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Happy Birthday Windows

Tom Warren   on 20 November 2008 - 08:20 · 48 comments & 11803 views

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Windows 1.0, the original 16-bit operating system, was released on 20 November 1985 and today marks its 23rd Birthday.

55 programmers developed the system in a year, making the 1st edition a break from the norm in terms of usability. It enabled users to use a mouse to navigate the system and use its various functions and applications that were included.

Applications included were a set of desktop applications (MS-DOS File Management Program), a calendar, card file, notepad, calculator, clock and telecommunications programs allowing users to manage their day-to-day activites much like a PDA does today. It also allowed users to switch between programs without needing to quit and restart them.

The OS itself had 256 colours ability, re sizable windows, a reserved area of minimized programs (the original concept of the task bar) and the ability to customize the appearance of windows. Microsoft began to include what we now call a "Control Panel" in its first version of Windows (1.x). It came with a lot of interface controls that are still seen in versions of Windows today such as text boxes, radio buttons, scrolling bars and menu items.

In the interface of Windows 1.0, windows can be maximized, minimized or tiled. The active windows cannot be overlapped instead of tiled. There is no option to cascade windows, so it is inconvenient to show more windows at the same time.

Microsoft announced the idea of windows in spring 1983. But the first version of Windows, Windows 1.0 was not released until November 1985. Windows 1.x is based on MS-DOS 2.0. Due to the hardware and software limitations of MS-DOS 2.0, it was not successful compared to later versions of Windows such as Windows 3.1. However, Microsoft did have a good chance to market the operating system at fast
developing IBM compatible computers. Speaking of marketing, Microsoft's screaming CEO, Steve Ballmer, got behind a camera and recorded a hilarious advert for Windows 1.0. Shouting on the video, Ballmer gets excited about Windows Write, Windows Paint, Notepad and a clock feature! Thankfully even Paint has been updated these days with the introduction of the ribbon user interface in Windows 7. Checkout Ballmer's advert below. Also worthy of a special mention is Rafael Rivera, the author of Within Windows. Rafael is famous for creating UX theme patches for Vista and XP and recently unlocked the superbar in Windows 7. Rafael was born on the exact same day as Windows 1.0 was released. Happy Birthday Rafael & Windows!


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(1 reply) #1 Richard Hammond on 20 Nov 2008 - 08:30
Rofl Ballmer is great, hasnt changed much in 23 years oddly.

Hapy Birthday Windows.
#1.1 Express on 20 Nov 2008 - 15:39
By the article is incorrect, This is not a Real Ad.
Its a spoof video created by Microsoft for enjoyment of Microsoft employees.

Microsoft usually plays such videos during their annual all employee meetings.
#2 badblood on 20 Nov 2008 - 08:31
Happy Birthday to the Windows OS! Some people may not like you, but I do!

Oh and Happy Birthday Rafael Rivera!
(12 replies) #3 Sacha on 20 Nov 2008 - 08:32
Much of Windows 1.0 still resides in Vista. LOL, 20 years of cruft. If only they could make a version that removes the cruft and yet still keeps compatibility (as I realise they need this for business users).
#3.1 skynetXrules on 20 Nov 2008 - 08:46
Sacha said,
Much of Windows 1.0 still resides in Vista. LOL, 20 years of cruft. If only they could make a version that removes the cruft and yet still keeps compatibility (as I realise they need this for business users).


such as
#3.2 TRC on 20 Nov 2008 - 10:01
Much of Windows 1.0 resides in Vista? More like none. Vista is based on the NT family of Windows, not the DOS/9x line.
#3.3 LTD on 20 Nov 2008 - 12:25
You mean legacy code. I've been saying for the past 3 years that Windows needs a complete re-write, something like what happened from OS 9 - OS X. Run legacy apps in an emulator for a while, institute a worldwide transition program, etc. It'll break compatibility for the most part, but it'll be a completely new paradigm form which MS can move forward.

Windows is a victim of its own popularity. It's the banana-boat of operating systems. People using old versions of software, demanding that even the newest version of Windows be able to run them, is what's holding it back.

