Lunduke
News • Science & Tech
Wendin-DOS : The forgotten multi-tasking, multi-user DOS clone from the 1980s
Produced by a small team, and lost to the sands of time... until now.
August 18, 2023
post photo preview

Back in 1987, an MS-DOS compatible operating system debuted that — despite a truly impressive and fascinating feature set — has been all but lost to history: Wendin-DOS.

This wasn’t some simple DOS clone, either. Wendin-DOS was a multitasking, multi-user DOS with the ability to run individual applications in movable windows.

Yet, sadly, there is almost no information available on the history and development of this fascinating system.

Let’s remedy that.

I managed to track down the developer of Wendin-DOS, Steve Jones, to find out as much as I could about the history of the system.

The Wendin-DOS story begins, as so many stories do, with a young nerd… playing with computers in High School…

Steve Jones: “The moment I saw an ASR33 teletype, I knew what I wanted to do. In high school, I spent more time programming a Univac 70/7 (IBM 360 clone) than anything else. Studied the operating system, wrote a disassembler to reveal how it worked, and wrote a bunch of system-oriented software for it.

In college I got a job with the academic computer center and studied its operating system, as well as the up-and-coming VAX/VMS. I started learning about what Dave Cutler was doing and wished I could work with him.”

For those unaware: Dave Cutler is an absolute legend in the operating system world, having been one of the engineers responsible for VMS, and would later go on to lead the NT project at Microsoft.

Now that Steve was out of school, things started to get really interesting…

“After college, I started a software company in Spokane that operated in the same building as my parents' company, Jones Double-Reed Products. My brother Greg joined me, and together we cloned VAX/VMS (well, as well as we were able), added a PC API module (we called it "the Filter", which included INT 20h-2fh redirection and processing, as well as some other PC interrupts to achieve rerouting of BIOS calls.) We hired Scott, a local software engineer, to help us, and put him on the filter-- toughest job, since it was basically a compatibility layer for all the DOS stuff out there. I can't tell you how many times Word Perfect and Lotus 1-2-3 were causing him fits. Then we split it up, Greg took the VMS shell and utilities, and I took the kernel-- which was really just VAX/VMS, with 4 stacks per process, ASTs, QIO, RMS, the whole thing.”

Three engineers, in Spokane Washington, who built a VMS clone for x86 PCs.

Already quite cool… and then this little rag-tag team decided to do something even cooler… they built an “Operating System Toolbox”.

“We got the idea to just replace the shell and utilities to make other operating systems-- PCUNIX (later renamed to PCNX when AT&T sent us a letter), and finally, stripped them off to create Operating System Toolbox, which was just the source, in a toolkit that people could use to create their own shell and utilities around the kernel. We ended up selling about 400 copies of each of these things a month as I recall, in response to ads in Dr Dobbs, BYTE, Embedded Systems Programming and a few others.

An open source (before people really used the term regularly) kit for building a multitasking operating system. Plus a VMS clone and UNIX clone for IBM compatible PCs.

From the 1987 Wendin catalog

Think about that for a moment. It’s 1986. And there’s a UNIX clone, for IBM PCs, that (via the Operating System Toolbox) has some of the source code available for it. This was a full half decade before Linus Torvalds would start the Linux kernel project.

This is some mightily impressive stuff here.

PCUNIX advertisement. Dr. Dobbs Journal, July 1986.

This tiny little company now had two complete operating systems (plus the Operating System Toolbox). Which is where DOS enters the story…

“With so many people wanting an alternative to MS-DOS (one that was bootable from a disk, not runnable as a program from DOS)-- we did another round of development and created Wendin-DOS, 'the DOS of the future.'

 

We were able to demonstrate running real DOS apps in overlapping, character-oriented windows, as well as screen groups, ala the up-and-coming Microsoft OS/2.”

From the 1987 Wendin catalog

Wendin-DOS certainly seemed to generate a good amount of interest from the press back in 1987.

InfoWorld, November 1987

Of course, being a small company and supporting three different operating systems has some significant challenges. Namely: testing the system with a wide variety of software. The Wendin crew did a little outside the box thinking on that…

“Once we had the basic software going, we realized if we were going to compete with Microsoft, we would need testers. Since we didn't have the money for our own, we created a debugging contest, and each person got an "I Debugged The DOS Of The Future" mug, plus a large prize for the winners. The bug reports flooded in, but the winner was astounding-- he submitted a ream (500 pg) of paper, with each page containing a bug report describing the nature of the problem, how to reproduce it, a diagnosis of the problem and suggested fix; this thing was just off the charts great. Turned out, he was institutionalized in some way and couldn't really go get a job, so he had time on his hands.”

