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The most significant software

The most significant software

  • VisiCalc - it was the first "Killer App"

    Votes: 1 100.0%

  • Pong - Games made PCs popular!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • CP/M - The first popular PC Operating System

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • MS Windows - The most successful GUI ever

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • MS BASIC - The most common language on early PCs, by far.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    1
"Jon Jarmon"

Hi Jon,

> Microsoft Windows was announced in 1983 but came out in later
> 1985.

I'll take your word for it! :)

> Actually there are 1.00,1.01,1.02,1.03 and 1.04 Versions.
> Windows 1.X is quite primative and are seriously flawed.

From what I've heard, it's just a File Manager! :)

> Windows 2.x versions actually work pretty well and came out
> as Windows 286 and Windows 386.Apple took Microsoft (and
> HP for their New Wave)to court over 2.x and later lost the court
> battle-Xerox sued Apple as and lost their court case .

Yes, I have Windows 2.x (I was lucky to pick up a big more with
Microsoft Mouse on the cover, the Mouse wasn't there, but the
Original Windows 286 on 5.25" disks were. You get a couple of
nice apps for it too & a game of Reversi! :) Since then, I've
found some software for it on the Internet & some programming
stuff (a Windows Library for C - Latice C I think).

> My brother told me an interesting story about Microsoft (Because
> he used to work there as an employee).He told me that someone
> had stole a lot of the Original Macintosh computers that
> Microsoft developed software applications on for Apple.

Who, someone at Microsoft?

Cheers.
 
Hi CP/M User.My brother said that the stolen Macs were never recovered
and I guess they never found out who did this, but Bill Gates was mad about what happened.
 
"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

> Hi CP/M User.My brother said that the stolen Macs were
> never recovered and I guess they never found out who
> did this, but Bill Gates was mad about what happened.

Ah, okay. Now I see what you mean. The trouble with that
is there are a lot of people out there who don't like
Microsoft. If my memory is correct Bill eventually scrapped
producing software for the Mac. Apple produced Clarisworks
(I think) which is kind of like Microsoft Works (which was on
the Mac too), maybe that has something to do with it?

Cheers.
 
Hi CP/M USER. Here is some more info on Microsoft Windows.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announced Windows at the Helmsley
Palace Hotel in New York City on November 10,1983 and shipped
Windows(Version 1.01) on November 20,1985.
 
"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

> Hi CP/M USER. Here is some more
> info on Microsoft Windows. Microsoft
> Chairman Bill Gates announced
> Windows at the Helmsley Palace Hotel
> in New York City on November
> 10,1983 and shipped Windows
> (Version 1.01) on November 20,1985.

Good, Dates are good. Was Windows 1.01
the first version? I would have thought
that Windows 1.0 came out first. Or
perhaps version 1.0 wasn't released due
to bugs.

Dates are not the great things, when it
comes to Historical Internet sites or Books
they get a little muddled about. And then
one site may have the date they began
write something or when it was completed.

Cheers.
 
Hello again CP/M user. Windows 1.01 was the first released version on Nov 20th.
Windows 1.00 was the pre-release prototype.I have all 5 versions including 1.02,1.03 and 1.04.
Recently I've obtained the biggest Microsoft flop-Microsoft Bob made by
Melinda Gates(Bill's wife).The same rover dog in Bob is in Windows XP.
Maybe it's a insider joke.Microsoft Bob was pulled off the store shelves about a week later after its failed introduction.
 
"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

Hello again Jon,

> Hello again CP/M user. Windows 1.01 was the first released
> version on Nov 20th.
> Windows 1.00 was the pre-release prototype.I have all 5
> versions including 1.02,1.03 and 1.04.

Must be some feat! :) (Win 1.00 would have been a fluke).

> Recently I've obtained the biggest Microsoft flop-Microsoft
> Bob made by Melinda Gates(Bill's wife).The same rover dog
> in Bob is in Windows XP.

Is that like a toy Dog or a Software Program of a Dog.

> Maybe it's a insider joke.Microsoft Bob was pulled off the
> store shelves about a week later after its failed
> introduction.

Gee, they don't give it much of a chance! :)

Cheers.
 
Erik said:
Add your own below if you think the poll is lacking! :)
Click to expand...

Three more nominees I can think of, in my blatantly biased opinion:

BBC BASIC: because a whole generation of Brits learnt to program in it, thanks to Beebs being all-pervasive in schools. Atually, those of us who grew up in the early-mid 1980s will probably go down in history as the only generation to be taught programming as a matter of course from early middle school age. Okay, so not many people had Beebs at home (cos they cost a bomb), but everyone used them.

LocoScript, the word processor that came with the Amstrad PCW machines. For several years in the mid-late 1980s, you couldn't go anywhere without seeing notices, newsletters, even complete books in Locoscript's distinctive "flattened o" typeface. It completely revolutionised home publishing in Britain.

And finally there's Elite. Enough said! :D
 
"David Buttery" wrote in message:

>> Add your own below if you think the poll is lacking! :)

> Three more nominees I can think of, in
> my blatantly biased opinion:

> 'BBC BASIC': because a whole generation
> of Brits learnt to program in it, thanks to
> Beebs being all-pervasive in schools.
> Actually, those of us who grew up in the
> early-mid 1980s will probably go down in
> history as the only generation to be taught
> programming as a matter of course from
> early middle school age. Okay, so not many
> people had Beebs at home (cos they cost a
> bomb), but everyone used them.

The only thing which puzzles me about the
BBC computers is, what happened to them.

