For many people, Windows has been around for longer than they’ve been alive.
Established in 1985, the popular operating system has gone through many iterations since then.
Windows remains the most widely used desktop operating system.
Image Credit: Santi S/Shutterstock
Perhaps you’ve been using it since the beginning?
Windows certainly has changed since the first version, but some elements remain consistent.
But do you also remember playing pinball?
3D Pinball: Space Cadet first came in Microsoft Plus!
95, an enhancement pack for Windows 95.
It was then included in Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows ME, and Windows XP.
Though, since it was all offline, you were often just trying to beat yourself!
Some believed this was for legal reasons, since an external company called Cinematronics developed the game.
Rather than waste value time trying to make it work, Pinball was dropped from Windows Vista.
Controversially, with Windows 8, Microsoft created the Start screen, a full-page display to launch applications.
After much public outcry, Microsoft relented and reintroduced the more traditional Start button in Windows 8.1.
You Knew The Genius
“It looks like you’re writing a letter.”
For some, these are chilling words.
It’s what Microsoft’s Office assistant Clippy would say as it popped onto your screen.
Did you know that Clippy was actually one of many assistants?
The characters changed depending on what version of Office you had, with The Genius introduced in Office 97.
You’d also find them elsewhere on the operating system, like when performing a system search.
Sadly, Clippy and his pals have long gone from WindowsthoughClippy does make a small comeback in Microsoft Teams.
Motherboards had standard support for two floppy drives, so Windows pre-assigned two drive letters accordingly.
As such, any additional drive would become the C drive.
You couldn’t reassign the A and B drives because it wasn’t considered important to do so.
Developers built software with the expectation that it’d be stored on the C drive.
Overlapping Windows Were Innovative for You
The first version of Windows used a tiling windows manager.
This meant that you couldn’t overlap any windows; they all had to be placed alongside each other.
This changed with Windows 2, thanks to the implementation of a stacking window manager.
It’s something we take for granted now, but at the time it was considered an innovative feature.
Although it might seem simple in concept, the stacking process has actually improved over time.
This was because the stacking manager was unable to redraw the windows efficiently.
Different methods have been introduced over the years.
For example:
7.
Brian Eno is a British composer and ambient music innovator who composed the Windows 95 startup sound.
He was paid $35,000 and the sound lasts just over 3 seconds.
Check out the video above to see and hear all the startup screens over the years.
Which brings back the most memories?
If you recognize them all, you’re definitely a seasoned Windows user.
Windows Is Here to Stay
Hopefully this has been an entertaining walk down memory lane.
But don’t worry, Windows isn’t going anywhere.
