The History of Windows Operating Systems - Part 1.

I always found it interesting to know how things started,
and since its about time I'll start posting articles about windows in a blog dedicated to windows (and other stuff), guess its a good idea to write a little bit about how it all started
In the Beginning... (or: "the first OS")
Computers have been used for a long time in many forms, but it was very different from how things work today.
users would've come with set of commands placed on card (or similar input device) and the computer would have done them in the specific order they were written, there was no option for users to run a specific command or see what the memory currently holds, or even add functionality to the program, unless it was specifically written in the program.
with the appearance of mainframes around the 50's, a more flexibility was required and around the year 1954 the first OS named "GM-NAA I/O" was introduced.
it was built by General Motors for internal use, and its main function was, like today's OS to link between the user and the machine's hardware, the problem was - it wasn't retail software, GM used the "OS" themselves, and when different companies realised the potential of having an actual interface to the machine, each company developed its own version of "Operating System"
once the OS's were created, new programs could be written and more power was given to the users (think batchs and scripts, or even debugging of programs!), but, and there is a big, no- huge, no- gargantuas ! but, in here (and I'm not talking about Jeniffer Lopez's :) ), if every company made its own OS, and each OS was created for the specific hardware it ran on, then suddenly there was a world full of computers, each with its own standarts that is unable to communicate with any other computer (even if it was the same model from the same manufacturer!).
And then Unix came (or: the revolution begines!)
at 1960, the ambition AT&T descided that having a single OS specified to a single machine that can run a single process isn't good enough for them, so they wanted a change and tried to write an OS that can actually run several processes in parallel, calling the ambitios project Multics (Multiplexed Information and Computing Service), which was still made for a specific computer (the  GE-645 mainframe computer).
however, the project probably seemed to ambitios and AT&T pulled it out.
around the 70's, one of Multics programmers descided to try and revive the project, so he rewritten it and began improving it for Digital company, naming the old-new project "Unics" (maybe as a joke on account of the failing project), later it was renamed to "Unix".
later on, Unix got another revolution, and on 73' it was rewritten again, but this time the different thing was it wasn't written in assembly (hardware specific language) but in a higher generation computer language called "C", that move made the OS amazingly portable and made sure it can run on nearly every hardware exist (aslong as there was a way to translate the c language to that specific machine code), which made digital very happy, as they could have make new hardware that was supported by the OS without much limitations. (for example - VAX servers at 1978)
Battle of the OS's (or: IBM's rising)
Up till that time, the main concern of computer manufacturers was the creation of big computers that ment for heavy duties (such as paychecks calculations, wether predictions etc.)
then IBM came with a revolutionary concept, a Personal Computer (PC anyone?), since they had no experience in the concept (no one had at that time actually), they turned to a small software company names Microsoft for ideas how a home computer should work and what OS would be best for it.
Microsoft, offered some pointers for the PC (such as having "Basic" language on the PC's ROM), but as for the OS were stumped, since they had no experience in it, but they did offer them to use the CP/M OS that was extremlly widespread then (over 600,000 sold copies), which had it setting the standarts of it time.
however, IBM and Gary Kildall couldn't agree on the licensing method, forcing IBM to withdraw there offer to give Kildall the contract for their PC OS, turning back to Microsoft for advice at 1981.
Microsoft then Descided to help IBM by purchasing a different widespread OS named QDOS (Quick and Dirty Operating System) by the amount of 50,000$, adjusting it to the new computer and releasing it by the name "MS-DOS" (Microsoft Disk Operating System).
MS-DOS started out as a very similar operating system to the CP/M conceptually, but gradually it evolved more and more, introducing the revolutionary FAT file system and enhancing its capabilities.
during the mid-later 1980's CP/M turned from the leading to the back and modified so it'll be competiable to MS-DOS and changed its name to DR-DOS to reflect on that change, DR-DOS was concidered better then MS-DOS, but eventually died on its own.
ok, that was long enough, but brought me to where I wanted - the beginning of MS as a company based on operating system and not softwares as its name might imply.
next post will be the rest of the history, and it'll be all about microsoft - promise!
good day!
p.s.
sorry for the lack of pictures, I know its a lot more boring to read this way, next time it'll be better... I hope :)

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