Summary
Microsoft revealed Windows 1.0 in November 1983.
Windows 1.0 began the Windows franchise that still dominates the desktop PC market today.
Here, we look back on Microsofts historic announcement of Windows 1.0 40 years on.
However, a GUI (graphical user interface) revolution was brewing in the IT industry.
Apple placed itself at the forefront of that revolution by releasing the Lisa in early 1983.
However, the problem with the Apple Lisa was that it was a bit too revolutionary.
It was a computer slightly ahead of its time with very high specifications for an early 1980s PC.
This made the Lisa prohibitively expensive, with an approximate $10,000 launch price.
Most users preferred to stick with somewhat cheaper IBM PCs.
When Microsoft announced Windows 1.0, the company said it was a window manager extension of MS-DOS.
Thus, the first Windows OS was more of an addition to MS-DOS rather than a replacement.
The world first saw a Windows OS on green-tinted monitors 40 years ago.
Windows 1.0 also came with a few apps users of today are familiar with.
you’re free to see what Windows 1.0 was like on thisIBM PC emulator page.
ClickFull Screento maximize that emulators window.
Microsoft launched Windows 1.0 in the USA with an affordable $99 price tag.
Users werent exactly blown away by Windows 1.0 when they got their hands on it.
The first Windows OS had somewhat limited software compatibility and performance issues.
Many reviews of the time rated Windows 1.0 as a flop.
So, most users preferred to stick with MS-DOS commands for the rest of the 1980s.
PCs of the 1980s werent quite ready for GUI operating systems.
PC hardware needed about seven to 10 years to advance before the Windows revolution truly began in 1995.
Windows finally hit the big time in 1995.
So, PCs of the mid-1990s were also much better equipped to handle GUI platforms.
