The original Microsoft Windows announcement turns 40. On November 10, 1983, Bill Gates announced that the company was working on it at an event in New York. A project called Windows Its main goal was to significantly improve the MS-DOS environment so that it could support graphical applications. The ambitious project was not alone. It also brought with it two new concepts for that period: Windows and desktop.

Years have passed and now we can say that this move of Microsoft was quite successful. Windows is responsible for approximately 70% of the desktop operating system market share. The product was so successful that it became an icon of Microsoft and computer history. Let’s travel back in time to learn a little better about the beginnings of the system that we all use at least once in our lives.

When Microsoft chooses desktop and windows

Until the mid-1980s, Microsoft did not have its own operating system with a GUI on the market. Redmond company has been licensing since 1981 the famous MS-DOS, a command line operating system (CLI) that requires a specific knowledge base to use. Although the industry was already changing to eliminate this situation altogether, it was turning into a significant barrier between computing and novice users.

Although talking about the command line interface seems a bit primitive these days, many important programs coexisted in it. From accounting and banking systems to IBM’s well-known Lotus 1-2-3, which allows the use of spreadsheets and line charts, and Autodesk’s AutoCAD, a valuable graphic design tool used in advanced projects.

But Microsoft seemed to be lagging behind. A company called VisiCorp made a presentation at the computer fair 1982 COMDEX An operating system with a GUI that triggers alarms at the Redmond company. MS-DOS had only been around for two years, but this event helped Bill Gantes finally make a significant change in direction at the company: It was time to switch to a graphical user interface.

apple smooth

The project will not consist of a completely redesigned operating system. If not, as we said above, it is an extension of MS-DOS. So Microsoft launched its “Interface Manager” program and began negotiating with manufacturers of IBM PC-compatible computers to adopt them (if Gates was clear about anything, it was that relationships between the software industry and the hardware industry were key for him). success, always offering licenses).

Auto CAD in MS-DOS

But the GUI was far from an invention of Microsoft. It had already been implemented at the magnificent Xerox PARC laboratory in California, which inspired Steve Jobs to implement it in the Apple Lisa. When Apple company’s computer was bitten Released in 1983In fact, it was the first device where this feature was made available to the general public. Despite all this, Microsoft still hasn’t caught up.

Windows 1.0

Gates’ cunning once again brought Microsoft to the fore. The alternative to GUI operating systems was still years away from being ready, but the company’s co-founder was forced to make an early announcement. The goal was to show the world that Microsoft was in the race. And not only that: they wanted to show that they were the best and had all the elements to win by a wide margin.

The announcement took place on November 10, 1983, but Windows 1.0 began distribution on November 10, 1983. 20 November 1985. During these two years, Microsoft introduced the possibilities of the system while making strategic agreements with other companies in the industry.

He also highlighted a significant advantage over his competitors. In the case of Visi On, developers who want to create programs for this system will need to invest $20,000 ($61,805 today) to purchase special VAX equipment from Digital Equipment Corporation. “Developing software for Windows only requires an IBM PC,” they said.

Windows ad in a magazine of the time

Another important point that Microsoft emphasized was that software companies should not worry about hardware compatibility, since programs designed for Windows should run on Windows. computer specifications. At the requirements level, it was announced that the system will need two removable disk drives and 192 KB of RAM to work, although these requirements may change.

Control Panel in Windows 1.0

When Windows 1.0 was finally released, it needed a minimum of 256 KB of RAM to run. And in fact, it brought with it most of the new features announced. Users can enjoy a graphical user interface that allows them to “multitask” with different windows under a mosaic scheme whose organization is not as versatile as in today’s systems. But MS-DOS programs ran separately in full screen (not in windows on the desktop).

In addition to programs from developers such as Lotus Corporation, Ashton-Tate, Software Publishing Corporation and Software Arts, Microsoft accompanied the launch of the system with its own integrated applications. Among them we found Agenda. Calculator, Paint, Notepad, Summer, Terminal and Time. The concept of Control Panel, which has survived to this day, has now appeared in Windows 11 under the name Settings.

Images: Odacir Blanco | Microsoft | toastytech

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