JFK and how the military industrial complex has taken over America

from voiceofrussia

Plane in the JFK airport in 2013 and 1963 (black and white photo)

Photo: AFP

One of US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s (JFK) most memorable and currently topical speeches was an address before the American Newspaper Publishers Association on April 27, 1961, in which he detailed the role of the mass media and the threat to freedom faced by the world and why the media must be protected and its freedom jealously guarded. The words of JFK ring truer today than they perhaps did in 1961 and what he and Dwight D. Eisenhower warned about has come to be the reality that we all live with today, with now little hope for undoing.

In the speech in question JFK said: “The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it.”

I would argue the opposite is true with regard the fact that Americans are “inherently and historically opposed to secret societies”, quite the opposite is true. No other country in the world has as many secret societies and governmental organs than the US. Historically the US was founded on the biggest lie and secret of all: the genocide of the Indians. The American tendency towards keeping nefarious activities and groups “secret” on might say began with the “secret” treaties signed with the Indians, which were just instruments to guarantee their complete and total annihilation and facilitate their complete and total genocide. As is the secret behind the first Thanksgiving.

This foundation of secrecy led to the formation of secret organizations and societies like the Ku Klux Klan(whose only goal is to maintain white supremacy in America) Skull and Bones, and the like. The maintaining of white supremacy through all means possible is so intertwined in American society, business and government that it would be almost impossible to extricate racism from it. This was the first danger JFK posed to the status quo. An apartheid system of segregation is something the citizens of other countries might not understand but it was an integral part of American society which continues in secret yet noticeable ways today but is naturally a taboo topic for discussion.

JFK: “… there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment. And no official, whether his rank is high or low, civilian or military, should interpret my words as an excuse to censor the news, to stifle dissent, to cover up our mistakes or to withhold from the press and the public the facts they deserve to know.”

What traditions JFK was referring to is not clear, but one might assume the US Constitution or perhaps the status quo of white supremacy? As for dangers being used to expand the meaning of security to the limits, we see that today, and this is exactly what has taken place, with the events of 9-11 being used as the catalyst. Security has been used as a basis for the Patriot Act and the Orwellian Department of Homeland Security  and the complete stripping away of the Constitutional rights of Americans to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, indefinite illegal imprisonment. extra-judicial execution and total surveillance.

The next part of JFK’s speech deals with the boogeyman threat of the USSR during the Cold War but it is a complete and utter irony that the tables have been completely turned and it is people like me and the VOR, Russian media like RT and outlets like WikiLeaks who attempt to expose the truth of the covert, illegal and secret nature of the nefarious activities of the American people’s own government. How times have changed? JFK’s words now almost exactly depict what the United States has become:

JFK: “For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence – on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day.”

The secret and covert means that the US has employed to achieve global domination have included secret treaties, alliances, laws, huge secret spying networks and instruments and everything that has occurred since the War on Terror began. The infiltration and subversion can be seen through the activities of USAID, NGOs and the political manipulation and buying of politicians in almost every country in the world as well as all of the other “efforts” at media, cultural and psychological manipulation. This subversion was most clearly visible in the recent Middle East “revolutions”.

Intimidation is much more clear and stifles free speech, free expression and proper criticism. Again ironic that someone such as I writing for a Russian state media outlet would be one of the few journalists continuously attempting to expose US Government illegality for the American people, whose press can no longer properly carry out the function of the Fourth Estate without facing sanctions, imprisonment and even death.

The epitome of this intimidation is the case of Julian Assange who is trapped in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London as well as all of the other information activists and whistleblowers such as Jeremy Hammond, Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden, who have lost their freedom or faced the full weight of the state for exposing the secrets nefarious activities of the US Government. There is no longer free choice and there is no longer a Constitution in America, those points are widely accepted.

The guerillas by night instead of armies by day quote almost perfectly characterizes the War on Terror and the use of Al-Qaeda (another secret US alliance)and all of the ways that “war” has been fought. Technology of course has made it possible for long-distance remote war to be fought which is an even more nefarious activity and one that JFK would never have even dreamed about.

JFK: “It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations. Its preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried, not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced, not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed.”

What would JFK have thought if he had known that one day the above statement would perfectly reflect the US Government? For we have seen that the relationship between all of these institutions with the addition of law enforcement and the prison and healthcare systems, has become almost completely seamless, with the military industrial complex and the bankers controlling everything, even who becomes president.

