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- ...that versions of Microsoft Windows for DEC Alpha and ARMv7 platforms continued to be maintained internally even after official end of support, as the systems proved valuable for specific projects?
- ...that the IA-64 compile of Windows Server 2003 build 2462 includes login banners for a Personal edition of Windows 2000?
- ...that a series of terrorist attacks caused a major sudden change to Windows XP's advertising campaign?
- ...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 there was an E variant planned for Windows 7 in addition to K, N and KN, which didn't include Internet Explorer?
- ...that Windows Longhorn build 4088 includes an early version of the .NET Managed rewrite of Desktop Window Manager that is not installed by default?
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.