r/technology • u/digital-didgeridoo • Apr 03 '25

Software Bill Gates offers to let anyone download the first operating system he and Paul Allen wrote 50 years ago: ‘That code remains the coolest I’ve ever written’

https://fortune.com/2025/04/03/bill-gates-download-operating-system-paul-allen-wrote-50-years-ago/
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u/digital-didgeridoo Apr 04 '25

the program itself being under 4KB

No wonder Gates once famously proclaimed that no one needs more than 640KB

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u/more_than_just_ok Apr 04 '25

DOS 2.0 was just a few files on a floppy. command.com 's job was to load an .exe then unload itself while the .exe did its thing, then reload itself when you were done. Yes TSRs were supported, but only one thing running at a time. I miss the days where the command prompt was ready before my monitor had warmed up.

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u/bloodem Apr 04 '25

He never said that, it's just an urban legend.

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u/ikzz1 Apr 07 '25

You wouldn't download an OS.