The Trans Pacific Treaty is a perfect example of how preparations are concealed, war crimes exposed by Bradley Manning are perfect examples of mistakes being buried as are all of the failing of 9-11, the list of silenced dissenters is too long to list here as are the unquestioned expenditures and the secrets that are not published.

The rest of the speech most notably deals with the role of the press and the fact that dissent and discussion are healthy and necessary if a country is to survive. JFK stated that no president should be afraid of criticism or scrutiny but we have seen since Bush became president this has been the opposite and Obama has only expanded on the control of the media and the stifling of dissent and scrutiny. This is clear by the war Bush and then Obama have waged  on Hacktivists, information warriors, truth-seekers and whistleblowers. People who should have been seen as heroes and who exposed illegality have been demonized, marginalized and eliminated in one way or the other since the cover-up of the events of 9-11 and George Bush’s infamous statement: “Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists!”

“No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. For I have complete confidence in the response and dedication of our citizens whenever they are fully informed. Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed, and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian lawmaker Solon decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment – the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution – not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply give the public what it wants, but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion.”

It is a given and accepted fact in 2013 that the mass media is no longer free and that every reporter, writer and commentator must either engage in self-censorship or risk at minimum job or at most life if he dares to question the government or the president.

The role of the media is now even more important and the last words of JFK that I want to recall are the following:

JFK: “And so it is to the printing press – to the recorder of man's deeds, the keeper of his conscience, the courier of his news – that we look for strength and assistance, confident that with your help man will be what he was born to be: free and independent.”

In my recent research into the events surrounding the assassination of JFK many things began to become clearer. As my readers know I have covered many areas of US Government illegality and written hundreds of articles and interviewed hundreds of people regarding the post 9-11 “War on Terror” paradigm, yet it was the recent research into the JFK assassination, Operation Northwoods and a statement by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower that made things clearer.

Eisenhower said: “A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.”

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military–industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.”

This is exactly what has happened in the US and the events of 9-11 were the final catalyst needed to bring about the complete takeover of all areas of government and society by the military industrial complex.

If we start with the premise that there were members of the US military and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who were actually proponents of a plan like Operation Northwoods, which called for shooting down passenger aircraft and staging terrorists acts on US soil causing massive loss of civilian lives and we look at what happened on 9-11-2001 the correlations are almost to glaring to ignore, even if we want to ignore them. Eisenhower and JFK’s words are like clues to the JFK assassination and 9-11, clues from the grave, and they cannot be ignored if we are to understand the truth behind 9-11 and the JFK assassination.

After years of research, hundreds of interviews and connecting thousands of dots I can only conclude that the events of 9-11 had their roots in the JFK assassination and that behind the scenes the same players are involved. The same secret and all powerful members of the “Global Shadow Government” carried out the events. Andrew Kreig calls them the Puppet Masters, others call them the “Banksters”, the “Globalists” or the “New World Order People”. Whatever the name they are a dynastic power and they are in fact known and discoverable and their chief instruments for maintaining their order and control are the CIA, the NSA, and secret military branches and alliances such as NATO, Special Operations Command and even Al-Qaeda.

The fact that Bush was present in Dallas that fateful day when the young and smiling Kennedy had his life cut short and then became the Director of Central Intelligence are not mere coincidences. The fact that it was JFK who stopped Operation Northwoods and then was assassinated was also not a coincidence. The fact that the architects of Northwoods continued planning and scheming in the background for decades culminating in the events of 9-11 and then achieved positions of power afterwards, the Rumsfelds and Cheneys et. al. is also not a coincidence.

Also of interest is the seamless relationship between the military industrial complex and the US and other governments, highlighted perhaps by the fact that Keith B. Alexander the Director of the National Security Agency was at the meeting of the Shadow Government in 2009 (or better known as the “Bilderberg Group”) along with representatives of countless defense contractors and private intelligence corporations. Companies such Halliburton, XE and KNBR which have grown rich beyond their wildest dreams since 9-11.

Their machine has now spread its tentacles worldwide and in effect has enslaved the people of the world and if you are reading this on the internet you are connected to their network as well. After all the internet was originally thought up as a secret military network.  But what can we do? Is there any hope? According to everyone I have spoken to we are headed into black times but eventually things will get better. The key to it all is truth and the truth must be known and the truth will set us free.

