This is How Microsoft Introduced Windows 1.0
1985. Just think about that. What were you doing?
Ready for a blast from the past? Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's chief software architect, is blogging again after migrating from Windows Live Spaces to Wordpress. His first new entry is about a decades-old press packet that he found. Inside were the announcement details for Windows 1.0
Believe it or not, these were the words about a new product family that would change computing:
BELLEVUE, WA -- NOVEMBER 20, 1985 --Microsoft Corporation announced today the retail shipment of the Microsoft Windows operating environment to dealers and distributors.
Microsoft Windows extends the features of the DOS operating system, yet is compatible with most existing applications that run under DOS. Windows lets users integrate the tasks they perform with their computer by providing the ability to work with several programs at the same time and easily switch between them without having to quit and restart individual applications. In addition, it provides a rich foundation for a new generation of applications.
"Windows provides unprecedented power to users today and a foundation for hardware and software advancements of the next few years," said Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft. "It is unique software designed for the serious PC user, who places high value on the productivity that a personal computer can bring."
Also a part of the package was a screenshot of Windows 1.0's user interface. No fancy Aero effects back then!

Source: SeattlePI
Fast forward to current day for iphone, sans iOS 4. Good job Apple you just did it! Haha.
Nathan's Toasty Technology Page has some better screenshots of OS's
Fast forward to current day for iphone, sans iOS 4. Good job Apple you just did it! Haha.
This decades of innovation has brought us here but nobody can say for sure where it will take us.
Meh... Depends. It was all a bit much for many users, but then getting them to understand the single user single app thing was often a bit of a challenge too. Getting them to save their work before shutting down the app to open another was a challenge...
Those with techie sort of minds jumped on this very quickly, like 'Why wasn't it like this from the beginning?'
Having said that, it was so bug addled and flakey, many of us went back to DOS and stayed there, peeping over the parapet at each windows 'update' until we finally gave in. I found I quite liked the win95 shell, but the flakiness drove me to distraction. Then I got my hands on a pirate (pre release beta) NT4, and never looked back.
So I must love Windows 7 then? Well, actually, I'm loving Ubuntu 10.10. I have it on my machine and the guest machine, and the child box and the wife box are both on XP. I've yet to see a single feature in vista or 7 that I can't live without, and the rather elderly hardware still works fine with XP.