Snippet: Windows 95 Hysteria ☇

Chris Wild profiles for Mashable the launch of Windows 95 and the features that set it apart from its predecessors. I borrowed the link from Stephen Hackett, and wanted to share my own Windows 95 story:

Like Hackett, the first Windows-based computer I ever used regularly was my dad’s work laptop IBM ThinkPad 750c running Windows 3.1, and then a Toshiba Satellite something-or-other running Windows 95. I always got to tinker with these, which in hindsight, I’m really surprised my dad trusted me since these were in the days of single-users.

I remember the massive marketing push, mostly because my dad was watching a lot of CNBC on days when he worked at home and they covered the launch quite thoroughly (for context, I seem to remember Microsoft getting as much ridiculous coverage on that network as Apple does today). I was fascinated by Windows 95, how Microsoft completely redesigned their user interface and it also felt much more modern than the Program Manager of Windows 3.1.

Our “family PC” was an IBM running Windows 3.1, bought just before Windows 95 was released.
Although I’m often running an operating system regularly before it ships these days, the choice to upgrade to Windows 95 never really happened for that IBM, partially because my mom got very used to Windows 3.1 and didn’t have a compelling reason to upgrade.

At that point, I had plenty of Mac-using years at school under my belt and eventually began bringing ancient Macs home to play with. Regardless, it’s hard to believe that Windows 95 was introduced twenty years ago and how much in the world of technology has changed, especially how Microsoft was on the upswing at that point, and Apple was blissfully unaware of its impending flirtation with doom. Now I feel old…