Windows 95
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| Windows 95-tan | |
| [[File:|250px]] | |
| Character Information | |
|---|---|
| Common Names | Windows 95-tan |
| Other Names | Win95, 95-neesama, Chicago |
| Faction | Windows Family |
| Lineage | DOS/Win9x |
| Appearance | |
| Height | *none officially listed |
| Hair Color | brown (most common) or orange |
| Eye Color | brown (most common) or pink |
| Design | |
| First Appearance | Unknown |
| Technical Information | |
| System Personified | Windows 95 (v 4.00.950-4.03.1212) |
| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
| Debut | 24 Aug 1995 |
| Latest release | v2.1 OEM Service Release (1996) |
Technical details
Windows 95 can trace its roots back to March 1992, right after the release of Windows 3.1. Microsoft was stil developing Windows for Workgroups 3.1 and Windows NT 3.1, with their future sights set on the Cairo Operating System. However, Cairo was not expected to release for another two years, and in the meantime Microsoft realized that in order to keep competing, they needed an OS that could handle 32-bit capabiities and preemptive multitasking while still running on low-end hardware (Windows NT, which was avaiable at the time, could not). Thus, the 'Chicago' project was born, being expected for a late 93' release, becoming known as Windows 93. Windows 93 would eventually ship with MSDOS 7.0, offering a more intergrated experience, but the Chicago Project continued on. Released at the same time was 'Cougar', a 32-bit shell for MSDOS; Cougar would go on to become the kernel of Chicago.
As the project went on, Microsoft released a trial version for $19.95; users would buy the disks and use them either as an upgrade from Windows 3.1 or as a fresh install, the disks being packaged with a preview of The Microsoft Network, a service launched with 95. The trials versions expired in November of 95', leaving the users to go out and buy an official copy of Windows 95.
95 was released to great approval, quickly dominating the computer market. Perhaps part of this reason was the campaign to promote it by Microsoft; A commercial featuring the Rolling Stones' song "Start Me Up" and a 30-minute promo video (a 'Cyber Sitcom' as it was called) featuring Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry were just part of the advertising. In addition, several new features made 95 much easier to use for those new to computers, such as the Taskbar, Start Button and Menu, Longer Filenames, and Multitasking. 95 was also the first Microsoft OS to be a standalone, more than merely a graphical shell for DOS. Despite this, the 32-bit kernel, and the incompatibility of 95 with 16-bit processors, a good amount of code left over (mainly for the user interface) was still 16-bit.
Initially, 95 came without USB support or Internet Explorer (the latter only being offered at the initial release as part of Microsoft Plus!), though later versions came with both. These versions, however, were only offered as pre-installed on new machines, the initial release being the only shrink-wrapped version offered. Thus, if users wanted to use the internet on the initial release, they would have to either buy Plus!, use a different browser, or upgrade to 98 when it came out.
95 was normally offered on a CD-ROM, though the inital release was also offered on 13 3.5" floppy disks, suitable for older machines(though with added features removed). The later releases doubled this to 26 disks, and Plus! was also adapted for floppies. Though uncommon, a 5.25" floppy disk set for installation could be special-ordered.
By the time of its obselence in 2001, 95 had become an industry standard, with many of the features introduced in 95 still being used today. 95 could be upgraded to 98, ME or even 2000, though many users still rely on 95 for legacy functions due to its closeness with DOS while still being reliable and easy to use.
Character details
One of the more popular OS-tans, 95-tan is depicted as a traditional lady from the early modern era of Japan. This is much due to her status as an older version of modern Windows. She is a gentle-looking brown haired woman in a kimono, with a hair ribbon showing the four Windows colors. The pattern of her kimono is based on the file hana256.bmp, which was used as a desktop wallpaper pattern in the Japanese version of Windows. Her costume is a traditional kimono and a hakama of Japan, and she wears thick sandals, geta on her feet. These are women's college student's typical clothes as seen in the earliest period during the course of the modernization in Japan (from the Meiji period to the Taisho period), and the cultural background for the comparison of the modernization of Windows to modernization of Japan is seen there.
95-tan's most common activities are drinking tea, serving meals or doing other housework. One recurring theme is her unfamiliarity with newer, post Win-95 technologies, such as USB devices and broadband internet connections. While appearing to be one of the more stable OS-tans, she is also often depicted wielding a katana in an aggressive manner, usually toward the Mac-tans, but also when disciplining troublemakers within her own family. This symbolizes the fact that it was her generation of operating systems that Microsoft finally achieved full dominance of the personal computer market. One comic strip shows her talking to other OS-tans about beating up MacOS; and 95 is commonly portrayed with an overwhelming hatred of the Macintosh OS-Tans, particularly her bitter rival MacOS-tan. Due the popular belief that Mozilla Firefox is incompatible with Windows 95, several OS-tan four-panel comics have been made portraying other OS-tans encouraging 95-tan to think in Russian! and 95-tan's inability to internalize the Russian language enough to accomplish this.
Alternate character interpretations
See also:
