Summer 1995: A Peek Back to When the Graphical User Interface Took Over
In Steven Sinofsky’s recent enthralling thread on “Apple’s Long Journey to the M1 Pro Chip,” he mentioned that he “still has a thing for Windows.” This reminded me of my years as a young faculty member, during the late 80s and 90s, when everyone in my generation could see where the technology was going, but we co-existed with older faculty and administrators who could not bring themselves to see computers as anything but tools for clerical staff. For me this meant that I adopted the technology where I could, with no official support, along the way becoming our department’s informal tech support (until eventually, years later, we did establish an official tech support unit that I then supervised.) I’d been a Mac head from the moment I read about and grokked the GUI in the mid 80s, though it wasn’t until 1990 that I was able to get my hands on one (what is now known as the “Mac Classic”), and had made do with counterfeits in the meantime (GEOS on the Commodore 64/128, an amazing technological feat.) But as tech advisor to everyone else, I had to be competent in the ways of command line interfaces, e.g., systems as diverse as Apple DOS, and of course CP/M, MS-DOS and IBM’s OS/2. We all suffered through Microsoft’s early ham-fisted attempts to solder a GUI on top of MS-DOS, but it was clear how they were finally getting it right with their approach to Windows 95. So, in the Summer of 1995, with the imminent release of the new OS, I did my best to prepare everyone in my department (about 150 faculty and about 80 grad students) by means of a bulletin that I strove to make as concise as possible. I’m pasting it here completely unedited, as an artifact of a time when we still had to understand hardware/software layers and wonky technical specs.
Is Windows 95 For You?
Tuesday, August 15, 1995
This week Microsoft Corp. releases its latest operating system (OS), and as a result users of current OS’s for Intel-based machines and clones. are likely to be evaluating their need for an upgrade from DOS 6.1 or Windows 3.11. This article briefly discusses important factors for users to consider in making this upgrade decision.
What is Windows 95?
Windows 95 is the latest incarnation of an operating system with a graphical user interface (GUI) that Microsoft has been developing since 1983. It incorporates a number of significant features for Intel-based machines and clones that until now had only been available in IBM’s OS/2 Warp, and in OS’s for computers based on other architectures. There is now a single, integrated environment from which users can manage files, execute programs, select peripheral storage devices and communicate with networks, including both local area networks (LANs) and the Internet. Drives and network nodes are represented as icons on a desktop, and directories and files are graphically represented as folders and documents, respectively, though users may also choose to view them in hierarchical lists (as in X-Tree under DOS, or the current File Manager of Windows 3.11). Gone is the file-naming convention of an eight-character file name and a three-character file type identifier, and users are now free to give files longer, less cryptic names. Files and directories can be dragged with the cursor to copy them or change their location, and can be thrown in a trash bin to be deleted. One of the most welcome additions will be the “Plug-and-Play” capability, which will make it easier for end-users to install and configure new peripheral devices. To guide users in such tasks as installing new software and hardware, and in learning how to use Windows 95 in general, Microsoft has expanded the concept of its “Help Wizards,” familiar to current users of the MS-Office suite, to provide context-sensitive active assistance and to automate common, repetitive tasks. The data path is wider (32 bits vs. the current 16 bit), meaning faster internal communication. And lastly, almost all graphical gadgets of the Windows 95 desktop will be configurable by users, providing for an environment that can be optimized to suit individual working preferences.
How Would I Benefit From Upgrading to Windows 95?
Without doubt the enhancements embodied in Windows 95 will reduce or eliminate many of the current frustrations that end-users commonly face in working with computers: by easing hardware expansion (such as the addition of a sound card or a new printer); by making it easier to communicate with other computers and servers and acquire and integrate information from them; by providing a standard interface and OS-level services to which all Windows software should conform, and thereby making new applications easier for users to learn. Universal copy-and-paste of text and graphics between applications, and Object-Linking-and-Embedding, will allow seamless sharing and updating of data between documents produced with different applications. Directory navigation and file management will now be more direct and intuitive. In short, the new OS promises to improve the productivity of users.
What are the Hardware Requirements to Support Windows 95?
From the design stage, Microsoft Corp. has aimed Windows 95 at a minimum platform consisting of a 33 MHz Intel 80386 computer with 4 Mb of RAM. This is reflective of both the long development cycle of this product, dating to a time when this platform was the widespread standard, as well as of Microsoft’s determination to avoid excluding a significant portion of its current customer base from participating in the advances of personal computing.
However, from independent tests conducted over the past year by a number of beta testers and magazine reviewers it is evident that a more realistic base configuration for Windows 95 is a 25 MHz 80486 with 8 Mb of RAM. Furthermore, to obtain the best performance from the operating system AND its new suite of application programs, a robust configuration is necessary, on the order of a Pentium class machine with 16 Mb RAM and plenty of hard disk storage capacity, since the Windows 95 installation files alone will take 100 Mb, and can expand to 120 Mb when application programs are installed (most applications add files of their own to the Windows 95 directories). In addition, users must take into account the storage requirements of each application program itself, which can typically range between 10 to 60 Mb each. Lastly, an important aspect of working with an advanced graphical user interface such as that provided by Windows 95, is the ability to multitask, or work with various applications running in separate windows simultaneously. This mode of operation resembles the way most of us currently work on physical desk tops, and is almost necessary in order to take full advantage of the ability to cut-and-paste and embed objects in order to update and share information among different applications. However, to take best advantage of this feature, screen real estate is necessary. Windows 95 will support high-resolution megapixel displays that will require a minimum of 17” monitors.