Again the irony that this message of hope and the call for a stand against tyranny is coming from the former USSR must not be missed. I write this with a heavy heart but with hope for the future and hope that through the ultimate tool of control that was to be the internet we be able to end this black age and bring about peace and true accounting and finally respect for international law. For Americans I would hope that through concerted efforts the leaders would once again be forced to uphold their oaths to the Constitution, because it is not just an abstract piece of outdated legislation, but the foundation on which the country they took from the Indians was based.

The views and opinions expressed above were my own. I can be reached at robles@ruvr.ru.

John Robles

Honor JFK By Renewing His Constitutional Commitment to Extend Voting Rights

from billmoyers.com

November 22, 2013

by John Nichols

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The post first appeared in The Nation.

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A tour group walks past a memorial wreath displayed next to the bronze memorial bust, by Robert Berks, of President John F. Kennedy in the grand foyer of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Friday, Nov. 22, 2013, on the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's death. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The right to vote in a free American election is the most powerful and precious right in the world — and it must not be denied on the grounds of race or color. It is a potent key to achieving other rights of citizenship. For American history — both recent and past — clearly reveals that the power of the ballot has enabled those who achieve it to win other achievements as well, to gain a full voice in the affairs of their state and nation and to see their interests represented in the governmental bodies which affect their future. In a free society, those with the power to govern are necessarily responsive to those with the right to vote.

–John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Special Message to the Congress on Civil Rights, 1963

There has been much honoring of the memory of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy this week, and rightly so. He was dynamic figure who preached a “new generation of leadership” vision that still serves as an antithesis to the listless, austerity-burdened rhetoric of so many of today’s political figures — including some in Kennedy’s own Democratic Party.

Kennedy saw himself as a liberal reformer, declaring in 1960 that: “If by a ‘Liberal’ they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a ‘Liberal,’ then I’m proud to say I’m a ‘Liberal.’”

Kennedy was ardently in favor of religious tolerance, respect for immigrants and labor rights (in 1962 he signed Executive Order 10988, which established the right of most federal workers to bargain collectively). Yes, in his service as a senator from Massachusetts and later as the nation’s 35th president, Kennedy was a politician of his times, which meant that he could disappoint; surely, he was slower than need be when it came to challenging Cold War dogmas and in calling out southern resistance to social and economic justice. But Kennedy evolved, as did the nation he led, during the course of his short but transformational presidency.

Kennedy devoted much of the last year of his life to advocacy on behalf of voting rights. His great civil rights address — delivered in the last year of his presidency from the Oval Office to a national television and radio audience — argued that “it ought to be possible for American citizens of any color to register and to vote in a free election without interference or fear of reprisal.”

Fifty years after his assassination, Kennedy can be honored in many ways. But a renewal of his liberal commitment to voting rights would surely be a fine place to begin. The 24th amendment to the Constitution, which eliminated the poll tax, was placed on the national agenda by Kennedy, who made it his personal mission to eliminate the wealth barrier to voting.

Politically savvy, the president knew that enacting a constitutional amendment would be difficult, but he argued for going “the hard way” because of an understanding of the need to go around southern resistance in the Senate and because of a determination to lock in voting-rights gains.

Kennedy promoted the amendment in speeches and letters to the Congress, and then in a steady stream of telegrams and phone calls that prodded governors and legislators across the country to get their states on board.

In the last months before his death, Kennedy was in the thick of the struggle for voting rights, reminding Americans that: “Finally, the 87th Congress — after 20 years of effort — passed and referred to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment to prohibit the levying of poll taxes as a condition to voting. I urge every state legislature to take prompt action on this matter and to outlaw the poll tax — which has too long been an outmoded and arbitrary bar to voting participation by minority groups and others — as the 24th amendment to the Constitution.”

Beyond the bully pulpit, the president exchanged notes with governors such as Wisconsin’s John Reynolds regarding the details of legislative debates and votes. To a far greater extent than was known at the time, Kennedy personally managed the ratification process.

Thirty-six states ratified the amendment before Kennedy’s assassination — two short of the needed total. Kennedy and others hoped that Texas might break with other states and support the amendment. A statewide referendum on November 9, 1963, proposed to repeal that state’s poll tax and the campaign was intense. Opponents of repeal argued that people of color would “flood the polls” if the economic barrier to voting was removed. Supporters distributed literature that declared: ”President Kennedy Wants You to Vote Saturday, November 9, to Repeal the Poll Tax.”

