Overview
Windows 95 is an operating system released by Microsoft on August 24, 1995 (November 23 for the Japanese version), and is a member of the Windows family. Starting with 95, MS-DOS and Windows became the same product.
The internal version was 4.0, and the DOS version was 7.0 (7.1 for OSR2 and later). It was called an OS rather than an "operating environment" until Windows 3.1.
As in the previous versions up to 3.1, there is actually an MS-DOS inside, or more precisely, a desktop environment or GUI shell, but a dedicated version of MS-DOS is included in the package, making the DOS invisible to ordinary users.
The user interface (UI) was drastically renewed, and the screen design was changed from the flat design (based on the CUA proposed by IBM) to a NEXTSTEP-like three-dimensional design.
History
Windows 95 can trace its roots back to March 1992, right after the release of Windows 3.1. Microsoft was still developing Windows for Workgroups 3.1 and Windows NT 3.1, with their future sights set on the Cairo Operating System. However, Cairo was not expected to release for another two years, and in the meantime Microsoft realized that in order to keep competing, they needed an OS that could handle 32-bit capabilities and preemptive multitasking while still running on low-end hardware (Windows NT could not). Thus, the 'Chicago' project was born, being expected for a late 93' release, becoming known as Windows 93. Windows 93 would eventually ship with MS-DOS 7.0, offering a more integrated experience, but the Chicago Project continued on. Released at the same time was 'Cougar', a 32-bit shell for MS-DOS; Cougar would go on to become the kernel of Chicago.
95 was released to great approval, quickly dominating the computer market. Part of this reason was the campaign to promote it by Microsoft; A commercial featuring the Rolling Stones' song "Start Me Up" and a 30-minute promo video (a 'Cyber Sitcom' as it was called) featuring Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry were just part of the advertising. In addition, several new features made 95 much easier to use for those new to computers, such as the taskbar, start button and menu, longer filenames, and multitasking. 95 was also the first Microsoft OS to be a standalone, more than merely a graphical shell for DOS. Despite this, the 32-bit kernel, and the incompatibility of 95 with 16-bit processors, a good amount of code left over (mainly for the user interface) was still 16-bit.
95 was normally offered on a CD-ROM, though the initial release was also offered on 13 3.5' floppy disks, suitable for older machines (though with added features removed). The later releases doubled this to 26 disks, and Plus! was also adapted for floppies. Though uncommon, a 5.25" floppy disk set for installation could be special-ordered.
By the time of its obselence in 2001, 95 had become an industry standard, with many of the features introduced in 95 still being used today. 95 could be upgraded to 98, ME or even 2000, though many users still rely on 95 for legacy functions due to its closeness with DOS while still being reliable and easy to use.
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