MS Windows Presentation Manager?

[Chuck(G)]

Just ran across this term and it's prompted me to ask when Microsoft used the term "Presentation Manager" in connection with Windows. Was it used only with Windows/386?

 

[glitch]

I've seen one other copy labeled as such. It was a copy of Windows 2.03 from England, for use with an Amstrad 286. "Presentation Manager" was also the name used with OS/2's GUI in, IIRC, version 1.1. Apparently diskettes labeled as "Presentation Manager" are quite rare (the set of disks I had, which were just bare disks, sold for over $50).

 

[krebizfan]

It was used for Windows/286 and Windows/386 and I think Windows 2.03 but not Windows 1.x though I don't have a box for Windows 1.04 which might have participated in the OS/2 affliated marketing.

 

[Chuckster_in_Jax]

I wasn't aware that Microsoft used the term "Presentation Manager" with any version of Windows until this thread. Since OS/2 was a joint venture between IBM and Microsoft until OS/2 2.0(?), it would make sense that Microsoft would have some rights to Presentation Manager if it was developed in that time frame, but to use it in a product that competed with OS/2 always seemed downright shady. Microsoft apparently had been working on Windows at the same time they were allied with IBM on the OS/2 project. When the big divorce came, there were certain agreements made between the two as far as who kept what intellectual rights with IBM, IMO, giving up way too much. Such as having to pay Microsoft a royalty for each copy of OS/2 with support for Windows.

I wonder how much of that Windows code was actually a product of the joint effort with IBM, with IBM never getting any royalties.

 

[krebizfan]

I wasn't aware that Microsoft used the term "Presentation Manager" with any version of Windows until this thread. Since OS/2 was a joint venture between IBM and Microsoft until OS/2 2.0(?), it would make sense that Microsoft would have some rights to Presentation Manager if it was developed in that time frame, but to use it in a product that competed with OS/2 always seemed downright shady. Microsoft apparently had been working on Windows at the same time they were allied with IBM on the OS/2 project. When the big divorce came, there were certain agreements made between the two as far as who kept what intellectual rights with IBM, IMO, giving up way too much. Such as having to pay Microsoft a royalty for each copy of OS/2 with support for Windows.

I wonder how much of that Windows code was actually a product of the joint effort with IBM, with IBM never getting any royalties.

Nothing really shady. MS has long believed in a high-low software mix like Win 9x and NT. I think some of the Xenix marketing materials pointed up ways to have the same source code also work on DOS. MS was trying for a degree of source code compatability between OS/2 PM and Windows plus having similar user interfaces. Write for Windows first and pick up the more capable systems when OS/2 takes off. IBM had their own ideas of how to make OS/2 a success; some rather harmful to MS's bottom line.

 

[linuxlove]

I've seen one other copy labeled as such. It was a copy of Windows 2.03 from England, for use with an Amstrad 286. "Presentation Manager" was also the name used with OS/2's GUI in, IIRC, version 1.1. Apparently diskettes labeled as "Presentation Manager" are quite rare (the set of disks I had, which were just bare disks, sold for over $50).

Microsoft "Presentation Manager" disks are rare? I have a disk box nearly full of Windows/386 disks that are labeled "Presentation Manager".

 

[vwestlife]

"Presentation Manager" was the name of the GUI used in OS/2 1.x, beginning with version 1.1 (1.0 was text-mode-only). The GUI used in Windows 2.x and 3.x was designed to provide the same "look and feel" as Presentation Manager, however, their APIs had many under-the-scenes differences, so applications could not be easily ported from OS/2 to Windows or vice-versa.

OS/2 1.1's Presentation Manager looked similar to Windows 2.x, but OS/2 used proportional fonts while Windows used the clunky ROM fixed-pitch font. OS/2 1.2's Presentation Manager was refined with more "3-D"-like graphics, which was later mimicked in Windows 3.0. OS/2 1.3 was a small update with no significant visual changes.

After the Microsoft/IBM split-up, Microsoft OS/2 became Windows NT and adopted the Windows 3.1 GUI, while IBM OS/2 2.x (and later) replaced Presentation Manager with IBM's own Workplace Shell GUI, which still had a lot of visual similarity to PM and Windows 3.x, but added right-click menus and even more of a 3-D appearance. Workplace Shell was later back-ported as an add-on for Windows 3.1x, and released in 1994 as IBM Employee Written Software.

 

[Raven]

Windows/286 and Windows/386 (2.11) were themselves labeled "Presentation Manager" rather than "Graphical Operating Environment" or whatever 3.x says on it's box. There is, however, a version of Presentation Manager (the OS/2 shell) for NT somewhere, and there is also a copy of Workplace Shell (the older OS/2 shell) for Windows 3.x complete with source (not leaked, actually released).

Edit: I only read the first few posts, and realize that the above post covers much the same material as mine.

 

[Chuck(G)]

Nothing really shady. MS has long believed in a high-low software mix like Win 9x and NT. I think some of the Xenix marketing materials pointed up ways to have the same source code also work on DOS. MS was trying for a degree of source code compatability between OS/2 PM and Windows plus having similar user interfaces. Write for Windows first and pick up the more capable systems when OS/2 takes off. IBM had their own ideas of how to make OS/2 a success; some rather harmful to MS's bottom line.

Indeed, the OEM materials for DOS 2.0 say as much--that One Day, Xenix and DOS would be the same and that many of the new features of 2.0 were a step in this direction.

I note that MS has "Presentation Manager" on my copy of Windows/386 2.12. Was this the last version using that terminology?

 

[linuxlove]

And here's a scan of one of my Windows/386 "Presentation Manager" disks...

 

[lostandfoundtechnology]

There is an actual set that reads "Microsoft Windows Presentation Manager" on the back of the disks reads "Version 2.0". I have the 3.5" floppy set of 5. These are completely separate and different than Windows/286; Windows/386 and Microsoft OS/2, which also contain disks that read Presentation Manager. Is this the set that is being referred to as "rare"? I have been struggling to find out what all was included in this release regarding disks and documentation, due to the lack of information available on the internet about this version. OS/2 Museum has a short but good snippet on their site regarding Microsoft's announcement on this particular release. Let me know if this set I have is the one.