Windows 95 anniversary comes with warnings

Microsoft reached a milestone today as Windows 95 reached the 15th anniversary of its launch on August 24, 1995. The OS was the highest-profile debut ever for Microsoft and saw rare lines for a software launch; media reports from the period had some lining up without knowing what Windows 95 did. Its launch campaign included an ad blitz with the Rolling Stones song "Start Me Up" and ultimately saw Microsoft spend $300 million on marketing, a feat it wouldn't repeat until years later.

The software was considered the first modern OS at the time and was considered a major blow to then-struggling Apple. It introduced true multitasking to the mainstream as well as 32-bit computing with long file names and a much stronger emphasis on media playback. The Mac OS wouldn't support full multitasking until the release of Mac OS X in 2001; IBM's OS/2 Warp had many of the same features but failed to catch on.

The release at the time did highlight the company's weakness in Internet access, which didn't take on more importance until Windows 98. Internet Explorer was strictly optional and didn't come pre-installed until 1996. Many of Microsoft's anti-competitive practices also reached their height in the era, such as pushing PC builders to pay for a Windows license no matter which OS was installed. Most of these have since been discontinued either voluntarily or through antitrust rulings.

Windows 95 is often credited with cementing Microsoft's position as a monopoly in the OS space, a position which the company holds today. Its birthday nonetheless comes as cracks have been emerging in its performance. Although Windows 7 is the fastest-selling release ever at 175 million copies in less than a year, Microsoft no longer encounters long lines for its releases and more often sees customers get the OS only when they replace a PC.

The company is also now facing long-term threats to its success. Apple and now Google both have much larger presences in the smartphone space where Microsoft has had to scrap Windows Mobile and start fresh with Windows Phone 7 to stay current. Attempts by co-founder Bill Gates and later Steve Ballmer to force acceptance of pen-based Windows tablet PCs have also been undermined almost overnight as the iPad has crushed tablet PC records; Apple sold more than twice as many tablets in three months than Microsoft was expected to manage all year.

Plans to challenge Google in the online space have also been stymied as Microsoft continues to lose hundreds of millions of dollars on Bing and cloud-based services.

Microsoft hopes to bounce back in tablets and other touch-oriented hardware with the launch of Windows 8 in two to three years, but many of its partners have decided to break away: Dell now produces Android phones, and HP has not only switched to webOS for its mainstream devices but made Windows tablets low priorities.

The lack of interest in Windows outside of the core desktop and notebook businesses has led Microsoft's stock value to largely remain stagnant for the past 15 years, reaching the point where Apple is now near-even through its rapid growth in mobile.

By Electronista Staff