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Somewhere in 1983, Microsoft offered to rescue its users from the drab and tedious interface of DOS by introducing the first GUI (Graphical User Interface). Instead of having to type in their commands, users would be able to use the nifty new ‘mouse’ to point and click on what they wanted to do. What’s more, they’d be doing this in a brand new environment with pretty colors and everything. They first called it the ‘Interface Manager’, but then changed it to the more appealing ‘Windows’. Windows 1.0 launched in November 1985.

Windows 1.0 gave users the ability to run more than one DOS application at the same time. However, it isn’t really regarded as a full-fledged operating system—rather, it was an extension to DOS that gave users a friendlier environment to run their applications, most of which were written for DOS. Many DOS applications still accessed hardware directly, rather than using the device drivers that Windows supplied. Files were managed using the MS-DOS Executive, which was a marginally better looking interface than the old DOS way.

Windows 1.0 System Requirements

The development of Windows’ GUI was tough for Microsoft— they faced possible legal battles with Apple (who had come out with their own Graphical OS—the Macintosh OS—in 1984) if they copied any of the features of the Mac OS. For example, Apple believed it held the rights to the concept of a “Trash Bin,” which stored files before they were permanently deleted. Further development on Windows was seriously threatened, and Microsoft averted it by signing a licensing agreement with Apple which let them use the same features that Apple offered, in all the current and future versions of Windows.

Windows 1.0 had little luck in the market. It was slow, and plagued by hardware and software compatibility issues. Applications for Windows were little more than toys, and there was no real reason for business users to use it. Its breath of life came when Aldus Pagemaker, a popular page-layout software for the Macintosh, came out with a version for Windows, finally giving Windows the status of a credible OS. Now that Microsoft saw a future in Windows, it was time to spruce it up.