According to the July 1987 issue of “80 Micro” (a Tandy oriented magazine) the Wendin crew even traveled to the famous West Coast Computer Faire to demonstrate Wendin-DOS.

Updates to Wendin-DOS were worked on for a while after the first release shipped…

InfoWorld, May 1988

But, not long after Wendin-DOS hit the market, Steve Jones (and his brother) left the company and headed off to work at Microsoft. At which point Wendin-DOS (along with the Operating System Toolbox, PC/VMS, and PCUNIX) all quickly faded into obscurity.

Wendin-DOS advertisement in Dr. Dobb's Journal, August 1987.

What could Wendin-DOS (along with PC/VMS and PCUNIX) have become had they had a few more years to mature with the original team? We’ll never know… but, considering the amazing accomplishments from that small team (in such a short period of time)… my guess? It would have knocked our socks off.

Epilogue

Steve Jones would go on to eventually become the CTO for BIOS maker Phoenix Technologies. Along the way — immediately after stopping work on Wendin-DOS — he spent some time over at Microsoft working working for the very engineer that inspired him back in High School.

“I got to work for Dave Cutler and really feel like I apprenticed with him-- it was a fantastic experience, working for the MAN.”

And Dave Cutler wasn’t the only computer pioneer that Steve ended up rubbing shoulders with…

Funny little story-- as I roamed the Microsoft hallways in building 2 on my first day, I ran into Larry Osterman's office with his bulletin board outside. On that bulletin board was posted our Wendin "love letter", which was something we sent out because we were delaying shipment of Wendin-DOS while we were processing all those bugs. On the form letter, Larry had written, "Guess writing a DOS is harder than you thought!" Not surprising, since Larry wrote DOS 4, the multitasking version of MS-DOS that never really went anywhere but was pretty ambitious at the time. We were largely solving the same problems, though he had full MS-DOS 3.31 source code (a great version of DOS) and we had our debugger to work with. Larry and I had a good laugh about it. Tim Paterson, the original 86-DOS implementer, had an office across the hall.”

Editors note: I had the good pleasure of interacting with Tim Paterson back in the 1990s, when we both worked at Microsoft. I was a young nerd, he was the software legend responsible for building the original “Quick and Dirty Operating System” that would go on to become “MS-DOS”. He was incredibly kind and gracious.

Many thanks to Steve for writing up some of this history and sharing his thoughts. It is so important that this amazing — and fascinating — part of computer history be properly documented. While there is still much to record about the work of this team, this is a good start.

Nowadays, Steve Jones runs NeuroSynthetica in Seattle, WA.

Can I run Wendin-DOS in 2022?

You can, indeed, run Wendin-DOS in emulation on modern machines. I was able to boot version 2.11 inside VirtualBox:

Wendin-DOS 2.11 booting off a floppy

Note: Wendin DOS 2.11 can be found in a few corners of the Internet. Due to uncertain legal status of the software, I can't link to it directly.

community logo
Join the Lunduke Community
To read more articles like this, sign up and join my community today
7
What else you may like…
Videos
Podcasts
Posts
Articles
The Phrack, North Korea, & Proton Mail Story

A hacker for the 1980's zine, Phrack, gained access to a North Korean cyber espionage system... then got banned by Proton Mail. Yeah. It's crazy.

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:10:52
Open Source Leftists Celebrate Murder of Charlie Kirk

Within moments of Charlie Kirk being shot, the Leftist Activists of Open Source & Big Tech were celebrating - including Tech Journalists, Linux developers, and employees of Red Hat.

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:23:38
September 09, 2025
Is an "Amazon Worker Intifada" Forming?

"Palestinian resistance is forming at Amazon." Pro-Hamas Amazon employees tell executives "[we] outnumber you" and "we will force your hand". Thanks to an Amazon whistleblower for the details.