Given this situation, however, Windows is handling it surprisingly well. And Windows 7 seems to be a step in the right direction with respect to optimizations.
#3.4 afusion on 20 Nov 2008 - 16:43
LTD said,
You mean legacy code. I've been saying for the past 3 years that Windows needs a complete re-write, something like what happened from OS 9 - OS X. Run legacy apps in an emulator for a while, institute a worldwide transition program, etc. It'll break compatibility for the most part, but it'll be a completely new paradigm form which MS can move forward.

Windows is a victim of its own popularity. It's the banana-boat of operating systems. People using old versions of software, demanding that even the newest version of Windows be able to run them, is what's holding it back.

Given this situation, however, Windows is handling it surprisingly well. And Windows 7 seems to be a step in the right direction with respect to optimizations.


Not everyone will jump ship with this transition, it'll take more money and resources MS could chew on (it could be possible though). The reason Apple's Intel transition was successful was due to their small market share and availability of applications(basically pro stuff, and all those companies were ready to transition to begin with). If you look at Windows 7 there really wouldn't be a need to rewrite the entire OS from scratch. They've done something beyond and excelling of what others companies that couldn't go through such in development strategies.

Honestly when you compare Windows and Mac which one is easier to manage? The Mac of course because of the hardware that's tied to it. Microsoft has excelled as a software pioneer to have the success rate of working machines that are various in each of their ways and to work as well as they do.


#3.5 +Shadrack on 20 Nov 2008 - 19:27
LTD said,
You mean legacy code. I've been saying for the past 3 years that Windows needs a complete re-write, something like what happened from OS 9 - OS X. Run legacy apps in an emulator for a while, institute a worldwide transition program, etc. It'll break compatibility for the most part, but it'll be a completely new paradigm form which MS can move forward.

Windows is a victim of its own popularity. It's the banana-boat of operating systems. People using old versions of software, demanding that even the newest version of Windows be able to run them, is what's holding it back.

Given this situation, however, Windows is handling it surprisingly well. And Windows 7 seems to be a step in the right direction with respect to optimizations.


Funny how all the unoptimized legacy code that is "weighing" windows down still results in games that run fast (faster than Mac OS X in most cases, but I have only compared with OSX86 installs not "true" Apple expensive-ware).
#3.6 Athernar on 20 Nov 2008 - 19:29
Sacha said
Much of Windows 1.0 still resides in Vista. LOL, 20 years of cruft. If only they could make a version that removes the cruft and yet still keeps compatibility (as I realise they need this for business users).


Oh, so you've sifted through all of Vista's Source-Code to come to this conclusion?

As TRC put it, Vista is based on the NT kernel where Windows 1->ME were all based on DOS.

How you made the News staff when you make such stupid, misinformed claims like this is beyond me.
#3.7 LTD on 20 Nov 2008 - 21:24
Shadrack said,
LTD said,
You mean legacy code. I've been saying for the past 3 years that Windows needs a complete re-write, something like what happened from OS 9 - OS X. Run legacy apps in an emulator for a while, institute a worldwide transition program, etc. It'll break compatibility for the most part, but it'll be a completely new paradigm form which MS can move forward.

Windows is a victim of its own popularity. It's the banana-boat of operating systems. People using old versions of software, demanding that even the newest version of Windows be able to run them, is what's holding it back.

Given this situation, however, Windows is handling it surprisingly well. And Windows 7 seems to be a step in the right direction with respect to optimizations.


Funny how all the unoptimized legacy code that is "weighing" windows down still results in games that run fast (faster than Mac OS X in most cases, but I have only compared with OSX86 installs not "true" Apple expensive-ware).


Your games run fast because you've got hardware that is powerful enough to handle an OS that is a resource hog. That's what old code and legacyware do to an OS.

#3.8 XerXis on 20 Nov 2008 - 21:31
LTD said,
You mean legacy code. I've been saying for the past 3 years that Windows needs a complete re-write, something like what happened from OS 9 - OS X. Run legacy apps in an emulator for a while, institute a worldwide transition program, etc. It'll break compatibility for the most part, but it'll be a completely new paradigm form which MS can move forward.

Windows is a victim of its own popularity. It's the banana-boat of operating systems. People using old versions of software, demanding that even the newest version of Windows be able to run them, is what's holding it back.

