Windows changed forever on August 15th, 1995. #Windows95
So, if you ask me which Windows version introduced most features still seen today, you would be surprised to hear it was actually Windows 95. Some people would say that came earlier, like in the first Windows, while some others may debate that Windows probably has changed a lot since about 25 years have passed since then. Not that either of those opinions are false but if you look into detail, Windows 95 does pinpoint the classic, never-changing features of Windows. Let's take a look:
Windows 95's early development
So, where did it all start? In early 1992, Microsoft had a lot of projects in the making. Windows 3.1 still had not been released (this will be another story coming soon), Windows NT 3.1 also was in the making (a monumental moment for Microsoft, more on that soon), as well as Microsoft Cairo was a project (yeah, you know this will also be a story for another day). All of those projects I mentioned were huge and an overload for Microsoft.
But wait, there's more!
As Windows 3.1 released, Microsoft could have called it a day as of mainstream Operating Systems and made the next one in a long time. Windows 3.1 was satisfactory and very good for the home market and business market. It was a good sell.
Where's the catch? Let me just say that the market was full of competition.
You may know a company that goes by the name of IBM. IBM is that friend of yours at school who goes like "Hey, I need help with my homework." They tell you that they did most of it correctly but there is this huge part that they need help in. You gracefully accept to help them, giving them loads of answers, and they in turn promise to return the favor. Yet, later they turn in the homework and get a better grade, when you had helped them for most of it. Well, something similar happened here.
So, Microsoft and IBM had always been great buddies. MS-DOS, the first major hit in Microsoft's history, was their operating system which they had released only for the IBM PC, another major hit by IBM. Eventually, that IBM PC was cloned by other companies, who also chose to use MS-DOS. IBM was losing their market because Microsoft had an operating system that could be used by any IBM PC clone, while IBM had only a few computers that were a little expensive and relied on MS-DOS. When Windows came out, it could be supported by any IBM PC clone using MS-DOS. IBM was starting to become the person who helped yet got the lower grade and they wanted to get that sweet good grade back.
What did they do?
So, when Microsoft released Windows 3.1, they had been helping IBM on their project called OS/2. This would be an Operating System bridging DOS and a multitasking environment together. It would literally be DOS but with multiple windows. IBM released OS/2 at the same time as Windows 3.1 was released.
Microsoft knew that in this case, IBM would be getting the better grade, and they needed to step up their game. That is exactly when they started development on Windows Codename Chicago, or Windows 95.
Let's see the major features of Windows 95 now. One by one.
Windows-Over-DOS System: Making the Graphics User Environment into a Proper GUI
Okay, so what is a Graphics User Environment and a GUI?
A GUI is an interface that lets the user interact with programs through multitasking, using the mouse, and click instead of type everything. Most GUIs by 1995 were the primary OS of their computer and DOS as non-existent. I am talking about Macs, Atari STs, Commodore Amigas, and tons of others along that area. However, there was one who stood out. Every single Windows 3.1 and lower IBM PC clone.
What made Windows stand out before 1995? Let me just say that Windows wasn't always a GUI exactly. Neither was it standalone from DOS.
It had a "Graphics User Environment" Architecture instead of GUI. It was like a GUI but it was a program that run on top of DOS. It was not an OS at all. Yes, it was a program that ran its own programs.
Microsoft just needed to make something out of the ordinary. They needed to start making proper GUIs that would start up when your computer started up and they would be able to act like actual GUIs with specially built programs and new technologies.
What is the catch? MS-DOS still had to be supported. They couldn't just pull the plug when so many people relied on MS-DOS still. They built up a new OS architecture.
Their idea was that Windows 95 would run on top of DOS but start up and act as the primary OS while people could switch to using real DOS anytime they felt they needed it. They called it the Monolith Kernel and that's what they used to make Win95 a GUI.
As of making a GUI Windows, this is where Windows NT 3.1 came in, and we'll talk about that some other day. For now, just think of it as a business solution when Windows 95 was a home OS primarily.
User Interface: Defining Windows as it is Today
So, this is the part of the post you have been waiting for. Which features of Windows were groundbreaking for the time and now are staples of Windows?
Let's take a look at each of them:
The Start Menu
Oh yes, it was introduced in 1995. The place where all of your programs would be located and the time the infamous folder-after-folder trying to find your program were introduced with Windows 95. If you ask what came before that, I will just say it was way worse. You would have a "Program Manager" that looked like a window containing all of your programs. If you had a lot of programs, well, let's just say it could get ugly. It got more ugly when you realized they had sub-menus.
The Taskbar
What's another feature we cannot live without? Yes, Win95 introduced the look and feel of today's taskbar. Well, saying that, I won't exclude the taskbars that previous versions had. They technically existed but it was not a bar containing all the running programs. The running programs were located in the desktop. No shortcuts or desktop "files" were allowed in there, only running programs. While now you find your favorite programs easily located in the desktop, back then this idea was not even thought of. This was all changed in 1995.
Windows Explorer
Back in the era of Win3.1, you had this how should I call it "File Manager" program which was technically a folder containing all of your files and settings in one place with no filtering whatsoever. It sucked. The more files and the more settings you had in your system, the more the folder had in it and the more stuff you had to look through. As you see it got very aggravating. In Windows 95, the system was revamped and remade from the ground up. The settings were put into their own program called the Control Panel and the files were put into the Windows Explorer (now called File Explorer, but same idea). The filtering system was also remade to look easy-to-understand. You have no idea how better it became.
The New Shell
If you are using Windows right now, take a look at the top of this window. Do you see a minimize, maximize, and close button? Go figure where they came from. So much has stuck along from Win95, more than I can list right now. Almost all features in Windows are staples of Windows 95. You have no idea how different Windows was before and how different it would be now if Microsoft never released 95 and never stuck with 95's ideas.
Plug n' Play
Do you know what drivers are? You know those things that define what sound sounds like in your computer or what color looks like? How your screen and keyboard and mouse behave like? Yeah, it's all drivers. Before Windows 95, you had to install drivers for anything that Windows could not recognize. What could Windows not recognize? Everything. Got a new mouse? Find the drivers for it. Got a new fancy Sound Card? You won't be able to hear anything unless you install its drivers. Only displays and keyboards did not suffer. Well, displays would suffer in some cases but anyway. Plug n' play was introduced with Win95 and it had some certain standards that all typical devices followed. Well, you still needed sound drivers to have sound, color drivers if you wanted nice colors instead of shallow 16-bit, and all PS/2 mice were supported out of the box as well as serial. PnP is still used today for sound even.
I will also mention that accessibility settings and 32-bit were introduced. 32-bit will be a future post, someday.
Conclusion
So, Windows 95 was a revolutionary OS on its own. It started as something to make up competition for but ended up becoming the staple Windows that would define Windows as we know it today. I won't start saying how Windows 11 will make a mistake by changing the taskbar, start menu, and overall look and feel but that's your choice to make in the comments below. Anyway, Windows 95 is truly a beast of its own and we should be grateful that it brought revolutionary features to our Windows.
Sorry if it has been a while since last post again, I am promising great posts coming in the next few days. Post your thoughts and opinions on Win95 on the comments below, I am really curious to see what you fellow enthusiasts think!
See you in the next post,
The Exploring Retro Computers Administrator.
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