������������������ ����� IBM invented the first personal computer and approached Bill Gates in 1980 to create an operating system for it.� Gates suggested that they investigate an operating system called CP/M (Control Program for� Microcomputers) since Microsoft had not yet written OS software.� CP/M was written by Gary Kildall of Digital Research and, was the most successful operating system at the time.� After a failed attempt to makean agreement with Kildall, IBM was soon looking to Microsoft again to write the operating system.� This would be the end of CP/M as the most prevalent OS.
Tim Paterson of Seattle Computer Products was the creator of the ?Quick and Dirty Operating System, written for the Intel 8086 based computer.� Paterson had used a manual for CP/M to write QDOS in six weeks.QDOS was different enough from Kildall's operating system to make it legal.� Microsoft secretly purchased�the right to QDOS in the amount of� $50,000.� QDOS was used by Microsoft as the basis for MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System), and in 1981 Tim Paterson quit Seattle Computer Products to get a job with Microsoft.
The introductory user interface was all text and keyboard commands rather than graphically oriented.� MS-DOS is an example of the text and keyboard commands� that are still used on many personalcomputers today.� Xerox developed the first GUI (graphic user interface) in the 1970's; however they werenot widely used until the 1980's.� The power and monitors needed for a useful GUI became inexpensiveenough to use in home computers by then.� In 1979, Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computers, wasimpressed by the Alto computer at Xerox using the new GUI.� Although work had been begun on the Lisa� computer at Apple, Jobs was significantly influenced by his visit to Xerox's PARC facility.� This would make�� it easy for Microsoft to fend off the lawsuit Apple brought for the use of the graphic user interface that was so Apple-like in Windows 1.0.� Gates claimed that he, too, had been influenced by a visit to Xerox.�He agreed that Microsoft would not use any Macintosh technology in its Windows 1.0, but its use�� in subsequent versions of Windows would be permitted.� The consequence of this outcome caused Apple� to lose rights to some key design elements.� Apple's Lisa computer was the first PC to use the GUI,� but after a short run the Lisa group was discontinued.
� In 1981, Microsoft introduced its MS-DOS 1.0.� In 1982, the 1.25 version made it possible to use double- sided disks.� Previously, the disk had to be manually flipped to use the other side.� The 2.0 version, in 1983,supported IBM's 10 MB hard disk, directories and� the double density 5.25" floppy disks with capacities up to 360 KB.� Later that year, support for foreign and extended characters was added in version 2.11.� In 1984, the 3.0 version provided support for high density 1.2 MB floppy disks and 32 MB hard disks.� Network support�� was added afterward in the 3.1 version.� In 1987, the 3.3 release was written for the IBM PS/2 which addedsupport for high density 3.5" floppy disks, more than one partition on hard drives, allowing the use of disks largerthan 32 MB, and the addition of code pages.� The 4.0 release had a lot of bugs when it came out in 1988.� Many programs would not run on it.� In 1989, 4.01 repaired those bugs.� In 1991, a major upgrade was released in the 5.0 version.� It allowed parts of DOS to load itself in the high memory area, as well as certain device drivers.� It also added support for IBM�s new 2.88 MB floppy disks. In 1992/3 a minor bug fix was released in 5.0a. It dealt with problems with the UNDELETE� and CHDSK commands.� Later in 1993, the 6.0 release added a disk-compression utility, an improved backup program, a basic anti-virus program, and a disk fragmenter.� 6.2 and 6.21were also released in 1993.� The increased security for the disk-compression utility helped to prevent data loss.� SCANDISK, a new disk checker, was also introduced.� Due to a law suit by Stac Electronics, Microsoft released a version without the disk-compression utility called DoubleSpace and with a voucher for an alternative disk- compression utility.� In 1994, 6.22 came out with a new disk compression program called DriveSpace.� 7.0 was released in 1995 and was part of Windows 95 in its original version.� It provided support for long filenames when Windows was running, but removed many utilities some of which were put on the Windows 95 CD on the /other/� oldmsdos directory.� The 7.1 release was part of OEM Service Release 2 and later of Windows 95.� The main change was support for FAT 32 hard disks, a more efficient and robust way of storing data on large drives.������������� |
