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Sunday, September 13, 2009

Looking Back (June 8,1990)


Windows 3.0 out at last

What's the difference between MS Windows 3.0 and the current Apple OS? Not much. Microsoft Canada has just released Windows 3.0. Its much-vaunted graphical operating environment. And it's everything previous versions tried to be, but never were.

Never mind it was a year in the making. Windows 3.0 is an icon-based,, menu driven operating file and program management environment for DOS-based PC's offering a graphical view of all the information stored on the system.

The package contains WYSIWYG displays and user-friendly desktop applications such as Clipboard, CardFile, Windows Write, a scientific calculator and a paint program developed by ZSoft.

Windoze 3.0

The package also contains two extremely addictive executive stress relief programs - Solitaire and Reversi.

"A GUI does not an Apple make," growled Chris Fowler, head of Apple Inc's public relations department. He goes on to say, "A $500 clone running this system (Windows), is obviously not going to happen.", he said, "And clearly, the largest installed base of DOS systems is the PC"s and the XT's, which have effectively been obsoleted. They don't have the horsepower to run it... They've got to buy new systems to do that."

"Eventually, however, I think most people will want to move to OS/2. But OS/2 needs to be cleaned and polished and honed... and the hardware base improved."

However, OS/2 or not, at a retail price of $179 and with US$10 million available to promote it world wide, Windows 3.0 will certainly establish itself as a major GUI presence.

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