Windows 1.01 was released by Microsoft 40 years ago. It was the software company’s first commercially released WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menus, and Pointer)-driven shell, laying the foundations for the family of shells and operating systems marketed under the Windows brand. However, the operating system faced far superior competition at launch, stifling uptake for about eight years when version 3.X landed.
Running atop of DOS, a trait that would continue for several revisions, 1985’s Windows 1.01 had the incredibly meager-sounding minimum system requirements of an Intel 8088 processor, 256KB of RAM, twin-floppy drives, and CGA graphics. A mouse was recommended, but this new-fangled input peripheral wasn’t a strict requirement.
