Bill Gates and Microsoft released Windows 1.0 on this date 29 years ago -- November 20, 1985. Windows was designed to allow users to run multiple applications at the same time, and to enhance the use of graphics on computer displays, which were often blank DOS command screens at the time. To paraphrase Sheldon Cooper, “Windows 1.0 was much more user-friendly. I don’t like that.”

In actuality, the first version of Windows was a bit of a flop. It wasn’t a full operating system; instead, it piggybacked on top of a previous installation of DOS. Many reviewers thought the Windows overlay (which came on two floppy disks) clogged up system performance too much (this was in the days of 512 KB RAM). Another complaint that seems odd today: It was too dependent on the mouse. By 1985, users were still married to their keyboards, and having to reach out to grab a peripheral was apparently asking too much for many people.

Windows might have been too far a step in 1985, when home computers were mostly limited to “power users.” Its emphasis on an integrated graphical interface was intended to make navigating all of a computer’s functions easier for casual users. However, Microsoft stuck with the product. The first full upgrade, Windows 2.0, was released in 1987. Microsoft upgraded the Windows “shell” to a full operating system in the 1990s and eventually overtook Apple OS as the most dominant operating system in the PC market. Today, around 90% of personal computers run some version of Windows (although smartphones and tablets are a different story).

As for Windows 1.0, it had a remarkably long life in the computer world, where today’s innovation is tomorrow’s piece of junk. Microsoft offered support for Windows 1.0 for 16 years. All support was finally discontinued on December 31, 2001.

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