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:09:40
November 22, 2023
The futility of Ad-Blockers

Ads are filling the entirety of the Web -- websites, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. -- at an increasing rate. Prices for those ad placements are plummeting. Consumers are desperate to use ad-blockers to make the web palatable. Google (and others) are desperate to break and block ad-blockers. All of which results in... more ads and lower pay for creators.

It's a fascinatingly annoying cycle. And there's only one viable way out of it.

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links? Check here:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

The futility of Ad-Blockers
November 21, 2023
openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"

Those in power with openSUSE make it clear they will not allow me anywhere near anything related to the openSUSE project. Ever. For any reason.

Well, that settles that, then! Guess I won't be contributing to openSUSE! 🤣

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links?
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"
September 13, 2023
"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

This episode is free for all to enjoy and share.

Be sure to subscribe here at Lunduke.Locals.com to get all shows & articles (including interviews with other amazing nerds).

"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

Live Lunduke Journal show today at 1pm Eastern (5pm UTC, 10am Pacific).

Will be streaming on X, Locals, Rumble, & YouTube.

post photo preview

RIP Charlie Kirk :(

September 10, 2025

Lunduke is back with a live show tonight!

5:30pm Central (3:30pm Pacific, 10:30pm UTC)

Will be broadcasting on X, Rumble, Locals, & YouTube. Free for the nerds of the world to enjoy.

post photo preview
Keep The Lunduke Journal Free!

So far, in 2025, The Lunduke Journal has published 246 shows — being the only Tech News outlet covering the vast majority of those stories.

All without even the slightest influence from Big Tech. No sponsorships, no ad reads, not a penny taken from any company.

And every single story — every article, podcast, & video — is free to share far and wide.

In order for The Lunduke Journal to continue doing this unique work — to keep the lights on well into the future — we need your help.

If you haven’t yet become a subscriber to The Lunduke Journal, doing so today makes a big impact. Pick one of the options below. Big or small. Monthly, Yearly, or Lifetime subscriptions — or even simply one-time donations — all make a huge difference.

Support The Lunduke Journal

Monthly or Yearly Subscriptions:
Locals, Substack, X, YouTube, or Patreon

Lifetime Subscriptions:
Pay Once, For Life (Locals & Substack)

One-Time Donations:
Locals or Bitcoin

You Make The Lunduke Journal Possible

Seriously. This is all possible because of you.

We are able to make all of this free to share with the world because of you.

Might I make a suggestion?

The Lifetime Subscription (which counts towards both Substack and Locals) is a marvelous, one time, way to show support. And it comes with all of the perks (access to the Locals community as well as the official Lunduke Journal forum, & DRM-free eBooks).

You can snag a Lifetime Subscription via Locals, Substack, or with Bitcoin. Lots of options.

But, heck, any type of subscription (via any platform) is appreciated! Choose whichever works best for you!

Then be sure to go to Lunduke.com and choose the platforms which are the most convenient for you to use — The Lunduke Journal publishes all over!

And, once again, thank you for making The Lunduke Journal possible.

-Lunduke

Read full Article
September 08, 2025
post photo preview
Lunduke Journal hit 9 million views in August
And still not taking a single penny from Big Tech.

Thanks to all of you, August was a truly spectacular month for The Lunduke Journal.

After everything was tallied up — audio podcast downloads, video views, and article views — all of you viewed (or listened to) my work over 9 million times last month.

I’m not sure if that’s a record or not — I’ll need to go over some of the past stats to be sure — but it definitely makes me smile.

It means that the real Tech News — the stories that most Tech Journalists refuse to tell — is getting out there. In a big way. No matter how much Big Tech wants some of these stories to go away.

Stats for August

Here’s some Lunduke Journal stats (because stats are fun):

  • 238 shows, so far, in 2025 (Jan 1st → Sep 8th, nearly one show per day).

  • Over 9 million views (or listens) during the last month (August) alone.

  • 131,817 free subscribers (not including audio podcast feeds).

  • 4,488 new free subscribers on the primary platforms.

  • $0.00 (zero) taken from any corporation (no sponsorships, no ad campaigns… not a penny).

9 Million “views”. In one month. Hot diggity!

You better believe I’ll be keeping a close eye on the stats this month to see if we get close to 10 Million. Because 10 Million is a nice, big round number.

And big, round numbers are fun.

No Sales in September

One other thing I wanted to mention: I’m hoping to do away with sales and discounts on Lunduke Journal subscriptions. Which means no sales during this month (September).

