Twenty years ago, I remember the day clearly, I was installing the Windows 95 Preview from 3.5” disks and pondering what Windows would look like in 20 years.
It is intriguing how the brain works, on the eve of the Windows 10 release, I have not thought about that day in a long time but clearly remember inserting disk after disk installing Win95 and thinking about the future of computing.
I started using Windows when installing Windows 286 on a Tandy 1000TL during the summer 1988, setting up my Dad’s business on Excel when I was 16. In the early days I had a Commodore Amiga 2000 but sold that with its Video Toaster and got a 386DX with Windows 3.1 and Norton Desktop to give it a more Amiga like feel.
I have installed every copy of Windows since except Windows Me. As much as I liked Windows 8, seeing everyday people use it was painful. They just did not get it or did not want to take the time to learn. Thankfully Windows 10 takes the best of what makes Windows great and adds the best enhancements from Windows 8.
So 20 years later what do we use Windows for that in the Windows 95 days was nearly impossible. Now we think nothing of connecting to the abundance of Internet services, editing videos and photos, writing code and pushing it directly to cloud services for the planet to consume. Luggables are gone, the power that is in ultrathin laptops or even in your pocket is mind-blowing from 20 years ago.
I am looking forward to creating my first set of Universal Windows Applications, a winning feature of Windows, but time will tell.
Reflection is good, just feeling nostalgic today, thinking back where personal computing has come and looking forward to the next 20 years.
Image Credits: Wikipedia and Microsoft.com