Key Takeaways
- Windows 95 introduced many features still used today, like the Start menu and plug-and-play compatibility.
- The operating system had a unique charm and character that later versions of Windows seemed to lose.
- While modern Windows offers many more capabilities, the nostalgia and memories of Windows 95 still hold a special place in our hearts.
Did you see when someone ported thousands of Windows 98 apps over to Windows 95 by implementing .NET into the latter? If you haven’t, you may be tempted to think: “Why go through such a huge effort over an ancient operating system?” The guy behind the feat said that he did so because Windows 95 was very dear to him, and heavily influenced his decision to get into computing. And for that, I can see why he did what he did.
However, it also got me thinking about Windows 95, and how much it influenced my own path. And then that, in turn, got me thinking about how influential Windows 95 was not only in my life, but for Microsoft’s future designs as a whole. So, here are some reasons why, almost 30 years later, Windows 95 still means a lot to me.
A lot of Windows’ firsts arrived with Windows 95
Modern-day Windows owes a lot to its predecessor
When you look back at all the things Windows 95 introduced into the ecosystem, you realize just how much the operating system gave us in modern-day Windows. Have you used the Start menu recently? You have Windows 95 to thank for that. How about desktop icons and the Recycle Bin? Yep; those came around in 1995, too. And while previous Windows editions had File Manager, Windows 95 was the one that gave us File Explorer.
All of these features we still use today. Sure, they look a lot different now; take Windows 95’s Start menu and compare it against Windows 11’s, for example. But a lot of the features that feel like they’ve “always been” on Windows made their debut on Windows 95. Would Windows be as popular as it is now without the innovations 95 brought to the table? It’s impossible to say, but it definitely wouldn’t be the same operating system we have today.
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Windows 95 introduced plug-and-play
Finally, no more CD juggling
Source: Anker
You know what else Windows 95 did right? The introduction of plug-and-play. In this day and age, it’s super easy to assume computers always understood exactly what you plugged in the moment you add a new device, but in the past, things were a lot different. Old-school veterans will remember drivers on disks that came with your hardware, which contained all the drivers needed to get the device running. If you didn’t have the disk, you couldn’t get the drivers installed, and your device simply wouldn’t work.
If plug-and-play never became a thing, I can’t imagine the number of times I’d have to manually install a driver just to get a USB device working. Thankfully, I don’t have to do that; if I want to plug in a new webcam, microphone, or anything else via USB, I can just do that and let the computer do all the heavy lifting. And if you weren’t there during the darker times, believe me; it beats having libraries of driver disks on standby.
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Windows 95 had a ton of character
Something that later editions of Windows seemed to lose
So maybe this is the nostalgia talking, but I really liked Windows 95’s look and feel. It had a very charming, fun-loving feel, from the little system sounds to however you’d explain Clippy’s entire existence. Later versions of Windows would eventually phase out this cool style and replace it with a more modern look; Windows Vista introduced a sleek, glass-like Aero theme, and from there, our operating systems felt more professional.
But let’s be honest; would any Windows log-in chime hold a candle to Windows 95’s iconic jingle? Or do any of the current error sounds have even an iota of character compared to their older brother? I really don’t think so, and it’s a side of Microsoft I still kind of miss, despite Windows growing up from its youthful era and acting more like an adult.
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Windows may look different today, but it will always pay homage to Windows 95
Do I miss Windows 95? Sure. Do I want to go back to using it as my daily machine? Probably not. After all, as much as we left Windows 95 behind, the kind of things that modern Windows could do today would have blown away someone from the 90s. But there are always the nostalgia goggles and the font memories that bring me back to the operating system, a kind of charm that Windows 10 or 11 don’t really have. And given how someone spent a long time porting thousands of apps onto Windows 95 purely because he could, I like ti think I’m not the only one with this sentiment.