Windows 1.0
First graphical shell for MS-DOS from Microsoft.
Windows 1.0, the first version of Microsoft's graphical shell for personal computers, launched in the US on November 20, 1985, with a European release in May 1986. Running on MS-DOS as a 16-bit program, it offered multitasking, mouse support, and built-in apps like Calculator, Paint, and Notepad. Its windows could not overlap but were tiled instead.
Quick Facts
- Version of
- Microsoft Windows
- Developer
- Microsoft
- Kernel type
- Monolithic (MS-DOS)
- Source model
- Closed source
- Working state
- No longer supported
- First release date
- 20 November 1985
- Latest release date
- 1987
- Latest release version
- 1.04
Facts from the source article.
Development history
Microsoft had shown interest in developing a graphical user interface as early as 1981. The development of Windows began after Bill Gates saw a demonstration of VisiCorp's Visi On at COMDEX 1982. A year later, Microsoft learned that Apple's GUI software was more advanced and decided to differentiate its own offering. In August 1983, Gates recruited Scott A. McGregor, a key developer behind Xerox PARC's original windowing system, to lead the Windows 1.0 development team. Microsoft first demonstrated a window manager to the press in September 1983, showing a user interface similar to Multiplan with a command bar at the bottom and multiple application windows in both overlapping and tiled arrangements. This concept was later reworked to support only tiled windows and to replace the command bar with a menu bar under each window's title bar. The redesigned environment debuted publicly at Fall COMDEX 1983 in November 1983. Initially requiring 192 KB of RAM and two floppy disk drives, Microsoft described the software as a device driver for MS-DOS 2.0. By supporting cooperative multitasking in tiled windows for well-behaved applications and permitting non-well-behaved applications to run full screen, Windows differed from Visi On and Apple's Lisa by immediately offering many applications. Unlike Visi On, Windows developers did not need Unix to develop IBM PC applications. Manufacturers such as Compaq, Zenith, and DEC promised support, as did software companies like Ashton-Tate and Lotus.
Features
Windows 1.0 was built on the MS-DOS kernel and runs as a 16-bit shell program called the MS-DOS Executive. It offers limited multitasking of existing MS-DOS programs and concentrates on creating an interaction paradigm, an execution model, and a stable API for native programs. The environment supports mouse use, allowing click-and-drag operations; unlike modern Windows, the mouse button had to be kept pressed to display a selected menu. Opening .exe files in the MS-DOS Executive opens an application window. Included programs are Calculator, Paint (then called Paintbrush), Notepad, Write (now WordPad), Terminal, and Clock; Paint supports only monochrome graphics. The environment also includes the Cardfile manager, a Clipboard, and a Print Spooler program. Initially, Puzzle and Chess were planned as playable video games, but Microsoft introduced Reversi as a built-in application relying on mouse control. The Control Panel was introduced for configuring Windows 1.0 features. Windows cannot overlap; instead, windows are tiled. When a program is minimized, its icon appears on a horizontal line at the bottom of the screen, resembling the modern taskbar. The system consists of three dynamic-link libraries: KERNEL.EXE, USER.EXE, and GDI.EXE. The Windows 1.0 SDK contains debugging versions of these files. The setup program combines multiple system files into one for faster booting; using the debugging KERNEL.EXE creates a slow boot version with separate files. The kernel handles task handling, memory management, and file input/output, while the other two libraries handle the user interface and Graphics Device Interface. The environment could move program code and data segments in memory to allow sharing via dynamic-link libraries, and implemented code segment swapping.
Reception
Windows 1.0 received lukewarm and mixed reviews. Critics saw future potential but felt the platform had not fulfilled expectations and could not compete with Apple's GUI operating system. It was criticized for slowness and compatibility with very little software. Reviews noted demanding system requirements, particularly poor performance when running multiple applications, and that Windows encouraged mouse use, a relatively new concept. The New York Times compared performance on a system with 512 KB of RAM to pouring molasses in the Arctic and found the design inflexible for keyboard users due to mouse dependency. The Times concluded that poor performance, lack of dedicated software, uncertain DOS compatibility, and absence of tutorials made DOS-based software like Borland Sidekick more desirable for most PC users. Computerworld magazine reported 500,000 sales from release in 1985 up to April 1987. In retrospect, contemporary technology publications regarded Windows 1.0 as a flop while acknowledging its overall importance to the Windows line. Chris Pratley of Microsoft wrote in 2004 that Windows 1.0 was sort of a demo, describing Windows development in the early 1980s as a joke in the industry. Nathaniel Borenstein and his IT team at Carnegie Mellon University were critical when Microsoft representatives first presented Windows; underestimating its future impact, Borenstein believed the system was pathetic and naïve compared to their in-house window manager. The Verge drew a parallel between the poor reception of Windows 8 in 2012 and Microsoft's struggles with early Windows versions, noting that like Windows 1.0 running atop MS-DOS, Windows 8 offered a new interface and software for touchscreens running atop the legacy Windows shell.
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