In the early 1980s, as personal computing began evolving from a hobbyist's endeavor to a mainstream technology, Microsoft was developing a new operating system with a graphical user interface (GUI) that would later revolutionize how people interacted with computers. Initially, this project was not called Windows; instead, it bore the less catchy name "Interface Manager."
The development of Interface Manager began in 1981 when Microsoft saw the potential to create a more user-friendly interface based on GUIs that had been introduced by systems like the Xerox PARC's Alto computer and further commercialized by Apple with its Lisa and Macintosh computers. The idea behind Interface Manager was to create an environment where users could interact with their computers through graphical icons and windows instead of typing commands in text-based DOS environments.
The name Interface Manager was meant to emphasize the program's role as a manager of the interfaces between the user and the complex computations that ran behind the scenes. However, as the project neared completion, the marketing team at Microsoft suggested a change. They believed that the name "Windows" would more effectively communicate the program’s capabilities to potential users, highlighting its ability to support multiple tasks simultaneously through the use of overlapping windows on the screen.
In November 1983, Microsoft publicly announced Windows, formally shifting away from the Interface Manager title. This new system promised to be a more intuitive and visually oriented way to interact with personal computers. It featured overlapping windows, drop-down menus, and basic word processing and graphics programs, setting a standard for user interfaces that has influenced software design for decades.
Windows 1.0 was officially released in November 1985, over two years after its initial announcement, due to various developmental challenges and improvements. Although it was not an immediate success, this graphical operating environment gradually gained traction as more software developers created applications for it, and as hardware capabilities improved. The change from Interface Manager to Windows marked a pivotal shift not only in the project’s marketing but also in user interaction design, heralding a new era in personal computing. This move established Windows as a foundational technology that would go on to dominate the personal computer operating system market for years to come.
