What was your first OS? Mine was Windows 95 as it was for many people of my age (unless you were a Mac user maybe) and today it’s 25 years old. The release was a huge media event with Jay Leno announcing it with Bill Gates, the famous awkward stage dancing, and Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry from Friends giving a walkthrough of the OS.
Naturally, the tech blogs are awash with Windows 95 stories and retrospectives so rather than hash my own together with my limited memories, I’ve compiled a list of the best:
- Windows 95 is 25 years old today (The Verge)
- Windows 95 Turns 25: When Windows Went Mainstream (How-To Geek)
- Twenty-five years ago today: Microsoft launched Windows 95 (ZDNet)
- Massive hype as Microsoft launches Windows 95 (BBC Archive)
- Windows 95 turns 25: Relive the glory days with this nostalgic app (PC World)
- Happy Birthday, Windows 95 (Gizmodo)
- Windows 95 turns 25 years old today! (Windows Central)
- Windows 95 at 25: Here’s why it changed the PC world (Pocket-Lint)
- Windows 95 is 25 years old (Boing Boing)
- 25 years of “So What?” (Six Colors)
- What Windows 95 Changed (Anil Dash)
- Start Me Up: 25 years ago this week, Windows 95 launched and, for a brief moment, Microsoft was almost cool (The Register)
- Windows 95: The world’s most important OS, says ex-Microsoft veteran engineer (ZDNet)
- Windows 95 turned 25 today (Engadget)
Also some other links about Windows 95 you might find interesting including:
- A 1998 paper on identifying early adopters of new IT products: A case of Windows 95 where early adopters tended to be younger males who were of the opinion leadership type, liked to seek novel information and had a lot of computer experience
- The chance to use Windows 95 in your browser (but “strictly for educational purposes”)
- A true gaming inception involving playing Doom on a Windows 95 PC inside Minecraft
- Imaginary Cloud’s ode to Windows 95 with all its imperfections
- A long-hidden Windows 95 easter egg
And that Windows 95 guide with Rachel and Chandler? You can stream it in full below. Could I be any more helpful?
