Windows 95 turns 31 years old. Here’s what made it a phenomenon
Just over 31 years ago, on August 24th, 1995, Microsoft began selling Windows 95 in the US. At midnight, many computer shops across the US opened their doors to sell the first Windows 95 floppy discs at “Midnight Madness” events. Windows 95 sold like hot cakes right from the start—in the first seven weeks alone, Microsoft sold 7 million copies.
Microsoft’s then-CEO Bill Gates had also dug deep into his marketing bag of tricks to ensure that Windows 95 would be a success, supposedly spending a whopping $12 million on the license to use the Rolling Stones song “Start Me Up” in a commercial:
Moreover, to present the new software to 2,500 guests, Microsoft flew TV star Jay Leno to the Microsoft campus in Redmond. In the UK, meanwhile, Microsoft bought out the entire print run of London’s The Times to mark the launch of Windows 95.
The operating system’s strengths included a new graphical user interface with its Start menu, taskbar, and buttons for minimizing, maximizing, and closing windows; convenient “Plug & Play” functionality; and impressive gaming and multimedia interfaces. This all made Windows PCs the ideal gaming machines. Windows 95 also allowed several programs to run concurrently, which is known as preemptive multitasking.
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The new operating system boosted hardware sales and spurred the development of 32-bit apps, and it also made longer file names possible. Also, Windows settings began being stored in the registry instead of being shoved into various INI files.
However, Windows 95 didn’t escape criticism. IT experts lamented legacy issues such as DOS, which was still included in Windows 95, as well as numerous security vulnerabilities and a susceptibility to crashes that gradually dampened the enthusiasm of many users. Indeed, the infamous Blue Screen of Death was simply part of the Windows 95 experience.
None of it, of course, detracted from the commercial success of Windows 95. To this day, it’s still fondly remembered—perhaps through rose-tinted glasses—as one of the most memorable and iconic Windows ever.
Further reading: A visual walk down Windows history
