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Did you know...
- ...that Windows NT 3.5 build 612 has a debug flag for
winnt.exe
,/I_am_TedM
, in order to bypass the error to run the DOS-based setup in NTVDM? - ...that Windows Vista build 5000 (vbl_core.040803-2000) was compiled earlier than the official development reset build?
- ...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?
- ...that some builds of Windows 98 and Windows 2000 contained a Show Desktop button on the taskbar, which would be scrapped later until Windows 7 build 6568?
- ...that every Classic Mac OS version since Mac OS 7 renames the "Special" menu to a unique word beginning with S in beta builds for easy identification of such?
- ...that the WarpCenter shell included in OS/2 Warp 4 build 9.012 refers itself to as Lotus SmartCenter?
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.