Windows

Windows (otherwise known as Microsoft Windows) is the official YouTube channel for the Microsoft project that was released on November 20, 1985.
==History==
===Project itself ===
In 1981, the Apps division of Microsoft had began development on an a common interface library for all the productive apps developed at the time. This project went through names like Microsoft User SHell, and Interface Manager, and is an entirely text-mode UI framework signified by the "session control" strip with context-specific commands at the bottom of the screen. There were also brief plans for a "visual shell" using this UI to be shipped using DOS 2.0, but these were scrapped before the final release. Variants of the MUSH/Interface Manager interface would ship in DOS Word 1.0 and Multiplan in 1982 and 1983, after the development of the Windows product had already begun. 
At the same time that Interface Manager was being developed, a European standards committee was developing a standard for computer graphics, known as GKS. Microsoft wished to create a software product that would implement this standard on top of MS-DOS in a device-independent manner; Microsoft hired a developer to start this endeavour at the beginning of 1982, with another being transferred from Compiled Basic to assist with shrinking the code down later (mostly by converting it from C to assembly to meet the memory limitations of early IBM PCs) later that year. This project was dubbed GDI (Graphics Device Independence), later renamed to Graphics Device Interface, initially focusing on vector graphics.
It was eventually decided in the middle of 1982 to merge the Interface Manager and GDI teams into one team to develop a GUI-based package with device-independent graphics drawing, which gradually evolved into a (mostly) fully-fledged operating system with its own API and executable format.
The first public pre-release version of Windows was showcased in fall 1983's COMDEX, and the version released on November 20, 1985 as Windows 1.0. The first major version of Windows, Windows 3.0, was released to the public on May 22, 1990.
Windows NT began development in 1988, and its first version, Windows NT 3.1, was released to the public on July 27, 1993. The next version of the series, Windows NT 3.50, was released on September 21, 1994. These versions had a critical bug where CPUs that over dated the Pentium were unable to install Windows NT 3.1 and 3.50; the bug was fixed with Windows NT 3.51's release on May 30, 1995.
Since Windows had 2 versions, one for consumers (MS-DOS based), and one for businesses (NT based), these versions of Windows were released under seperate products. The last one to be MS-DOS based, Windows Me, was released on September 14, 2000. Shortly after the release of Windows NT, all versions of Windows had to be entirely based off of Windows NT. Windows XP, the first consumer version based off of Windows NT, was released on October 25, 2001.
Windows Vista (then known as Longhorn) began development in early 2001, with the first pre-release featuring significant changes (build 3683) being compiled on September 23, 2002, and then leaked as a modified .ISO image by group XBetas on November 19, 2002. The unmodified version was leaked by BetaArchive members at some point between 2006-2007.
Longhorn reset its development in August 2004, after many WIP features had been leaked and were incredibly broken. Development continued at a good pace, eventually getting released on January 30, 2007. The next version, Windows 7, was released on October 22, 2009. The most popular release of Windows, Windows 10, was released on July 29, 2015.
===YouTube Channel===
Windows created their channel on August 28, 2008, and uploaded their first video on March 10, 2009.
==Content==
Windows usually uploads major or minor tutorials on handling their devices/products. They also upload different commercials they release.
==Source code leaks==
===2004 Windows NT leaks===
In 2004, incomplete copies of Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 source code were given access to and shortly after leaked to the public. These copies were illegal, as Windows source code is both a trade secret and copyrighted, and as so is protected to the law. However, Microsoft has leaked bits and pieces of Windows Server 2003's kernel source code for educational purposes.
===2017 Windows 10 SSK leaks===
In 2017, The Register and other tech-based news sites reported about a pre-release archiving forum known as BetaArchive having access and leaking the Windows 10 Shared Source Kits, which are available to qualified customers, enterprises, governments, and partners for debugging and reference purposes. Shortly after the news broke out, BetaArchive removed all source code leaks on its FTP, including the Windows 10 SSK. It is now against the BetaArchive FTP rules to show off source code for the FTP.
===2018 Windows NT File Manager and 2019 Windows 10 Calculator leak===
In 2018, a copy of Windows NT's File Manager's source code was given access to and shortly after released on GitHub under the MIT license. A year later, Windows 10's Calculator's application source code and its console host component was released on GitHub.
===2020 Windows NT 3.5 and Windows XP leak===
In May 2020, a copy of Windows NT 3.5 build 782.1's source code was given access and leaked to 4chan's /vp/ board. It can be compiled as of now, however some important components are missing in the code.
Later in September 2020, a copy of Windows XP Service Pack 1's source code was given access and leaked. The leaked copy is mostly complete, although the activation components are absent within both repositories. It is likely that the leak originated from a Microsoft partner who had access to the source code rather than Microsoft itself. This code base had been apparently circulating in online circles since at least 2015.
==Trivia==
*The channel originally housed videos ever since 2009, but as of 2023, all pre-2019 content was removed from the channel.
*Windows 10 is the most sold operating system in Windows history.
*Windows 1.0 was the first version on Windows, which released in 1985.
==Subscriber milestones==
Category:Tech YouTubers
Category:News YouTubers
Category:American YouTubers
Category:Users who joined in 2008
Category:One million subscribers