Today, we're going to travel back to November 20th, 1985 – less than one month after McFly first revved the DeLorean up to 88 miles per hour – and the release of one of the most historically important software releases in history.
Microsoft Windows 1.0
When Windows 1.0 was first released (actually the first public release was version 1.01… technically speaking version “1.0” never saw the light of day) it didn't receive the most positive reception.
To say the least.
The New York Times compared the performance of Windows 1.0 as “akin to pouring molasses in the Arctic.”
This poor reception (some of which was valid criticism, others were results of people simply not understanding what they were reviewing) led to a general misunderstanding of what early versions of Windows actually were. This confusion was bolstered by poor and confusing marketing and communication from Microsoft.
The result is that many considered Windows 1.0 to be “essentially just a patch, or add-on, to” MS-DOS. In fact, this general sentiment and attitude continued through the Windows 3.1 years. “Windows is just a GUI on top of DOS!” being a common refrain.
The reality is a bit more complex (and far more interesting).
