Premiere Edition

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This was a special release for the press and associates so Microsoft could keep their promise of shipping the product in summer of 1985, before it was delayed for the fourth and final time to fall 1985. Despite this, the Premiere Edition was never widely available and is still not the finished product, which is why I consider it a pre-release build. A fake copy of this release remains available online. It has files from August 1985 and is identical to the retail version 1.01 release, except for a few string hacks.

It was compiled on 30th July 1985 and distributed on four 5.25" 360 kB disks (presumably in August) with special labels. Windows Write is still not included, even though earlier builds shown in magazines included it. The overall UI recieved some minor improvements compared to the May Beta, but the default color scheme remains monochrome. Sample applications have been removed (possibly moved to the SDK) and a new Terminal application is included, while other applications recieved some UI improvements. Fonts and drivers still use the .EXE file extension.

It's possible Microsoft made a dedicated SDK to accompany this release, as HELLO.EXE sample application from the version 1.02 SDK for RM Nimbus PC-186 says "Premiere Edition" in the About dialog.