A special message from Kennedy read: “I share the conviction that the right to vote should not be denied or abridged because of the failure to pay a poll tax.”

The literature made the connection to the civil rights movement, urging a “yes” vote: “For Better Job Opportunities, For Better Housing, For Equality and Dignity, For Freedom.”

Unfortunately, a majority of Texas voters saw the change as a threat. They rejected repeal less than two weeks before Kennedy made his trip to Dallas. Yet, the president continued his advocacy, getting prominent Texans such as Vice President Lyndon Johnson and US Senator Ralph Yarborough to lend their names to the effort.

Kennedy died without seeing his amendment added to the Constitution.

But his labors were not in vain.

The final states, Maine and South Dakota, signaled their approval in the weeks after the president’s death

When the 24th amendment was added to the Constitution in January, 1964, the change in the founding document was heralded with front-page headlines in newspapers and broadcast reports from coast-to-coast; except, notably, in southern states where too many media outlets had aligned themselves with the massive resistance to civil-rights legislation — even when that legislation took the form of a constitutional amendment.

The constitutional elimination of the barrier Kennedy derided as “the property qualification” for voting signaled the arrival of what the late president had hoped for: “another turning point in the history of the great Republic.” With the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it seemed, finally, that the nation might move “beyond the new frontiers” of which Kennedy had spoken.

Unfortunately, as the historian Eric Foner reminds us, the history of the right to vote in America is one of expansion and contraction. And the rights Kennedy and so many others fought to expand have been contracting with the passage of restrictive “voter ID” laws, attacks on early voting and same-day registration, and a US Supreme Court move to gut the Voting Rights Act. Responding to the legislative and judicial assaults on voting rights, Wisconsin Congressman Mark Pocan and Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison have returned to the constitutional route that John Kennedy charted when he set out to end poll taxes and property qualifications as a barrier to voting.

With support from groups such as FairVote and Color of Change, the struggle for a constitutional guarantee of voting rights has gone national. Communities across the country are passing resolutions urging Congress to approve the amendment and send it to the states. As in the period before Kennedy embraced the campaign for an amendment banning the poll tax, there is a burgeoning grassroots campaign for constitutional intervention on behalf of voting rights.

The Pocan-Ellison proposal states in simple language the values that voting-rights campaigners have championed for decades: “Every citizen of the United States, who is of legal voting age, shall have the fundamental right to vote in any public election held in the jurisdiction in which the citizen resides,” and “Congress shall have the power to enforce and implement this article by appropriate legislation.”

Or, as John Fitzgerald Kennedy put it in 1963: “It is necessary (to) free the forces of our democratic system…promptly insuring the franchise to all citizens, making it possible for their elected officials to be truly responsive to all their constituents.”

John Nichols is Washington correspondent for The Nation and associate editor of The Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin. His most recent book is The "S" Word: A Short History of an American Tradition. A co-founder of the media reform organization Free Press, Nichols is co-author with Robert W. McChesney of The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again and Tragedy & Farce: How the American Media Sell Wars, Spin Elections, and Destroy Democracy.

Appreciations: An Interview with Doris Lessing

from billmoyers.com

November 18, 2013

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The Nobel-prize winning novelist Doris Lessing passed away on Sunday morning in London at the age of 94.

In this 2003 interview, Bill spoke with Lessing about what she called her “compulsive” passion for writing, growing up in Africa, the flower children of the 1960s, her time as a communist, the lasting impacts of war and how she handled accusations by her friends that she was “narrow-minded and an old grouch.”

At the time of the interview, the US was on the verge of invading Iraq.  This is what she said, less than two months before the war began: “Bush is going to ride into Iraq with guns blazing. And then everything will be cleared up and then he will ride out again. But it’s not going to be like that. The casualness of it is what is so terrifying.”

A history of Windows

from microsoft

Highlights from the first 25 years

1975–1981: Microsoft boots up

Getting started: Microsoft co-founders Paul Allen (left) and Bill Gates

It’s the 1970s. At work, we rely on typewriters. If we need to copy a document, we likely use a mimeograph or carbon paper. Few have heard of microcomputers, but two young computer enthusiasts, Bill Gates and Paul Allen, see that personal computing is a path to the future.

