Windows 1.0: the flop that created an empire

The big story in The New York Times on November 20, 1985, concerned Hurricane Kate’s advance as it smashed into northern Cuba and the Florida Keys before barreling north to threaten the Gulf Coast. But another big story — for the technology world — was about to unfold thousands of miles away in Las Vegas, where the Comdex trade show was getting under way.


Apple had grabbed headlines a year earlier with the introduction of its graphical Macintosh. Now, after two years of delays, Microsoft was finally ready to debut the much-promised Microsoft Windows.

It became the blueprint for many of Microsoft’s new product launches. Early versions suck, but get progressively better over the years.

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