Windows 2.0

Windows 2.0

Version of the Microsoft Windows operating system
Screenshot of Microsoft Windows 2.0
Developer	Microsoft
OS family	Microsoft Windows
Source model	Closed source
Released to manufacturing	December 9, 1987; 36 years ago (1987-12-09)
Latest release	2.03 / December 9, 1987; 36 years ago (1987-12-09)
License	Commercial software
Preceded by	Windows 1.0 (1985)
Succeeded by	Windows 2.1 (1988)
Support status
Unsupported as of December 31, 2001

Windows 2.0 is a major release of Microsoft Windows, a family of graphical operating systems for personal computers developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on December 9, 1987, as a successor to Windows 1.0.

The product includes two different variants: a base edition for 8086 real mode, and Windows/386, an enhanced edition for i386 protected mode. Windows 2.0 differs from its predecessor by allowing users to overlap and resize application windows, while the operating environment also introduced desktop icons, keyboard shortcuts, and support for 16-color VGA graphics. It also introduced Microsoft Word and Excel.

Noted as an improvement of its predecessor, Microsoft Windows gained more sales and popularity after the release of the operating environment, although it is also considered to be the incarnation that remained a work in progress. Due to the introduction of overlapping windows, Apple Inc. had filed a lawsuit against Microsoft in March 1988 after accusing them of violating copyrights Apple held; in the end, however, the judge ruled in favor of Microsoft. The operating environment was succeeded by Windows 2.1 in May 1988, while Microsoft ended its support on December 31, 2001.