rather than the business side of things, meaning many workstations preferred to keep NT 4 until Windows 2000's release. The removal of WordPad in favor of Office Lite was too much, a way for Microsoft to advertise Office products.
Another common part of the critique of Falcon was how it functioned for home users as well. Being that it was intended for both consumer and professional environments, the identity crisis Falcon had on both parties was quite confusing for many users. However, this was remedied by third-party software, which would automatically hide unwanted programs; this feature was then later brought in as a patch in an update.
=== Controversies in other countries ===
Microsoft Falcon was controversial when it launched for including a 'free demo' of a multi-media player. It was then found that it was a fraudulent copy that had been cracked via Microsoft's own built-in tools. This outbreak of news caused many countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and other countries to ban sales of Falcon until Microsoft had removed the media player.
More controversies include the "What-a-day" hidden in the Office Lite Word program. What-a-day was a game about shooting down various skateboarders in Miami, Florida; the game's discovery in 2002 resulted in various anti-trust and anti-consumer lawsuits against Microsoft. In response, they concluded an investigation and stated that the game was never intended to be in the final product, but was an oversight by the quality assurance team.
== Service Packs ==
If you don't already know, a service pack is a set of updates and features that are downloaded and then installed to improve the user experience. Four main service packs have been released for Microsoft Falcon, with six smaller sub-packs being released. If installing Service Pack 4, it is required to have Service Pack 3 installed as features rely on certain codebases and patches that were shipped with Service Pack 3.
=== Service Pack 1 ===
Service Pack 1 was released on 4 July 1999. It was nicknamed the "Independence Pack" due to its release on Independence Day, but during development, it was codenamed The Colonial after an Amtrak service that ran from 1976-1992.
The first service pack included over 250 minor patches from Post-RTM. It patched the "Windows URT 1.5" glitch that was sometimes shown in the login box by mistake. More additions to Service Pack 1 include:
*Update to Internet Explorer (Now being registered as 4.1 internally).
*Improved support for Plug-and-Play devices, and included support for the optical mouse.
*Increased performance due to the AutoOptimizer now being enabled.
*The new Express Dial service is Microsoft's in-house Dial-Up saver option. This service closed in 2012.
However, Service Pack 1 removed some features that were latency software; this included the "Windows Help and Support" application, which was meant to serve as a prototype for the Falcon Help application. It has also removed the What-a-day game and also updated Office Lite to Version 1.0.2.
=== Service Pack 2 ===
Service Pack 2 was released on 2 February 2000 and given the codename of Brisbane.
The second service pack included 2 new updates. The updates were a Notification Center, that we would later see in Windows 10 as a notification sidebar, and a new Sound Effect system from Windows ME and 2000.
=== Service Pack 3 ===
Service Pack 3 was released on 14 May 2000 and given the codename of Madrid.
The third service pack reintroduced the What-a-day game, albeit this time you take on the role of a parent doing tasks around the house, and updated Office Lite to version 1.0.3. There was also an update in the Notification Center.
=== Service Pack 4 ===
Service Pack 4 was released on 4 April 2001 as a free download on SP3 and a Box Copy. The codenames for this one were Windward Islands, City of Glasgow, & Princess Anne.
The fourth service pack has a minor change from Service Pack 3, which is a Watercolor theme in the Themes settings.
=== Sub Packs ===
These packs came out from October 8, 2001 to November 20, 2006.
* Sub Pack 1: October 8, 2001
* Sub Pack 2: January 17, 2002
* Sub Pack 3: June 16, 2003
* Sub Pack 4: March 23, 2004
* Sub Pack 5: February 12, 2005
* Sub Pack 6: November 20, 2006
On January 4, 2007, Microsoft Falcon ended support. This was mainly because it had its fair share on the market and people were losing interest in it. 
Category:Fictional OS