Part II
Turing machines are basic abstract symbol-manipulating devices which, despite their simplicity, can be adapted to simulate the logic of any computer algorithm. They were described in 1936 by Alan Turing. Turing machines are not intended as a practical computing technology, but a thought experiment about the limits of mechanical computation. Thus they were not actually constructed. Studying their abstract properties yields many insights into computer science and complexity theory.
A Turing machine that is able to simulate any other Turing machine is called a Universal Turing machine (UTM, or simply a universal machine). A more mathematically-oriented definition with a similar “universal” nature was introduced by Alonzo Church, whose work on lambda calculus intertwined with Turing’s in a formal theory of computation known as the Church-Turing thesis. The thesis states that Turing machines indeed capture the informal notion of effective method in logic and mathematics, and provide a precise definition of an algorithm or ‘mechanical procedure’.
Apple was established on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, to sell the Apple I personal computer kit. They were hand-built by Wozniak and first shown to the public at the Homebrew Computer Club. [12] The Apple I was sold as a motherboard (with CPU, RAM, and basic textual-video chips)—not what is today considered a complete personal computer.[13] The Apple I went on sale in July 1976 and was market-priced at US$666.66. Encouraged by the other computers entering the market, he created his masterpiece, and took it to the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto California to show it to some of the other members. Only about 200 Apple 1 computers were made in total. Excited by their success, Woz went on to design the Apple II – one of the greatest computers of all time.
Bill Gates first product was a version of programming language BASIC for the Altair 8800. People began to copy Gate’s programs and sell them to other people so he demanded that they pay him. He made a license saying that if you buy a program from him it may only be used for one computer and is not to be shared. With this, computer companies could make more money by selling more programs to each individual instead of one buying it and sharing it with everyone else.
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November 1985 |
1.01 |
Unsupported |
- |
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November 1987 |
2.03 |
Unsupported |
- |
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March 1989 |
2.11 |
Unsupported |
- |
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May 1990 |
3.0 |
Unsupported |
- |
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March 1992 |
3.1 |
Unsupported |
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October 1992 |
3.1 |
Unsupported |
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July 1993 |
NT 3.1 |
Unsupported |
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December 1993 |
3.11 |
Unsupported |
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January 1994 |
Windows 3.2 (released in Simplified Chinese only) |
3.2 |
Unsupported |
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September 1994 |
NT 3.5 |
Unsupported |
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May 1995 |
NT 3.51 |
Unsupported |
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August 1995 |
4.0.950 |
Unsupported |
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July 1996 |
NT 4.0.1381 |
Unsupported |
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June 1998 |
4.10.1998 |
Unsupported |
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May 1999 |
4.10.2222 |
Unsupported |
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February 2000 |
NT 5.0.2195 |
Extended Support until July 13, 2010[19] |
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September 2000 |
4.90.3000 |
Unsupported |
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October 2001 |
NT 5.1.2600 |
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March 2003 |
NT 5.2.3790 |
Unsupported |
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April 2003 |
NT 5.2.3790 |
Current for SP1, R2, SP2 (RTM unsupported). |
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April 2005 |
NT 5.2.3790 |
Current |
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July 2006 |
NT 5.1.2600 |
Current |
- |
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November 2006 (volume licensing) |
NT 6.0.6001 |
Current. Version Changed to NT 6.0.6001 with SP1 (February 4 08) |
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July 2007 |
NT 5.2.4500 |
Current |
8 |
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February 2008 |
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