- Sofiane MEROUANI
- Feb 10, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 24, 2023
Everybody knows Bill Gates. But who are the tech wizards behind the scenes that created the software we use today? -- In Episode (#02) of Microsoft (MSFT) Legends, we are going to talk about a great mind who took all the risks and went headfirst to develop the very first version of Windows, as a part of Microsoft's efforts to migrate from arcane looking command-prompt-based operating system named DOS into "Interface Manager" based on early works done by Chase Bishop. This man is Tandy Trower.
Long before David Cutler came on board and changed the face of Windows by infusing all the knowledge he acquired as an engineer from DEC to create what would become an operating system known as Windows NT. Long before Jim Allchin would lead the troop into the Cairo Project that never came to fruition but some of his elements were implemented into Brad Silverberg's Windows "Chicago", there was a man who went right into a career's death path to create the first version of Windows that came out in 1985. A bold move to compete with Apple Macintosh and other OSes that embarrassed GUIs as their primary interface between humans and the machine.
That man is Tandy Trower.
Tandy Trower joined Microsoft in 1981 when the company counted only 90 employees. At that time Microsoft was in the midst of negotiations with IBM to license the DOS operating system and Steve Ballmer was the acting HR manager. Trower decided to give it a shot and was hired as part of a new product marketing team that included Jeff Raikes, Chris Larson, Carl Stork, Mark Deutsch, and Mark Ursino.
His first manager at Microsoft was Nigel Smith.
Trower's early years at Microsoft involved product management like marketing several fully-fledged GW-Basic which included a variety of BASIC interpreters for 6800, 6809, 6502, Z-80, 8080, and 8086 processors as well as BASIC compilers. He was also responsible for a few games, including Microsoft Decathlon and some educational products, and a couple of hardware products that were destined to be used by Apple II computers.
Later, Trower was asked by Steve Ballmer if he could manage Windows, which at that time was considered Microsoft's first attempt to "beautify" MS-DOS with GUI instead of an arcade-based command prompt. In fact, the first incarnation of Windows was not an operating system per se as we know it today, but a 'layer' that would sit on top of MS-DOS, hoping it would attract more and more people to Windows with ease of use, using the mouse as the primary pointing device instead of a keyboard.
What kept Trower's fear in check was that Windows was seen as vaporware. Many engineers at Microsoft feared that the Windows project would put their careers on the chopping block and tarnish their remusés. According to Trower: "...[Steve]Ballmer had just returned from what we internally referred to as the “mea culpa” tour to personally apologize to analysts and press for the product not having shipped on time and to reinforce Microsoft’s definite plans to complete it soon.
Yep, Windows was running behind schedule.
Furthermore, to make things even worse, IBM refused to license Windows for their PCs and Big Blue opted for their propriety operating windowing system TopView. And as a result, Microsoft found itself in a difficult situation trying to sell Windows directly to IBM's end users who were convinced that TopView was "good enough" for their technical needs and TopView was the de facto OS for the IBM machines.
