![]() While we won't talk about the features of Windows 95, because there's plenty of information in this regard on Microsoft's website, it's worth mentioning that the operating system introduced 20 years ago came with a completely new UI based on the quintessential desktop, which is still available today in all Windows versions. At that point, it wasn't called a Start menu, but later versions of Windows 95 came with a Start button that provided access to this menu. Windows 95 build 56/58s was the first to come with a Start menu in the form of a concept that grouped the main sections of the operating system in a single menu. Microsoft's plan was not only to let users test Windows 95 and help it improve the OS but also to pave the road for the big launch, thus creating a whole new craze ahead of its product’s debut.įor Windows 10, users who can't live without a Start menu, here's something very interesting. All those paying the fee received a pack of 3.5-inch floppy disks to either upgrade from Windows 3.1 or perform a clean install on their computers and discover what Windows 95 was all about. Windows 95 was Microsoft's first major step towards a screen full of windows, bringing changes that made working on a computer with a mouse and keyboard a lot easier than any time before.ĭevelopment of Windows 95 started in March 1992 and Microsoft officially launched it on August 24, 1995, exactly 20 years ago, with a midnight party that brought people in line at Microsoft stores to purchase the new operating system.Ĭodenamed Chicago, Windows 95 benefited, just like Windows 10, from a beta program before its launch, so American testers could try out the operating system for only $19.95. Microsoft ended support for Windows 95 on December 31, 2001.Twenty years ago today, Microsoft introduced what quickly became its most successful “modern” operating system and which paved the road for a completely new computing world that's now being used by 90 percent of the PCs. Three years after its introduction, Windows 95 was succeeded by Windows 98. ![]() Neil MacDonald, a Gartner analyst, said that Windows 95 “was a quantum leap in difference in technological capability and stability.” Ina Fried of CNET said that “by the time Windows 95 was finally ushered off the market in 2001, it had become a fixture on computer desktops around the world. Many features that have since become key components of the Microsoft Windows series, such as the Start menu and the taskbar, originated in Windows 95. The Plus! Pack did not reach as many retail consumers as the operating system itself. At the release date of Windows 95, Internet Explorer 1.0 was available, but only in the Plus! add-on pack for Windows 95, which was a separate product. Windows 95 originally shipped without Internet Explorer, and the default network installation did not install TCP/IP, the network protocol used on the Internet. While maintaining the program groups used by its predecessor Program Manager, it also displayed applications within cascading sub-menus. ![]() The Start menu, invoked by clicking the “Start” button on the taskbar, was introduced as an additional means of launching applications or opening documents. The taskbar also contained a notification area used to display icons for background applications, a volume control and the current time. In Windows 95, the currently running applications were displayed as buttons on a taskbar across the bottom of the screen. In Windows 3.1 the desktop was used to display icons of running applications. Windows 95 introduced a redesigned shell based around a desktop metaphor the desktop was re-purposed to hold shortcuts to applications, files and folders. This sparked debate amongst users and professionals regarding the extent to which Windows 95 is an operating system or merely a graphical shell running on top of MS-DOS ![]() For example, it is possible to prevent the loading of the graphical user interface and boot the system into a real-mode MS-DOS environment. To end-users, MS-DOS appears as an underlying component of Windows 95. There were also major changes made to the core components of the operating system, such as moving from a mainly co-operatively multitasked 16-bit architecture to a 32-bit preemptive multitasking architecture. Windows 95 merged Microsoft’s formerly separate MS-DOS and Windows products, improvements over its predecessor, Windows 3.1, most notably in the graphical user interface (GUI) and in its simplified “plug-and-play” features. More than one million copies was sold in the first four days of its release, Windows 95 release included a commercial featuring The Rolling Stones’ 1981 single “Start Me Up” (a reference to the Start button) Kicking off one of the largest product launches in technology history, Microsoft releases the highly anticipated Windows 95.
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