In 1975, Gates and Allen form a partnership called Microsoft. Like most start-ups, Microsoft begins small, but has a huge vision—a computer on every desktop and in every home. During the next years, Microsoft begins to change the ways we work.

The dawn of MS‑DOS

In June 1980, Gates and Allen hire Gates’ former Harvard classmate Steve Ballmer to help run the company. The next month, IBM approaches Microsoft about a project code-named "Chess." In response, Microsoft focuses on a new operating system—the software that manages, or runs, the computer hardware and also serves to bridge the gap between the computer hardware and programs, such as a word processor. It’s the foundation on which computer programs can run. They name their new operating system "MS‑DOS."

When the IBM PC running MS‑DOS ships in 1981, it introduces a whole new language to the general public. Typing “C:” and various cryptic commands gradually becomes part of daily work. People discover the backslash (\) key.

MS‑DOS is effective, but also proves difficult to understand for many people. There has to be a better way to build an operating system.

Geek trivia: MS‑DOS stands for Microsoft Disk Operating System.

1982–1985: Introducing Windows 1.0

Microsoft works on the first version of a new operating system. Interface Manager is the code name and is considered as the final name, but Windows prevails because it best describes the boxes or computing “windows” that are fundamental to the new system. Windows is announced in 1983, but it takes a while to develop. Skeptics call it “vaporware.”

The fully-packaged Windows 1.0

On November 20, 1985, two years after the initial announcement, Microsoft ships Windows 1.0. Now, rather than typing MS‑DOS commands, you just move a mouse to point and click your way through screens, or “windows.” Bill Gates says, “It is unique software designed for the serious PC user…”

There are drop-down menus, scroll bars, icons, and dialog boxes that make programs easier to learn and use. You're able to switch among several programs without having to quit and restart each one. Windows 1.0 ships with several programs, including MS‑DOS file management, Paint, Windows Writer, Notepad, Calculator, and a calendar, card file, and clock to help you manage day-to-day activities. There’s even a game—Reversi.

Geek trivia: Remember floppy disks and kilobytes? Windows 1.0 requires a minimum of 256 kilobytes (KB), two double-sided floppy disk drives, and a graphics adapter card. A hard disk and 512 KB memory is recommended for running multiple programs or when using DOS 3.0 or higher.

1987–1992: Windows 2.0–2.11—More windows, more speed

On December 9, 1987 Microsoft releases Windows 2.0 with desktop icons and expanded memory. With improved graphics support, you can now overlap windows, control the screen layout, and use keyboard shortcuts to speed up your work. Some software developers write their first Windows–based programs for this release.

Windows 2.0

Windows 2.0 is designed for the Intel 286 processor. When the Intel 386 processor is released, Windows/386 soon follows to take advantage of its extended memory capabilities. Subsequent Windows releases continue to improve the speed, reliability, and usability of the PC.

In 1988, Microsoft becomes the world’s largest PC software company based on sales. Computers are starting to become a part of daily life for some office workers.

Geek trivia: Control Panel makes its first appearance in Windows 2.0.

1990–1994: Windows 3.0–Windows NT—Getting the graphics

On May 22, 1990, Microsoft announces Windows 3.0, followed shortly by Windows 3.1 in 1992. Taken together, they sell 10 million copies in their first 2 years, making this the most widely used Windows operating system yet. The scale of this success causes Microsoft to revise earlier plans. Virtual Memory improves visual graphics. In 1990 Windows starts to look like the versions to come.

Windows now has significantly better performance, advanced graphics with 16 colors, and improved icons. A new wave of 386 PCs helps drive the popularity of Windows 3.0. With full support for the Intel 386 processor, programs run noticeably faster. Program Manager, File Manager, and Print Manager arrive in Windows 3.0.

Bill Gates shows the newly-released Windows 3.0

Windows software is installed with floppy discs bought in large boxes with heavy instruction manuals.

The popularity of Windows 3.0 grows with the release of a new Windows software development kit (SDK), which helps software developers focus more on writing programs and less on writing device drivers.

Windows is increasingly used at work and home and now includes games like Solitaire, Hearts, and Minesweeper. An advertisement: “Now you can use the incredible power of Windows 3.0 to goof off.”

