Windows 95
From IeXwiki
Windows 95 (codename Chicago) is a hybrid 16-bit/32-bit graphical operating system released on August 24, 1995 by the Microsoft Corporation.
Windows 95 is a direct result of combining Microsoft's formerly separate MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows products. Windows 95 is the first in that line without support for older, 16-bit x86 processors, thus requiring an Intel 80386 (or compatible) processor running in protected mode. It featured significant improvements to the graphical user interface (GUI) and underlying workings, including support for 256-character mixed-case long filenames and preemptively-multitasked protected-mode 32-bit applications.
Windows 95 brought much greater power and usability to the desktop GUI, and also ended competition in the desktop operating system market. In the marketplace, Windows 95 was an undeniable success, and within a year or two of its release had become the most successful operating system ever made.
Windows 95 was released with great fanfare, including a commercial featuring The Rolling Stones song "Start Me Up" (a reference to the Start button). Microsoft's advertising campaign featured stories of people waiting in line outside stores to get a copy, and there were tales of people without computers buying the software on hype alone, not even knowing what Windows was.
Windows 95 marked the introduction of the "Start" button and taskbar to the mass-market desktop PC. These have remained staple features of all subsequent versions of Windows, and were later used in other desktop environments.
Editions
The following are the major releases of Windows 95:
| Release | - Version | - Released | - Internet Explorer | - USB Support | - FAT32 Support | - DMA Support |
| Windows 95 Retail | - 4.00.950 | - 1995 | - none (1.0 in Plus Pack) | - no | - no | - no |
| Windows 95 Retail SP1 | - 4.00.950A | - 1995 | - none (1.0 in Plus Pack) | - no | - no | - no |
| OEM Service Release 1 | - 4.00.950A | - 1995 | - 1.0 | - no | - no | - no |
| OEM Service Release 2 | - 4.00.1111 (4.00.950B) | - 1996 | - 3.0 | - no | - yes | - yes |
| OEM Service Release 2.1 | - 4.03.1212-1214 (4.00.950B) | - 1996 | - 3.0 | - yes | - yes | - yes |
| OEM Service Release 2.5 | - 4.03.1214 (4.00.950C) | - 1997 | - 4.0 | - yes | - yes | - yes |
Notes
Microsoft detractors have pointed out that the second verse of Start Me Up begins "you make a grown man cry" (a line which is repeated throughout). It was widely reported the Microsoft paid the Rolling Stones $12 million for the use of the song (from the 1981 album Tattoo You) in the '95 advertising campaign.
