Windows 95 launch submarine

Besides being a bit OS, an important addition was support for long filenames, up to characters. It sounds like a basic feature in , but at the time it made naming documents a lot easier. Another big feature was the introduction of Plug and Play, to automatically detect and install hardware. Microsoft had other equally ambitious plans for Windows MSN was designed to provide access to email, chat rooms, newsgroups, and the first WWW homepages through a dial-up connection.

Microsoft charged a monthly fee to access MSN, and if you used it for more than three hours a month, there were extra charges. It was the early days of the internet and dial-up connections, and MSN now exists as a web service through various tailored apps or a browser. Advertising banners bombarded the few Web sites in existence and online services such as AOL with reminders of the special day. Gates, 39, laid on hot air balloons, a ferris wheel and free food and Coke to sustain the enthusiasm of anyone not intoxicated by the prospect of smoother multi-tasking and being able to call computer files any name they want.

A TV star who knew almost nothing about computing, sharing the stage with a computing great who knew almost nothing about television. It was a match made in heaven. It was here and in the pavilions where launch attendees experienced Windows 95 and related products hands-on. Looking back, it's hard not to be nostalgic.

But I certainly would encourage Microsoft to try. And I would like to see the company remember Windows 95," says Jupiter's Wilcox. You were hip, you were tech, you belonged if you had Windows All Rights Reserved.

Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy. In New York, the Empire State Building was lit with the Windows 95 logo while a Polish submarine was commandeered to take journalists into "a world without Windows".

In cynical old Europe, where, thanks to the time differences, the Micro-wave broke a few hours earlier, things were different. Bemused tourists watched Microsoft employees, customers and guests file into London's Equinox Club.

The release was a tremendous success. Microsoft sold 7 million copies in the first five weeks, and Windows 95 was soon the most popular operating system on the market. Windows 95 is very likely the first major operating system most people of a certain age remember.

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