Title:           I'd just like to interject for a moment, what you’re referring to as Windows,
Author:          I_wesley125
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/3r9XT02F
First Edit:      Monday 10th of June 2013 01:24:04 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Monday 10th of June 2013 01:24:04 PM CDT

 I'd just like to interject for a moment, what you’re referring to as Windows, is in fact, DOS/Windows, or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, DOS plus Windows. Windows is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another proprietary component of a fully functioning DOS system made useful by the DOS corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by Microsoft.
 
Many computer users run a modified version of the DOS system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of DOS which is widely used today is often called “Windows”, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the DOS system, developed by Microsoft. There really is a Windows, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use.
 
Windows is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine’s resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Windows is normally used in combination with the DOS operating system: the whole system is basically DOS with Windows added, or DOS/Windows. All the so-called “Windows” distributions are really distributions of DOS/Windows.