Back to the Start: How Microsoft launched Windows 95 to the world
This article reflects on the 1995 launch of Windows 95, highlighting its massive marketing campaign and revolutionary features like the Start button. It serves as a historical look at how Microsoft transitioned users to 32-bit computing.
Why it matters
Windows 95 was a pivotal moment in personal computing history that set the standard for modern operating system interfaces.
It was an operating system launch with a marketing campaign that reportedly cost Microsoft an estimated US$100mil to US$200mil.
In 1995, Microsoft was gearing up for the release of Windows 95, a landmark operating system that would help usher mainstream PC users from 16-bit code era to the 32-bit computing era.
Windows 95 marked a major shift from Windows 3.1. Its 32-bit design could theoretically address up to 4GB of memory – vastly more than most home computers of the time had – giving PCs more room to run several programs at once and handle increasingly sophisticated software.
Windows 95 also introduced the now-familiar Start button and taskbar, giving users a simpler way to navigate and launch programs.
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