My hope is that, with the rapidly growing size of The Lunduke Journal’s audience, enough new subscriptions and donations will continue to roll in to keep this publication afloat… without sales. Because, let’s be honest, sales are kind of annoying, right?

The Lunduke Journal is unique in taking zero money from any company (while giving away nearly everything for free). Most Tech News outlets struggle to keep the lights on even with running paid ads (and paid articles) nearly non-stop.

Being funded 100% by all of you is something no other Tech News outlet even attempts.

And if we can do that while making all articles & shows free for the world… without needing to run any sales or promotions? How amazing would that be? It would send a profound message.

With that in mind, if you appreciate The Lunduke Journal, consider grabbing a subscription. Big or small (and via any platform), every subscription and donation goes directly to making this work possible.

Once again, a huge thank you for every subscription and donation.

Truly, The Lunduke Journal would not be possible without all of you.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have another show to record… which is probably going to make another Tech company very grumpy.

I love my job.

-Lunduke

Read full Article
September 01, 2025
post photo preview
Fired Microsoft Employee Encouraged Corporate Sabotage
Leaked screenshots from a Microsoft whistleblower reveals efforts, by a "Worker Intifada" organizer, to disrupt Microsoft business and send spam propaganda email to thousands.

This last week, members of the Microsoft “Worker Intifada” claimed that some of their members were fired by Microsoft in an attempt to silence the speech of pro-Palestinian employees.

Thanks to an internal Microsoft whistleblower, we have gained additional insight into the real reasons at least one of the “Intifada” organizers was fired.

Including mass emailing thousands of Microsoft employees with anti-Microsoft messages, and building internal, corporate websites dedicated to disrupting company business. Over the course of months.

And, of course, we’ve got screenshots.

The Microsoft “Intifada”

The Microsoft’s “Worker Intifada” held a press conference, on August 28th, at the office of CAIR — a response to a Microsoft’s Media briefing held 2 days earlier.

The topic of both press events being the “Intifada” actions of the previous week — including vandalism, breaking and entering, and public demonstrations against Jewish people (with chants of “Go away, Jews!”).

A key topic being the firing of 4 Microsoft employees related to the “Intifada”.

One of those fired employees is Nisreen Jaradat, seen here speaking at the press conference at CAIR on August 28th:

 

Thanks to leaked Microsoft material, we can get a glimpse into the anti-Microsoft activity of Nisreen Jaradat… going back several months.

Anti-Microsoft Microsoft Employee

Nisreen created an internal website — on the Microsoft corporate Intranet — entitled “PledgeForPalestine”.

 

On that website, Nisreen encourages employees to take a pledge declaring that employees will “not support genocide”, specifically demanding that Microsoft no longer interact with Israel in any way.

It should be noted that, as of just a few days ago, this website was up within Microsoft.

Nisreen’s website also includes a list of ways where employees could sabotage internal corporate work.

 

Nisreen encouraged employees to:

  1. Refuse to work on support tickets that involve Israel (and sabotage any tickets worked on by others).

  2. Refuse to work with other employees on tasks which may involve Israel — or any Israeli Microsoft employees or customers.

In July, Nisreen sent internal Microsoft Teams messages to thousands of employees encouraging them to sign that anti-Israel and anti-Microsoft pledge.

 

But this wasn’t the first time Nisreen spammed Microsoft employees with pro-Palestinian propaganda.

Back in May of this year, Nisreen sent an email to over 8,000 Microsoft employees entitled “You can’t get rid of us.”

 

Within that email, she declared that her employers have “shown their true face, brutalizing, detaining, firing, pepper spraying, threatening and insulting workers and former workers protesting.”

Surprise, She Got Fired

Protesting your bosses and accusing them of “genocide” while encouraging thousands of other employees, in spam emails, to sabotage corporate work?

Now, think what you will about Microsoft… but I can’t imagine any company not firing someone who takes those actions internally.

In fact, I would suggest that it is wild that Microsoft put up with the actions of this “Intifada” organizer for so many months.


If you would like to be a Tech whistleblower — or would like to support the work of The Lunduke Journal — head to Lunduke.com. All of the information is there.

Read full Article
See More
Available on mobile and TV devices
google store google store app store app store
google store google store app tv store app tv store amazon store amazon store roku store roku store
Powered by Locals