Windows 1.01 was launched 40 years ago, but it didn’t start well — Microsoft’s graphical OS adventures were uncompetitive at launch

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…