Windows for Workgroups 3.11 adds peer-to-peer workgroup and domain networking support and, for the first time, PCs become an integral part of the emerging client/server computing evolution.

Windows NT

When Windows NT releases on July 27, 1993, Microsoft meets an important milestone: the completion of a project begun in the late 1980s to build an advanced new operating system from scratch. "Windows NT represents nothing less than a fundamental change in the way that companies can address their business computing requirements," Bill Gates says at its release.

Unlike Windows 3.1, however, Windows NT 3.1 is a 32-bit operating system, which makes it a strategic business platform that supports high-end engineering and scientific programs.

Geek trivia: The group that develops Windows NT was originally called the "Portable Systems" team.

1995–2001: Windows 95—the PC comes of age (and don't forget the Internet)

On August 24, 1995, Microsoft releases Windows 95, selling a record-setting 7 million copies in the first five weeks. It’s the most publicized launch Microsoft has ever taken on. Television commercials feature the Rolling Stones singing "Start Me Up" over images of the new Start button. The press release simply begins: “It’s here.”

Launch day: Bill Gates introduces Windows 95

This is the era of fax/modems, e‑mail, the new online world, and dazzling multimedia games and educational software. Windows 95 has built-in Internet support, dial-up networking, and new Plug and Play capabilities that make it easy to install hardware and software. The 32-bit operating system also offers enhanced multimedia capabilities, more powerful features for mobile computing, and integrated networking.

At the time of the Windows 95 release, the previous Windows and MS‑DOS operating systems are running on about 80 percent of the world’s PCs. Windows 95 is the upgrade to these operating systems. To run Windows 95, you need a PC with a 386DX or higher processor (486 recommended) and at least 4 MB of RAM (8 MB of RAM recommended). Upgrade versions are available for both floppy disk and CD-ROM formats. It’s available in 12 languages.

Windows 95 features the first appearance of the Start menu, taskbar, and minimize, maximize, and close buttons on each window.

Windows 95

Catching the Internet wave

In the early 1990s, tech insiders are talking about the Internet—a network of networks that has the power to connect computers all over the world. In 1995, Bill Gates delivers a memo titled “The Internet Tidal Wave,” and declares the Internet as “the most important development since the advent of the PC.”

In the summer of 1995, the first version of Internet Explorer is released. The browser joins those already vying for space on the World Wide Web.

Geek trivia: In 1996, Microsoft releases Flight Simulator for Windows 95—the first time in its 14-year history that it’s available for Windows.

1998–2000: Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me

Windows 98

Released on June 25, 1998, Windows 98 is the first version of Windows designed specifically for consumers. PCs are common at work and home, and Internet cafes where you can get online are popping up. Windows 98 is described as an operating system that “Works Better, Plays Better.”

With Windows 98, you can find information more easily on your PC as well as the Internet. Other improvements include the ability to open and close programs more quickly, and support for reading DVD discs and universal serial bus (USB) devices. Another first appearance is the Quick Launch bar, which lets you run programs without having to browse the Start menu or look for them on the desktop.

Geek trivia: Windows 98 is the last version based on MS‑DOS.

Windows 98

Windows Me

Designed for home computer use, Windows Me offers numerous music, video, and home networking enhancements and reliability improvements compared to previous versions.

First appearances: System Restore, a feature that can roll back your PC software configuration to a date or time before a problem occurred. Movie Maker provides users with the tools to digitally edit, save, and share home videos. And with Microsoft Windows Media Player 7 technologies, you can find, organize, and play digital media.

Geek trivia: Technically speaking, Windows Me was the last Microsoft operating system to be based on the Windows 95 code base. Microsoft announced that all future operating system products would be based on the Windows NT and Windows 2000 kernel.

Windows 2000 Professional

Windows 2000 Professional

More than just the upgrade to Windows NT Workstation 4.0, Windows 2000 Professional is designed to replace Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT Workstation 4.0 on all business desktops and laptops. Built on top of the proven Windows NT Workstation 4.0 code base, Windows 2000 adds major improvements in reliability, ease of use, Internet compatibility, and support for mobile computing.

Among other improvements, Windows 2000 Professional simplifies hardware installation by adding support for a wide variety of new Plug and Play hardware, including advanced networking and wireless products, USB devices, IEEE 1394 devices, and infrared devices.

Geek trivia: The nightly stress test performed on Windows 2000 during development is the equivalent of three months of run time on up to 1,500 computers.

