Microsoft Windows is 40
This week we’re taking a look at some of the most memorable features and milestones from the past 40 years of Windows!
Microsoft had already been in business for a decade selling BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800 but it was Windows that made the company the technology powerhouse it is today.
It’s hard to appreciate now, but at the time a graphical operating system like Windows was distinctly innovative.
Until the early ’80s you typically interacted with a PC by working from a command line, but Apple changed the game with first the Lisa and then the Macintosh personal computer which was unbelievably expensive.
Windows 1.0 followed as Microsoft saw an opening in the market for a operating system for a much smaller cost.
They officially launched the inaugural version of Windows on November 20, 1985 – the original version of the operating system so many of us still use decades later – many of us now using Windows 11!
Are there other games more associated with Windows than Minesweeper and Solitaire?
Minesweeper in particular launched in 1990 as part of the Windows Entertainment Pack, but by 1992 it was coming pre-installed on every copy of Windows 3.1 – cementing its place as one of the most recognisable games in Windows’ history.
Love it or hate it, the Comic Sans font in Windows is iconic and instantly recognisable.
Ex-Microsoft employee Vincent Connare designed Comic Sans in 1994 and the font debuted in the Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95 add-on pack.
Who can forget this guy?
Microsoft Clippy, officially named Clippit, was an animated paperclip assistant introduced in Microsoft Office 97 and included in versions up to Office 2003. It was designed to assist users by providing tips, shortcuts, and help with tasks like writing letters. However, it was discontinued due to widespread criticism for being intrusive and unhelpful.
However Clippy has been reintroduced as stickers and background images in Microsoft Teams since November 2021 and in Windows 11, the paperclip emoji was redesigned to resemble Clippy.
In this AI climate, developers have created versions of Clippy as an AI assistant, available for download on platforms like the Microsoft Store.
It’s hard to remember now, but in the ’90s the Internet Explorer window was like a gateway to worlds you’d never seen before.
Microsoft edged out Netscape in the browser market by making Internet Explorer the de facto browser that came with Windows.
The rest is history, and sadly nowadays so is Internet Explorer—Microsoft ended support for it in 2022 in favour of its new browser, Microsoft Edge.
We hope you liked our look back of our most memorable features of Windows over the past 40 years.
Let us know if you think we missed anything off our list!
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