Microsoft Corporation launched the first Windows flavor on November 20, 1985

Nov 20, 2012 14:36 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft is now struggling to turn Windows 8 into a successful product, but most Redmondians probably forgot that 27 years ago, on November 20, their company actually rolled out the first Windows version.

Called Windows 1.0, this project was the first Microsoft software supposed to provide a multi-tasking graphical interface, one that would allow users to work on their computers in a way never seen before.

Since it wasn’t such an advanced operating system, many consumers actually called it a front end for the MS-DOS operating system. And it was one since it was based on MS-DOS, but it brought a very interesting app pack that included a clock, a calendar, Notepad, a calculator and a few others.

Windows 1.0 was officially updated in May 1986 with the release of Windows 1.02, the first international flavor of Microsoft’s operating system. Windows 2.0 finally became generally available on December 9, 1987.