1 May
2006
1 May
'06
5:31 p.m.
I was just reading through the MSJ (May 1987) and it has an interesting article
called "Evolution and History of MS-DOS" and some of it is quoted below. Does
anyone know whatever happened to Tim Patterson? I never hear his name mentioned,
and am just curious.
From that article:
*********
January 1975: MITS introduces the $400 Altair computer; it has no keyboard, no
monitor, no disk, and no operating system.
February 1975: Paul Allen and Bill Gates develop and sell their own verion of
BASIC to MITS for the Altair:
February 1976: Paul Allen, now working for MITS, asks Bill Gates to write a
disk-based version of BASIC for the Altair. Bill Gates creates a working model
of his disk BASIC in 10 days. He designs a disk layout and file structure based
on a centralized File Directory and File Allocation Table (FAT). He also
includes a rudimentary set of file services in the disk BASIC he is developing.
1976-1978: Microsoft Disk BASIC is ported to all jmajor 8 bit personal
computers. An assembler and linker are developed for 8080 and Z80 based systems.
April 1978: Intel announces the 8086, a 16 bit processor.
January 1979: Tim Paterson of Seattle Computer Products begins work on a plug-in
8086 processor card to bring the power of the 8086 to the S-100 bus.
June 1979: Microsoft and Tim Patterson show Microsoft's BASIC running on
Paterson's 8086 card at the National Computer Conference in New York.
April 1980: Delays hold up the delivery of CP/M 86. Tim Paterson decides to
write his own "Quick and Dirty" OS, which becomes known as 86-DOS. He
incorporates the FAT structure first designed byt Bill Gates for Disk-BASIC, and
some features and techniques underlying MS-DOS.
August 1980: IBM takes its first stept owards producing the IBM PC, planning to
use readily availble, off-the-shelf 8 bit hardware. IBM visits Microsoft, asking
if Microsoft can write a ROM-based BASIC for the computer IBM is develop9ing.
Microsoft suggests that IBM consider the 16 bit architecture. IBM's "Project
Chess" goes on to become the 8088 (8086 based) IBM PC. The first working version
of 86-DOS runs on Tim Paterson's 8086 card. This is essentially the birth of
what will become known as MS-DOS.
September 1980: IBM asks Microsoft to provide COBOL, FORTRAN and PAscal for
their personal computer. Microsoft suggests to IBM that an operating system
would be necessary to develop the additional lnaguages.
October 1980: Microsoft submits a proposal to IBM that includes MS-DOS.
November 1980: The proposal is accepted by IBM. A prototype machine arrives at
Microsoft and a small DOS team begins a concentrated period of work.
February 1981: 86-DOS runs on the prototype for the first time. Over the next
half year the OS is refined and becomes MS-DOS 1.0.
August 1981:IBM introduces the IBM PC, and annoucnes three operating systems:
MS-DOS, CP/M 86, and the P System. For several months, MS-DOS is the only OS
available. It is also priced substantially lower than CP/M. ...
...
June 1982: MS-DOS, Version 1.1 is announced, providing support for double-sided,
eight sector diskettes on the IBM PC.