In 1984 my family brought an Amstrad CPC464
with Green Screen & a few games. Sadily I lost
touch with the Amstrad community for 5 years.
In 1989 after having typed in some type-ins &
being old enough to type-in some big programs
& my older brother buying an Amstrad Action
magazine for this type-in, I decided it's time to
start collecting & using my machine. At that
stage the BBC seemed to have vanashed. In the
magazine itself the commercial games would
list which computers it was available for. The
C64, Spectrum computer & Amstrad seemed to
be the only 3 main 8bit machines for the
commercial games.

> 'LocoScript', the word processor that came with
> the Amstrad PCW machines. For several years
> in the mid-late 1980s, you couldn't go anywhere
> without seeing notices, newsletters, even
> complete books in Locoscript's distinctive
> "flattened o" typeface. It completely
> revolutionised home publishing in Britain.

I don't know too much about LocoScript, but I'm
imagining that it help make the Amstrad PCW
become a popular business machine in UK &
Europe.

> And finally there's 'Elite'. Enough said! :D

Amstrad Action gave away Elite with issue 100
on their covertape. I tried playing it for 5
minutes, until I thought I would have some fun
laserning the space station (That I came out
from). This in turn brought out some nice looking
ships for me to zap! :) This was great fun. The
only trick was to not zap the station too many times
or it's game over! You could also flee to another
system to play hide & seek with those ships! :)

Cheers.
 
early windows

early windows

CP/M User:

You might be interested in my auction listed on the "auctions" page of this msg board. It runs an early version of Windows, with an early MicroSoft mouse.

--T
 
dating windows

dating windows

My _Bowker's 1985 Complete sourcebook of Personal Computing_ does not even mention the word "Windows" anywhere in it's 1050 pages. This sourcebook gives a snapshot of the personal computing world as of 1984 or so. It is my Bible for info on some vintage hard-and-software up until that time.

--T
 
Hi David Buttery and CP/M user I really like the game Frontier.It's the later version of Elite and downloadable from Home of the Underdogs.It has really awesome music.If you like Elite you will LOVE Frontier.
At Nathans toasty technology page he has
the obscure VISI-ON GUI-the first one for I.B.M. compatables that predates Microsofts.However It apparently has some nasty copy protection scheme as was explained by Nathan on his web page.
I still downloaded it anyway.
 
Hi Terry Yager. Douglas Englebart first invented Windows.Englebart had a GUI,networked,hypertext and computer mouse demonstration at the fall 1968 Joint computer conference in San Fransisco's civic center(There is a link to it at Nathans toasty technology page WITH VIEWABLE VIDEO)
Englebart develop these ideas at the Augmentation Research Center of the Stanford Research Institute under the auspices of ARPA.

The first time that I heard of Windows was in a Sept 1977 Scientific American article about Xerox Parc's amazing developments with the ALTO workstation.I still have the magazine!

The Apple Macintosh tour disk(Jan 24,1984) discusses Windows with the accompaning Macintosh Audio tape.
 
Re: early windows

Re: early windows

"Terry Yager" wrote in message:

Hi Terry,

> You might be interested in my auction listed
> on the "auctions" page of this msg board.
> It runs an early version of Windows, with an
> early MicroSoft mouse.

Yes, the it's interesting. I don't know too much
about the Zeniths (or that one in particular),
I know someone who has a earlier based Zenith
which is a combination of 8088 & Z80 support.

I'm guessing that the Zenith 150 does provide
support as an IBM compatable. The early
Microsoft Flight Simulator would certainally
confirm this! :)

Cheers.
 
CP.M User said:

I know someone who has a earlier based Zenith
which is a combination of 8088 & Z80 support.

That would be the Z-100, an earlier not-quite-compatible version in the same family, along with the Z-148, another ibm compatible from Zenith.

I'm guessing that the Zenith 150 does provide
support as an IBM compatable. The early
Microsoft Flight Simulator would certainally
confirm this! :)

I too, used to uae FligfgtSim to test compatibility of ibm clones. I cant rembr if it runs it or if i ever even tried it.

--T
 
"Terry Yager" wrote in message:

>> I know someone who has a earlier based Zenith
>> which is a combination of 8088 & Z80 support.

Actually, I was incorrect there. The Zeniths used a
8085 processor for the 8bit side!

> That would be the Z-100, an earlier not-quite-
> compatible version in the same family, along with
> the Z-148, another ibm compatible from Zenith.

Yes, the book I have states there were 5 machines
in the Zenith Z100 Series (there might of been more
made after the book was published). In a matter of
speaking my book talks about the Z110 & Z120.
Strangely enough, it doesn't talk about the other 3.

>> I'm guessing that the Zenith 150 does provide
>> support as an IBM compatable. The early
>> Microsoft Flight Simulator would certainally
>> confirm this! :)

> I too, used to use FlightSim to test compatibility
> of ibm clones. I cant remember if it runs it or
> if i ever even tried it.

Well I actually haven't used it, I've just heard in
a matter of words that it was a good program to
test the IBM compatability on & that it could have
been the first program available for people who
wished to do tests on their machines.

Cheers.
 
"Terry Yager" wrote in message:

> Wow! 5 different machines? I've never seen or
> even heard of the Z-110 or 120. Can you tell me
> more about them?

Yes, well. The Z-120 & the Z-110 are not that far
different from one another. The only difference
between them was the Z-120 had a mono screen
& the Z-110 lacked a monitor. The idea behind
that was if you wanted a colour monitor then you'd
go for the Z-110. Apart from that they were the
same machine.

Cheers.
 
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