The Old New Thing

History - The Old New Thing

An insight into the Windows 95 startup sound

September 8, 2003 Sep 8, 2003 09/8/03
Raymond Chen
Doo, dudududingggggg.... ding.... ding... ding... In an interview with Joel Selvin at the San Francisco Chronicle, Brian Eno explains. Q: How did you come to compose "The Microsoft Sound"? A: The idea came up at the time when I was completely bereft of ideas. ...

Hardware backwards compatibility

August 28, 2003 Aug 28, 2003 08/28/03
Raymond Chen
Backwards compatibility applies not only to software. It also applies to hardware. And when hardware goes bad, the software usually takes the blame. The HLT instruction tells the CPU to shut itself down until the next hardware interrupt. This is a big win on laptops since it reduces power ...

Windows brings out the Rorschach test in everyone

August 25, 2003 Aug 25, 2003 08/25/03
Raymond Chen
It seems that no matter what you do, somebody will get offended. Every Windows 95 box has an anti-piracy hologram on the side. The photographer chose his infant son as his model, since the human face is very hard to copy accurately. The baby sits next to a computer, and as you turn the hologram...

Why isn't my time zone highlighted on the world map?

August 22, 2003 Aug 22, 2003 08/22/03
Raymond Chen
In the original release of Windows 95, you could change your time zone by clicking on the map, and the time zone you selected would highlight. Similarly, you could change your Region Settings by clicking on the world map. This was one of those little touches that made Windows 95 that much more fun to use...

What is in the "Windows 95 Special Edition" box?

August 20, 2003 Aug 20, 2003 08/20/03
Raymond Chen
At the Windows 95 Launch and at various other marketing events, guests were given a copy of "Windows 95 Special Edition". What is so special about the box? Answer: The box. The contents of the box are exactly the same as a regular copy of Windows 95. The only thing special ...

Why can't I remove "for test/evaluation purposes only"?

August 12, 2003 Aug 12, 2003 08/12/03
Raymond Chen
"Why can't I remove 'for test/evaluation purposes only'? I know I'm running an evaluation edition, I don't need it rubbed in my face." This prevents unscrupulous OEMs from selling machines with the evaluation edition of the product instead of the retail version. (Yes, this has happened before. ...