Rainbow Windows

[NeXT]

I'm trying to track down disk images that prove the existance of Windows 1 for the Rainbow 100, plus to try it myself.

So far all I have found was a clip in the Rainbow 100 Wikipedia entry:

DEC itself ported Microsoft Windows 1.0 to the Rainbow.

Further searching that up found a message from a guy named Fred Einstein who said here that:

Windows 1.0 which was adapted for the Rainbow at DEC by a guy named Alpo Kalio (a brilliant engineer). Windows ran on the hardware-assisted graphics card.

From there however I hit a dead end as Google says there are a lot of people by that name.

[RSX11M+]

Per your request, I've looked through my copy of the Spring 1984 Rainbow Handbook for references to Windows and Microsoft.

There are no references to MS-Windows, but there are to DESQ, described as a "Windowing System" capable of allowing the user to simultaneously run and exchange data between multiple MS-DOS applications. It required a Mouse [Logitech or Microsoft] and MS-DOS.

The catalog lists:

• DESQ is a Quarterdeck Office Systems product (DEC order code: QA691-C3)
• MS-DOS v2.05 (DEC order code: QV062-A3) is listed under DEC products, not Microsoft.

The fact that MS-DOS is listed under DEC products indicates to me that DEC chose to customize it for the Rainbow themselves, and therefore lends credence to the notion that they might later have done so with MS-Windows too. However, MS-Windows 1.0 was not released until November 1985, so obviously it's not reflected in this document.

From the descriptions of MS-Windows v1, it's capabilities lagged behind DESQ's until at least Windows v2.0 released in 1987, and wasn't taken seriously until v3.0. Throughout this period, MACs were the preeminent "Windowing" platform.

The earliest Windows version I found commonly in use was for a tape-backup system which ran under Windows 286 [v2.x], but on PCs connected to a Novell network, not Rainbows or Turbowed (286) Rainbows.

I hope that perspective eventually helps you in your quest.

[NeXT]

Hmm. Interesting.
Your handbook is also older than my Rainbow which had parts of it at least built as late as 1985. Never used or seen DESQ before though. That gap of a few months must of had something happen in it.
Closest exposure to the older versions of a windowing OS besides the mas was Windows 2.01 on a Model 30 and 1.01 on a PC6300.

[RSX11M+]

Hmm. Interesting.
Your handbook is also older than my Rainbow which had parts of it at least built as late as 1985. Never used or seen DESQ before though. That gap of a few months must of had something happen in it....

The first MAC TV advertisement was January 22, 1984. By May, the entire industry was beginning to take note of 70,000 units sold.

Personally, I think the industry was caught off guard, confused by the prior offering "Lisa" which failed to get traction primarily due to it's high price point.

Once the GUI caught on, Microsoft realized it had to adapt or die. In a way, DEC never did realize it's error, and failed to the very end with most of it's user interface offerings from then on. Management preferred to go after IBM's primary market, stating in a board meeting "We would rather have 2% of IBM's [Mainframe] business, than all the customers we now have." [yes - that's as direct a quote as I can recall]

So, despite being then "On Top", DEC mismanaged their superior position into oblivion. I can recall the day the news of that board decision reached us as a DEC VAR. Changes to pricing policies soon followed, among them elimination of the once substantial discount to Educational institutions. This more than any other, began the long down-trend that would culminate in future students graduating unfamiliar with, and unable to use DEC products.

If porting Windows for Rainbow did indeed occur, I'll bet is was a renegade effort within the company, more than the strategic move it needed to be.

It will be interesting to learn what you uncover as a result of your searches.

[Lou - N2MIY]

I have never seen Windows 1.0. How would it (or DESQ) have compared to P/OS and Synergy running on a Pro350/380?

Lou

[PrintStar]

I have Windows 1.01 for the DEC Rainbow. It used to be available through the Latrobe archives years ago. I'm not sure DEC ever "released" it, but it exists. I'll dig up the original distributions I have, but it is somewhat of a mess. I don't think anyone has ever sorted out how exactly to use a mouse with it.

Windows 2 and 3.0 were also available for the 'bow, but neither was ported by DEC. Win 3.0 doesn't actually require a 286 accelerator, but it sure helps.

[NeXT]

Thank you for chiming in PrintStar.Your effort would be greatly appreciated.
Windows 1 included mouse support integrated into itself, right? I didn't check before. I first installed the mouse driver, then installed Windows.
I could probably test to see if the original Microsoft serial mouse (or the older InPort mouse with a serial adapter) works.

[Lou - N2MIY]

About using a mouse on a rainbow....

When I had one in the late 80s, I ran Autocad V2.6 on it. I had a Logitech C7 mouse connected to the Rainbow. The trick was that the although the rainbow comm port could be configured, the mouse also had to be set up to match the baud rate. I would always have to send a command string to the mouse to set the appropriate baud rate, then start autocad, and then the mouse would work. Somewhere around here I have a memo from Autodesk (on autodesk letterhead) that provided the appropriate baud rate change string to make the C7 work properly.

I would not be surprised if Windows 1 would also work with an appropriately configured C7.

Lou

[PrintStar]

A Logitech mouse might work with Rainbow Windows 1. I've tried a Microsoft serial mouse many times before to no avail with Rainbow Windows 1. I seem to remember seeing snippets in messages that suggested the mouse needed to be connected via the printer port (which is just a serial port on the 'bow) for Windows. It also seems likely that it might use a DEC hockeypuck of some sort similar to its younger brother, the VAXmate.