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Did you know...
- ...that an updated version of Reversi (normally not preinstalled) is included in the Windows 3.1 Driver Library?
- ...that while the first shipping 64-bit version of Microsoft Windows was for the Itanium, the 64-bit port was actually developed on DEC Alpha systems?
- ...that in 1985, Microsoft produced a multitasking MS-DOS that natively supported preemptive multitasking and would later become the base for OS/2?
- ...that the Windows XP team created a decoy theme in order to prevent any leaks about Luna?
- ...that the Neptune project was a cancelled version of Windows that ought to bring a new user interface reminiscent of the Metro elements later introduced in Windows 8?
- ...that Windows Vista build 5000 (vbl_core.040803-2000) was compiled earlier than the official development reset build?
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.