Given this situation, however, Windows is handling it surprisingly well. And Windows 7 seems to be a step in the right direction with respect to optimizations.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_on_Windows
something like that?
#3.9 LTD on 20 Nov 2008 - 21:59
XerXis said,
LTD said,
You mean legacy code. I've been saying for the past 3 years that Windows needs a complete re-write, something like what happened from OS 9 - OS X. Run legacy apps in an emulator for a while, institute a worldwide transition program, etc. It'll break compatibility for the most part, but it'll be a completely new paradigm form which MS can move forward.

Windows is a victim of its own popularity. It's the banana-boat of operating systems. People using old versions of software, demanding that even the newest version of Windows be able to run them, is what's holding it back.

Given this situation, however, Windows is handling it surprisingly well. And Windows 7 seems to be a step in the right direction with respect to optimizations.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_on_Windows
something like that?


To be fair, Apple's solution was not a brilliant success; rather, it was a controlled failure. But it had to go the virtualization route, given the monumental dissimilarity between OS 9 and X. OS X was a complete departure. It broke everything that came before.
#3.10 basix on 20 Nov 2008 - 22:19
Athernar said,
Oh, so you've sifted through all of Vista's Source-Code to come to this conclusion?

As TRC put it, Vista is based on the NT kernel where Windows 1->ME were all based on DOS.

How you made the News staff when you make such stupid, misinformed claims like this is beyond me.



/told
#3.11 Sacha on 21 Nov 2008 - 01:10
Sure, they changed the kernel (which was pretty much a complete rewrite). While I say 'much' of the Windows 1.x code, this is taking that there wasn't much of Windows 1.x to start with (small code base). I do believe they dumped Windows 1.x code in there for backwards compatibility as there was a problem with Windows NT API being too different at first. They obviously didn't rewrite this.

Last edited by Sacha on 21 Nov 2008 - 01:45
#3.12 TRC on 21 Nov 2008 - 11:51
Windows 1.01 was basically just a fancy file manager for DOS, I doubt there was any of it left even in Windows 3.1 (you can't run Windows 1.0 programs in 3.1 for example). Now there might be a few leftovers from 3.1 in Vista as part of the NTVDM, maybe even an icon here and there, but as for Windows 1.01 I think it's safe to say there's no chance.
#4 skynetXrules on 20 Nov 2008 - 08:47
why the hell flash plugin doesnt show up !
#5 smctainsh on 20 Nov 2008 - 09:56
Happy Birthday Windows!

Steven
(1 reply) #6 billyea on 20 Nov 2008 - 10:41
I didn't get it a gift.
#6.1 Magallanes on 20 Nov 2008 - 13:24
Vista is the gift :-D




:-(
#7 xpgeek on 20 Nov 2008 - 11:05
Happy birthday Windows.
#8 Gundamdriver on 20 Nov 2008 - 11:11
Happy birthday Windows, computer wouldn't be so popular and important without you.
#9 MightyJordan on 20 Nov 2008 - 11:43
Happy birthday Windows! Now get along making Windows 7 a bloody revolution, or else I'm converting to a Mac!
(2 replies) #10 Digix on 20 Nov 2008 - 12:13
Damn it's sad that guy's barely changed attitudes or looks in 25 years LOL

now if only they align pricing of windows 7 with that video and you'll cut windows piracy i'd say almost over 50%
#10.1 Tantawi on 20 Nov 2008 - 16:23
Amen.
#10.2 rm20010 on 20 Nov 2008 - 17:09
I thought the pricing for Windows remained the same throughout, after adjusting for inflation?

Though arguably you get a heck of a lot more these days with your dollars than back then, with Paint and Reversi included "at no extra charge." Now it would be Media Player, DVD Maker, entire Live suite, web browser, Paint, Wordpad, Chess, Mahjong Titans... etc, etc.

Or we can take it a step further and throw OSS software into the mix. Lots of features for no charge.
#11 Glendi on 20 Nov 2008 - 13:07
Happy Birthday Windows.
#12 WebWolf on 20 Nov 2008 - 13:09
Happy birthday to windows. I wish him that his next version gets much better than the rest of them. And senceraly, there is a looot of place for that.
(1 reply) #13 vetmarkjensen on 20 Nov 2008 - 13:38
I've purchased Windows since the 3.11 days (preinstalled on my first "IBM compatible" machine I ever bought). Bought 95, 98, 98SE, ME, NT4 and even XP for myself, and Vista now on new computers for the family.

