Venix (1984) 2 Unix

First unveiled in 1983 as Venix/86 for 8088/8086 CPUs, Venix is a compact lightweight multi-user multi-tasking operating system for IBM PC compatible computers. It was created by VenturCom and published through Unisource. Venix is notable for being the first available adaptation of UNIX for IBM PCs, beating IBM to the UNIX market. It was initially based off of UNIX Version 7.

• 386 3.x

Ventura Publisher (1986) 5 Publishing Windows

Ventura Publisher, originally from Xerox, is a professional desktop publishing program for the GEM graphical environment and later Windows. It has the distinction of being the first popular publishing program for the IBM PC platform. It competed with Aldus PageMaker, which initially was more popular on the Mac platform. There are also versions for Mac and OS/2.

• 3.0 for Windows
• 4.0 for Windows

Video 7 VGA1024i Video drivers (1990) 0 DOS Windows

Released in 1989 by Headland Technology, Inc, this contains video drivers and utilities for the Video 7 VGA 1024 for DOS, Windows 2.0, AutoCAD, GEM, and Word Perfect.

• 2.19

Watcom C/C++ (1989) 7 DOS OS2

The Watcom C/C++ is a powerful compiler for DOS, Windows, and OS/2. Its key selling point was superior cross platform support. It supported DOS, extended DOS 32-bit, Win16, Win32, and OS/2. Notably, it was used to produce the video game DOOM as a 32-bit DOS extended program.

• 8.5

Windows 3.0 / 3.1 (1990) 228 Windows

Windows 3.x was the first to gain significant development and commercial traction. It combined the 8086, 286, and 386 modes of Windows 2 in to one package. It replaced the MSDOS Executive with a Program Manager and File Manager similar to those in OS/2 1.x. Much of its success was spurred by the availability and success of Microsoft Office. Although Microsoft would have had you believe otherwise, Windows 3.x was the direct foundation for Chicago/Windows 95. | 1.0 | 2.x | 3.x | NT 3.x | 95 | NT 4.0 | 98 | 2000 | ME | All |

• 3.0
• 3.0 TestDrive

Windows NT 3.x (1991) 180 Windows

Windows NT 3.1 was the first of the Windows NT series. Sporting the same face as its consumer counterpart Windows 3.1, it was completely different under the hood. A true 32-bit native operating system, Windows NT descended from the work Microsoft did while collaborating with IBM on OS/2 after the great split, and bringing in former DEC employees like Dave Cutler, bringing a VMS influence into the system. It was followed up by Windows NT 4.0. | 1.0 | 2.x | 3.x | NT 3.x | 95 | NT 4.0 | 98 | 2000 | ME | All |

• NT 3.1 Pre-Release

Windows Resource Kit (1991) 34 Utility Windows

The Microsoft Windows Resource kit is a set of supplementary tools for managing and deploying Microsoft Windows. The first Windows Resource kit was released in 1991 for Windows 3.0. Most, but not all, Windows versions after that had corresponding Resource Kits. These were often freely downloadable from Microsoft.

• 3.x

Windows SDK & DDK (1986) 32 Windows

The Microsoft Windows Software Development Kits (SDK) provide sample program code, extra libraries, and documentation to aid application developers producing Windows applications. Microsoft Windows Driver Development Kits are similar sets of samples and libraries but specific to device driver development, and much more in-depth.

• NT 3.x

WordPerfect (1983) 15 Word Processor OS2

During the late 1980's, WordPerfect was THE standard word processor for DOS based PCs in big business. Under DOS, it competed mostly against Wordstar. WordPerfect for Windows enjoyed some success in the early Windows environments, but was quickly displaced by Microsoft Word for Windows. Later Windows versions were part of Borland Office/Novell PerfectOffice/Corel Office/Corel WordPerfect Office.

• 5.0 (OS/2)

WordScan (1991) 0 Document Windows

Calera WordScan, from Calera Recognition Systems, is an optical character recognition program for use with scanners under Windows 3.1. It competed against OmniPage.

• 1.x

Xerox Rooms for Windows (1991) 0 Utility Windows

Xerox Rooms for Windows is a desktop enhancement for Windows 3.0 and 3.1 that gives them multiple desktops. It features customizable desktop icon "buttons" in each "room" that may represent applications or documents, "doors" that lead to different rooms, separate backgrounds in each room, and a room overview. It can be launched manually, or when Windows starts.

• 1.0