Why is the Windows cmd.exe limited to 80 characters wide?

Question

I love stretching my terminal on unix. What is the history or reason behind windows lame command line?

Answer 1

While the width is not limited as other answers show, I've always found it strange that one can drag and resize the height with the mouse, but not the width.

I think the default 80 character width is related to compatibility with old programs that assume the terminal won't be more than 80 characters wide. I don't think this has been a realistic reason for a decade or so, though.