That's a lot of revisions, but I have never personally seen Windows 1 or 2 series, other than screenshots on various shots.
#13.1 GreyWolfSC on 20 Nov 2008 - 16:19
markjensen said,
I've purchased Windows since the 3.11 days (preinstalled on my first "IBM compatible" machine I ever bought). Bought 95, 98, 98SE, ME, NT4 and even XP for myself, and Vista now on new computers for the family.

That's a lot of revisions, but I have never personally seen Windows 1 or 2 series, other than screenshots on various shots.


I still have them. They were just TSR applications with a hotkey to switch back to them.
(1 reply) #14 thenonhacker on 20 Nov 2008 - 14:03
$99 Windows!
#14.1 Airlink on 20 Nov 2008 - 15:01
thenonhacker said,
$99 Windows!

Ahem!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...-485-_-Homepage
The daily deal today at NewEgg is just that. $99 for Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit English, OEM.
So, for today only, it's 99 bucks.
#15 Airlink on 20 Nov 2008 - 14:30
Happy birthday Windows (except in Nebraska... aparantly.) (?)
#16 qdave on 20 Nov 2008 - 16:41
how can anyone hate balmer. he is awesome
#17 rm20010 on 20 Nov 2008 - 17:12
Also worthy of a special mention is Rafael Rivera, the author of Within Windows. Rafael is famous for creating UX theme patches for Vista and XP and recently unlocked the superbar in Windows 7. Rafael was born on the exact same day as Windows 1.0 was released. Happy Birthday Rafael & Windows!


What a crazy coincidence.

Happy birthdays!
#18 vetmarkjensen on 20 Nov 2008 - 17:23
#19 +Chrono951 on 20 Nov 2008 - 17:50
Happy Birthday Windows!
#20 +lcg on 20 Nov 2008 - 19:11
Happy Birthday Windows!
(1 reply) #21 ManOfMystery on 20 Nov 2008 - 19:45
Haha Steve Balmer is a nut! I don't think he will win the model CEO anytime soon. He does NOT act like a CEO lol.
#21.1 RAID 0 on 21 Nov 2008 - 07:02
ManOfMystery said,
Haha Steve Balmer is a nut! He does NOT act like a CEO lol.


You mean like a smug *******? Hummmm...
#22 guruparan on 20 Nov 2008 - 21:26
Happy Birthday Windows!
Awaiting for Windows 7!!
#23 RobertH on 20 Nov 2008 - 22:29
Wow, those were the days.... the days when a 'clock' was a big feature XD
#24 Silverskull on 20 Nov 2008 - 23:06
Happy birthday Windows!
I'm using the M3 build of Windows 7, and yeah, it's great. Still has a few bugs to work out, but it's really nice... I can't wait for the final version to come out! (Or at least the beta...)
(2 replies) #25 +Shadrack on 20 Nov 2008 - 23:37
Windows 1.0, the original 16-bit operating system, was released on 20 November 1985 and today marks its 23rd Birthday.


Windows 1.0 was not an Operating System. If it were, it would not have required DOS to handle all the file operations and hardware driver management. The first version of Windows that was considered its own OS was Windows 95. Also, DOS was 16-bit before Windows came out.
#25.1 Airlink on 21 Nov 2008 - 03:35
Shadrack said,
Windows 1.0 was not an Operating System. If it were, it would not have required DOS to handle all the file operations and hardware driver management. The first version of Windows that was considered its own OS was Windows 95. Also, DOS was 16-bit before Windows came out.

True, true. At the 1.0 - 3.11 phase, windows was little more than a GUI shell on top of DOS.
#25.2 +macf13nd on 21 Nov 2008 - 20:57
PEDANTS!

lol :-)
#26 Izlude on 21 Nov 2008 - 07:48
as an ultimate extra, they should have released reversi for vista today... waaaaaaa T^T
#27 PCCoolKid on 23 Nov 2008 - 20:47
I love the ending part where he has that look in his face and says "Except in Nebraska."

Anyway, happy birthday Windows.

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