The Verge is reporting:
Microsoft is releasing the source code for its original Windows File Manager from nearly 28 years ago. While it's a relic from the past, you can still compile the source code Microsoft has released and run the app on Windows 10 today.
The source code is available on GitHub, and is maintained by Microsoft veteran Craig Wittenberg under the MIT license. Wittenberg copied the File Manager code from Windows NT 4 back in 2007, and has been maintaining it before open sourcing it recently. It's a testament to the backward compatibility of Windows itself, especially that this was originally included in Windows more than 20 years ago.
A port of Microsoft's File Manger made its first appearance in OS/2 1.1 and then became the primary file manager in Windows 3.0.
(Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Tuesday April 10 2018, @05:19PM (1 child)
Not to mention that Xerox Star/Globalview did it even before the Mac.
Really, all the way from the 1983 Comdex demo to ~1988 Windows 2.x, Windows hardly got much development attention. It was more of a "me too" product. Just something Microsoft could paste up to show that they had a GUI environment. It didn't help that that most of the early 80s competition fell on their faces. Visi On flopped and VisiCorp imploded, Digital Research's GSX and GEM didn't really take off, and serious business users viewed the Macintosh as a toy. It wasn't until IBM decided to go their own way with OS/2 that Microsoft started taking Windows seriously.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Wednesday April 11 2018, @11:25AM
Apple sued DRI over GEM on the PC and they had to release a crippled version as a result. GEM found its way into the Atari ST in uncrippled form.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].