According to Neowin , MSbob was inspired by the failed Microsoft Bob project. While the app may have limited use in its current state, it still helps people realize what the oldest ancestors of Microsoft DOS and Windows were like.
Image of 86-DOS version 0.11 and accompanying disk uploaded to Internet Archive
Before Windows and its familiar and beloved graphical user interface (GUI) were deployed, users were probably quite familiar with MS-DOS, a non-graphical command-line operating system derived from 86-DOS (internally known as QDOS, short for Quick and Dirty Operating System) created for IBM compatible computers.
With 86-DOS, the "86" name was inspired by the Intel 8086 processor nomenclature because the 86-DOS operating system was developed by Seattle Computer Products (SCP) for the S-100 computer series based on Intel's 8086 processor. While Seattle Computer Products chose the Intel 8086, IBM chose the Intel 8088 variant.
A few days ago, X (Twitter) user and Windows enthusiast NTDEV discovered that early versions of 86-DOS had been uploaded to the Internet Archive by a user named f15sim. The version in question was 0.11, and its accompanying disk image was also uploaded for preservation.
NTDEV looked at 86-DOS 1.1 on Open SIMH (History Simulator) and noted the presence of 9 files in this ancient software, one of which was a rather interesting chess simulator. The files included RMCPM (possibly a copy utility), HEX2BIN (a development utility that included all the basic utilities), ASM (an 8086 compiler originally written in Z80 ASM), TRANS (a Z80 to 8086 translator), SYS (possibly a utility for writing the command interpreter to a new floppy drive), and EDLIN (a line editor included with MS-DOS).
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