ElI5: Why was so special about Windows 95, what made it a 90s pop culture touchstone?
In: Technology
I think a lot of us immediately answered “Windows 3.1” in our heads.
Win3.1 was the first non-Apple GUI that really took off on the PC, because it demonstrated the *concept* of a GUI, but didn’t push very far on the *possibilities*. The most ground-breaking app that Win3.1 brought to the table was Solitaire, and I’ll plant my flag on that. The major thrust of Win3.1 aside from that was to essentially port OS functions that had previously been available only via command-line to a GUI style of presentation.
Win95, by contrast, took that presentation and ran much, MUCH farther with it. Win3.1 didn’t do nearly as much to expand what your PC could do, compared to Win95.
Latest Answers