...Windows 95 was released.
A huge chunk of what we'd think of as "Windows" today originated with 95. This includes the desktop, Start menu and taskbar, Recycle Bin, long filenames, event sounds, registry, user accounts, hardware profiles, compatibility mode, a rudimentary version of system file protection, and many other things. Furthermore, by including Winsock, a TCP/IP stack and drivers for most modems and network controllers of the time, it contributed to the early adoption of the Internet by the general populace. While far from perfect compared to what we have now (blue screens and lack of true memory protection spring to mind), it did represent a significant technological leap then - its contribution to computing in the 90s was on par with XP's at the turn of the millennium, or 7's on the current decade.
Despite the fact Microsoft declared Windows 95 to be "end of life" on December 31st, 2001, it remains in use to this day by point-of-sale and other embedded systems, retro gamers, and enthusiasts. Some of the latter even dare run it on modern computers, with varying but generally acceptable results and limitations. A rather big community keeps on offering support as well as unofficial patches, service packs and addons.
Let's take a while to remember.
Thanks to Microsoft and the Windows 95 development team for making this possible!
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