2001–2005: Windows XP—Stable, usable, and fast

On October 25, 2001, Windows XP is released with a redesigned look and feel that's centered on usability and a unified Help and Support services center. It’s available in 25 languages. From the mid-1970s until the release of Windows XP, about 1 billion PCs have been shipped worldwide.

For Microsoft, Windows XP will become one of its best-selling products in the coming years. It’s both fast and stable. Navigating the Start menu, taskbar, and Control Panel are more intuitive. Awareness of computer viruses and hackers increases, but fears are to a certain extent calmed by the online delivery of security updates. Consumers begin to understand warnings about suspicious attachments and viruses. There’s more emphasis on Help and Support.

Ship it: Windows XP Professional rolls to retail stores

Windows XP Home Edition offers a clean, simplified visual design that makes frequently used features more accessible. Designed for home use, Windows XP offers such enhancements as the Network Setup Wizard, Windows Media Player, Windows Movie Maker, and enhanced digital photo capabilities.

Windows XP Professional brings the solid foundation of Windows 2000 to the PC desktop, enhancing reliability, security, and performance. With a fresh visual design, Windows XP Professional includes features for business and advanced home computing, including remote desktop support, an encrypting file system, and system restore and advanced networking features. Key enhancements for mobile users include wireless 802.1x networking support, Windows Messenger, and Remote Assistance.

Windows XP has several editions during these years:

• Windows XP 64-bit Edition (2001) is the first Microsoft operating system for 64-bit processors designed for working with large amounts of memory and projects such as movie special effects, 3D animations, engineering, and scientific programs.
• Windows XP Media Center Edition (2002) is made for home computing and entertainment. You can browse the Internet, watch live television, enjoy digital music and video collections, and watch DVDs.
• Windows XP Tablet PC Edition (2002) realizes the vision of pen-based computing. Tablet PCs include a digital pen for handwriting recognition and you can use the mouse or keyboard, too.

Geek trivia: Windows XP is compiled from 45 million lines of code.

2006–2008: Windows Vista—Smart on security

Windows Vista is released in 2006 with the strongest security system yet. User Account Control helps prevent potentially harmful software from making changes to your computer. In Windows Vista Ultimate, BitLocker Drive Encryption provides better data protection for your computer, as laptop sales and security needs increase. Windows Vista also features enhancements to Windows Media Player as more and more people come to see their PCs as central locations for digital media. Here you can watch television, view and send photographs, and edit videos.

Windows Vista Ultimate

Design plays a big role in Windows Vista, and features such as the taskbar and the borders around windows get a brand new look. Search gets new emphasis and helps people find files on their PCs faster. Windows Vista introduces new editions that each have a different mix of features. It's available in 35 languages. The redesigned Start button makes its first appearance in Windows Vista.

Geek trivia: More than 1.5 million devices are compatible with Windows Vista at launch.

2009: Windows 7

Windows 7 was built for the wireless world that arose in the late 2000s. By the time it was released, laptops were outselling desktops, and it had become common to connect to public wireless hotspots in coffee shops and private networks in the home.

Windows 7 included new ways to work with windows—like Snap, Peek, and Shake—which both improved functionality and made the interface more fun to use. It also marked the debut of Windows Touch, which let touchscreen users browse the web, flip through photos, and open files and folders.

Improvements to the Windows 7 taskbar include live thumbnail previews

Geek trivia: Windows 7 was evaluated by 8 million beta testers worldwide before it was released.

2012: Windows 8

Windows 8 is Windows reimagined from the chipset to the user experience. It functions as both a tablet for entertainment and a full-featured PC for getting things done. It introduces a totally new interface that works smoothly for both touch and mouse and keyboard. Windows 8 also includes enhancements of the familiar Windows desktop, with a new taskbar and streamlined file management.

Windows 8 features a Start screen with tiles that connect to people, files, apps, and websites. Apps are front and center, with access to a new place to get apps—the Windows Store—built right in to the Start screen.

Along with Windows 8, Microsoft also launched Windows RT, which runs on some tablets and PCs. Windows RT is designed for sleek devices and long battery life, and exclusively runs apps from the Windows Store. It also comes with a built-in version of Office that's optimized for touchscreens.

Geek trivia: Power users will notice that Windows 8 has made the detection and correction of file system errors both more transparent and less intrusive.