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Did you know...
- ...that the special actors in Microsoft Bob generally still have existing code that allows them to be used as normal actors outside of their apps?
- ...that the Start button in Windows 95 build 302 says "Ship It!", as a developer temporarily renamed the button in December 1994 for a joke?
- ...that early builds of Windows Me replaced the safe to shutdown screen with a blue screen due to the removal of real-mode MS-DOS?
- ...that Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition is the only released version of Windows to use the login screen originating from beta 2 builds of Windows 2000?
- ...that the United States government once filed an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft over its decision to bundle the Internet Explorer web browser with the Windows operating system?
- ...that the Gizmo theme that was present in Mac OS 8.5b6 originates from Copland as "Z Theme" and was intended for testing the theming service for both versions?
Featured article
Windows 95 (codenamed Chicago) is a consumer version of Microsoft Windows released by Microsoft in 1995. It is the first major release in the Windows 9x operating system line, and was designed to be the successor of Windows 3.1. It is the first consumer-oriented version of Windows to include Windows Explorer, a move which was followed by its NT equivalent Windows NT 4.0 in 1996. It would be replaced by Windows 98, and Microsoft ended support for Windows 95 on 31 December 2001.
Windows 95 merged Microsoft's formerly separate MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows products, and featured significant improvements over its predecessor, most notably in the graphical user interface (GUI) and in its simplified "plug-and-play" features. It improved upon 16-bit Windows by introducing a hybrid 16/32-bit kernel and eliminating the need for an existing installation of MS-DOS, making it a standalone operating system (running alongside MS-DOS). Microsoft focused on improving the usability of Windows with technologies such as Plug-and-Play, long file names (VFAT), the Start menu, an updated desktop, Internet Explorer, Mail, built-in networking, and virtual device drivers. Many of the paradigms introduced with Windows 95 remain in use today.