4 ms·

As someone who is personally obsessed about 1960s and onwards computing I found this to be a great a well researched article. I always considered MSX and CP/M t

As someone who is personally obsessed about 1960s and onwards computing I found this to be a great a well researched article. I always considered MSX and CP/M to be the real parents of the Windows monopoly. I view MSX as the learning process for Microsoft, and CP/M as the building blocks, since the first version of Windows (called DOS at the time) was API compatible with CP/M

ido 8y ago
How is DOS the first version of windows? Just because it was made by the same company? It would be less inaccurate (but still wrong) to say the Mac OS was the first version of windows :/
- deleted 8y ago
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- billforsternz 8y ago
  I quite like the idea of DOS being the first version of Windows. In the beginning, there was just a command line. Then Windows was added as a graphical interface. Then the graphical interface became pre-eminent and the command line became an obscure feature to most users. Windows code was originally tied to DOS but over time first completely incorporated it, then recast it as Windows changed from the child to the parent in the relationship.
  - zubairq 8y ago
    Yes, this is what I meant, you said it better than I did. As graphical features were added to DOS then it was rebranded as Windows by Microsoft. I guess at some point Microsoft realised that they had to have two distinct sets of code and that they needed to be different products for branding and legal reasons related to OS/2 and IBM. I guess it could have ended up being called DOS Windows or DOS Gui or something, but Windows was a much better name...
- zubairq 8y ago
  You are right, as from a design perspective, Windows was based on Mac OS. What I meant was that the first versions of Windows were built on DOS: https://www.quora.com/Is-Windows-still-based-on-DOS https://www.quora.com/Is-Windows-still-based-on-DOS
jacobush 8y ago
The MSX computers even had CP/M. At least Spectravideo was distributed both with CP/M and MSX-DOS. The MSX-DOS was weird, I think it must have been the only 8-bit version of DOS Microsoft made? Edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSX-DOS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSX-DOS lots of nice anecdotes there.
- zubairq 8y ago
  Whoa! That's crazy. I did not even know about MSX DOS! Thanks!

ido 8y ago

How is DOS the first version of windows? Just because it was made by the same company? It would be less inaccurate (but still wrong) to say the Mac OS was the first version of windows :/

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
billforsternz 8y ago
I quite like the idea of DOS being the first version of Windows. In the beginning, there was just a command line. Then Windows was added as a graphical interface. Then the graphical interface became pre-eminent and the command line became an obscure feature to most users. Windows code was originally tied to DOS but over time first completely incorporated it, then recast it as Windows changed from the child to the parent in the relationship.
- zubairq 8y ago
  Yes, this is what I meant, you said it better than I did. As graphical features were added to DOS then it was rebranded as Windows by Microsoft. I guess at some point Microsoft realised that they had to have two distinct sets of code and that they needed to be different products for branding and legal reasons related to OS/2 and IBM. I guess it could have ended up being called DOS Windows or DOS Gui or something, but Windows was a much better name...
zubairq 8y ago
You are right, as from a design perspective, Windows was based on Mac OS. What I meant was that the first versions of Windows were built on DOS: https://www.quora.com/Is-Windows-still-based-on-DOS https://www.quora.com/Is-Windows-still-based-on-DOS

jacobush 8y ago

The MSX computers even had CP/M. At least Spectravideo was distributed both with CP/M and MSX-DOS. The MSX-DOS was weird, I think it must have been the only 8-bit version of DOS Microsoft made? Edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSX-DOS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSX-DOS lots of nice anecdotes there.

zubairq 8y ago
Whoa! That's crazy. I did not even know about MSX DOS! Thanks!