What the heck is Microsoft's "all-new" Windows 1.0 tease about?

What you need to know

  • Microsoft's social team put out a sizzler video and "announced" Windows 1.0 on Instagram and Twitter today.
  • The posts seemed to be someone having fun at first, but there may be more to it.
  • What Microsoft is teasing is anyone's guess.

The Windows team had a little fun on social media today, releasing a sizzler video alongside the reveal of the "all-new" Windows 1.0. But what looked like a late April Fools day prank may have more to it than it seems at first glance.

The post itself says, "Introducing the all-new Windows 1.0, with MS-Dos Executive, Clock, and more!!" Accompanying the post is a video that rewinds through all of the logos Windows has used over the years, ending with the Windows 1.0 logo — a logo Microsoft has started using on social channels.

https://twitter.com/Windows/status/1145731141695168512

Where it starts to get interesting is in the Instagram post, where Microsoft has been responding to comments since the post went live, and it sure seems like the company is teasing something forthcoming. To commenters who are as perplexed as we are, the Windows account has been coy with responses like "Stay tuned!" and "More information coming soon!"

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It's also interesting to note that the Windows Instagram account has removed all of its posts except the Windows 1.0 teaser.

On July 3, Microsoft continued to stoke the flames of speculation with a new teaser, which you can check out below.

https://twitter.com/Windows/status/1146456110917914624

On July 4, Microsoft added yet another teaser. This teaser is the first to confirm that the tweets have to do with Stranger Things. The teaser included a scene that is in Season 3 of Stranger things.

What Microsoft may have up its sleeves is anyone's guess, but it's definitely Windows 1.0 related. It's possible that the company could be planning to open source the operating system, just as it has done already for MS-DOS and Windows Calculator. Or, it could simply be the social accounts having a bit of fun. Either way, today was a nice trip back to November of 1985.

Updated July 1, 2019: As pointed out in the comments, it's possible this bit of social media fun could be some sort of promotional tie-in with the third season of Netflix's Stranger Things. The season debuts on July 4 and is set in 1985, the same year Windows 1.0 launched.

Updated July 3, 2019: Added Microsoft's second teaser from July 3.

Updated July 4, 2019: Added Microsoft's third teaser from July 4 that confirms it is related to Stranger Things.

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