Definition: Windows 1.0

The original version of Microsoft Windows, which was introduced in 1985. Windows 1.0 was a DOS application that provided a crude windowing environment. Its "MS-DOS Executive" was the launching pad for applications that were displayed in side-by-side windows that could not be overlapped.

Windows 1.0 included a clipboard, calendar, clock, control panel, Notepad editor, Windows Write and Windows Paint, but it took five more years before a new version of Windows caught on (see Windows 3.0). See Windows and Windows 2.0.

Windows 1.0

Although the first version of Windows switched the PC to graphics mode, the application windows could not be made to overlap, and the overall look and feel of the environment was similar to DOS. (Image courtesy of Ian Albert.)