The 25th anniversary of Windows 95. Although Win95 is not the first Windows system, many classic elements of the Win system, such as the start menu, taskbar, etc., are derived from Win95, so it seems to be the foundation of the Win system.
In the past 25 years, the Win system is no longer what it used to be. Win10 has become the latest top brand in Microsoft’s desktop system, and its gorgeous visual effects and complicated functional modules are not comparable to Win95.
25th Anniversary of Windows 95
However, the reason why a classic is a classic is that it is still worthy of being looked up to by future generations. Compared with Win10, Win95 still has many shining points. Let’s talk about related topics today.
Better market performance
Today, Windows has become the absolute mainstream in the desktop market, but this is not the case in the Win95 era. What Win95 is facing is a situation where the group is co-existing. In addition to old rivals like Apple Macintosh, there are also spoilers like HP NewWave, and there is also the OS/2 of the PC compatible standard maker IBM (Microsoft is also involved. Development) head-to-head. The Windows system was once even just a backup solution for the OS/2 system. However, the generations of Windows such as Win95 did perform the miracle of counterattack.
Win95 detonated the market as soon as it was launched. Through Win95, many friends have come into contact with the PC for the first time, and the personal operating system has acted as a right-hand man in all aspects of life. Whether it is surfing the Internet or watching videos, many friends have experienced the first time they live and work with a PC through Win95. With the emergence of Win95, Microsoft has become the overlord of the desktop operating system, and its status continues to this day.
The berserk scene when Windows 95 was released
Compared with its predecessors, Win10’s performance can only be said to be unsatisfactory. Although Win10 still sits on the throne with the highest market share, this result was achieved only three years after its release. For a long time, the market performance of Win10 was not as good as Win7 ten years ago. And Win10’s performance in other areas is quite weak. For example, in the mobile market, it cannot cope with the attack of iOS and Android. It can only shrink in the PC field and watch its opponents cannibalize emerging markets.
Win10 was released in 2015, but it was not until 2018 that Win10’s market share finally surpassed Win7
Win10 hasn’t broken a thousand miles in a traditional field like the desktop market, and its market performance is qualified. But compared with Win95, which opened up a new era for Microsoft, it is obviously not so dazzling. Microsoft is still trying more hardware forms, hope Win10 can shine in more areas.
More far-reaching influence
The first is the market aspect.
Win95 has established the dominance of the desktop market for Microsoft. Since then, even if Microsoft has launched rollover products such as Windows Me, Windows Vista and even Windows 8, this position has not been shaken. For most of the time, the Win system firmly occupies more than 90% of the global desktop share. Learning a PC is equivalent to learning the Win system, and it has even become the inherent cognition of many people.
The second is to lay the framework of the Win system.
Win95 introduced classic elements such as the start menu and taskbar, laying the framework for window layouts, directory trees, etc. These elements are still serving users conscientiously . Even if Microsoft tries to change some of these elements, users will find it difficult to accept. For example, the Start menu is an example. Although many years have passed, the internals of the Win system have changed, but in today’s Win systems, the inheritance of Win95 can still be seen everywhere.
Win95 has laid the framework for many Windows systems, such as Explorer
This is the Explorer of Win10, it can be seen that the layout is still roughly similar to Win95
In comparison, the influence of Win10 pales in comparison. Of course, this is related to the relatively short history of Win10, but Win10’s erratic development route, stitched UI and other factors can easily make people doubt the reliability and prospects of Win10, which dilutes the accumulation of Win system over the years. Word of mouth. Is Win10 positioned as a multi-platform system or a desktop system? Should Win10 development switch to UWP or stick to the original Win32? Can Win10X, Win10 ARM and other big pie eventually be realized? Or will it die suddenly like WP and Windows RT? There is still no definite answer to each question, and the influence of Win10 is naturally not as good as the old predecessors.
Windows 10S, Windows 10X, Windows 10 ARM… The development idea of Win10 seems to be erratic
Win10 is still evolving, and every year we can see some exciting new changes in Win10. But what Win10 lacks may not be the uninhibited creativity, but a systematic framework like Win95 that can withstand deliberations. Patches in the east and the west do not create a classic.
More refined interface design
Seeing that there may be friends here, I am a little confused. As for the antique UI of Win95, is it also compatible with the gorgeous interface of Win10? But in fact, the fineness does not necessarily have to be presented with special effects, they are hidden in each detail.
Last year, a hot topic appeared on the Reddit forum abroad. UX enthusiast Tuomas Salo wrote a post admiring the essence of Win95 interface design and claimed that many of the essence of the past has not been passed on.
As noted in the picture, Tuomas further explained these details.
1. Underlined letters represent keyboard shortcuts, which is very convenient.
2. The design clearly shows that “we are the button”, it is easy to find the button you want.
3. The column headings look like buttons because they are buttons.
4. The divider bar is similar to the window frame, and you can see that it can be resized.
5. The always visible scroll bar will immediately feedback user information about content and quantity.
6. The ellipsis hints that this button will open a dialog box instead of performing the operation immediately.
7. The handle lets users know that the window can be resized.
Tuomas’ views have been recognized by many users. Many people complain about finding certain features in Win10, just like hunting for treasure in a maze. The interface of Win10 is indeed more modern and colorful, but if you compare the logic of interaction, the convenience of operation, and the unity of design, it is not even as good as Win95 more than two decades ago.
Since the birth of Win10, the sound of “stitching monsters” is endless. In Win10, you can find the traditional interface, the tile interface, and the latest Fluent Design interface at the same time, and even the function setting modules also have “Settings” and “Control Panel”. Perhaps while Microsoft is constantly updating the UI, it is time to calm down and finish the work at hand, rather than hurriedly pushing semi-finished products to users.
The extremely high degree of completion, the details that can withstand scrutiny, the style of daring to explore but being able to implement the concept, have jointly created this jewel in the history of the operating system . From a technical point of view, Win10 has far surpassed its predecessors, but this does not mean that Win10 is already impeccable. I hope that while catching up with the rhythm of the times, Microsoft will better plan and bring a more complete Win10.
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