Should I Upgrade Now or Wait?
There is very little doubt that most current DOS/Windows 3.11 users will benefit by upgrading to Windows 95, and indeed will ultimately need to do so in order to maintain compatibility with the new file formats and modes of online communication that will propagate among the computing community in response to the capabilities of the new OS. However, it is reasonable to wonder about the appropriate time to upgrade. Following are some factors to consider.
Software. While the great majority of current Windows software will run as normal under the new OS, software must be rewritten to new specifications in order to take full advantage of all the new features of Windows 95 (e.g., the 32-bit attributes and new file management techniques). The first entries in 32-bit readiness will be, not surprisingly, Microsoft’s own productivity workhorses Word for Windows 95 and Excel for Windows 95, but these will be followed soon thereafter by new releases from all major vendors. There should be little fear that a favorite application will not appear in a 32-bit version. Over the past two years Microsoft has “seeded” the software industry with beta versions and technical specifications for the new OS, and no major vendor is second-guessing the direction in which Microsoft is leading. The colossal misjudgments of two former industry leaders that “didn’t get it” when Windows 3.0 loomed on the horizon are fresh in everyone’s memory. When Microsoft promoted a similar sea-change with the release of Windows 3.0 in 1990, the Lotus Development Corporation (now owned by IBM) and the Word Perfect Corporation (now owned by Novell) yawned prominently, and as a result are now distant also-rans in the spreadsheet and word processing markets they once dominated, losing their place to MS-Word and MS-Excel. No major software vendors are about to relive such a mistake, and you can expect most current Windows software to be available in Windows 95 versions by the end of this year or the first quarter of 1996.
Hardware. The boon of automated “plug and play” configuration will no doubt make life easier for users who seek to install and configure the new OS to take full advantage of their hardware capabilities. However the full benefit will be realized by users who buy and expand their computers now and in the future. Plug-and-Play works because of specifications that the Intel- and clone-based hardware and software industries have agreed to honor in the design and configuration of peripherals, expansion cards and installation conventions. Therefore, the ease of use can be counted upon more dependably for new and future computer systems, and less so for existing and older systems. This is through no direct fault of Microsoft.
One of the principal virtues of the expandable industry standard architecture is also the bane of the new Plug-and-Play specifications, in that prior to acceptance of the latter there was no agreement or uniformity among hardware vendors regarding the configuration of system resources. Therefore, conflicts resulting from the simultaneous claiming of ports, interrupts and memory allocations were not unusual. Plug-and-Play will relieve this from now on, but in spite of Microsoft’s best efforts, users with non-standard or unusual expansion components in older systems may still need to bear the burden for making certain their system works harmoniously under Windows 95. In order to be as retroactive as possible, Windows 95 comes with a massive database of current peripherals and expansion cards that includes the configuration preferences for each of those devices. Chances are that users with industry standard components and peripherals will find they are covered by this internal database of configuration information, and if so will have little difficulty in installing and successfully configuring Windows 95 on their current system.
Compatibility and New Release Bugs. Microsoft has distributed beta and evaluation versions of Windows 95 to thousands of users over the past two years, and the scope of their effort to make a smooth transition from a 16- to 32-bit graphical OS is unprecedented in a market the size of the current DOS and Windows user base. While it is certain that small glitches and compatibility problems will emerge when Windows 95 is introduced, it is almost as certain that no major surprises will be discovered. The set of beta testers for software such as this is by and large a self-selected group that can usually solve, or not even interpret as a problem, the types of glitches that may detain non-technical end-users. On the other hand, few new software packages have received as extensive and intensive a grilling as Windows 95 has been given for two years. This process has in fact uncovered many important problems with the developing OS, and has resulted in the notorious delay in delivery of Windows 95. However, given the intrinsically difficult task of bringing order to the DOS/Windows world, and the central importance of an error-free operating system, most end-users should agree that the trade-off involved in waiting for the release of a quality product is preferable to the alternative.
Microsoft Windows was first announced by chairman Bill Gates in 1983, and version 1.0 was delivered in late 1985. Windows 2.0 followed in 1988 and version 3.0 in 1990. Full market acceptance for the Windows GUI came in 1992 with the release of Windows 3.1. Though most reviewers are describing Windows 95 as “Windows done right,” it is clear from previous precedent, and from the very name of the product, that a revised and improved version of the OS can be expected within a few months following original introduction.
The Short Story.
In brief, Windows 95 is a clear immediate choice for new computer users and for the technically adept. We consider as the bare minimum a system consisting of a 25 MHz 80486 CPU, with 16 Mb of RAM and an 800 Mb hard disk. If you have no prior knowledge of computers and are just now contemplating purchase of an Intel-based system, or clone, then your system will most likely come equipped with Windows 95 unless you specifically request otherwise. It makes little sense for you to invest any time in learning to use DOS or Windows 3.1. If you are technically adept and have sufficient hardware resources, and if you are willing to hazard the risk of the minor problems and incompatibilities that are to be expected in the first release of any software, let alone software as complex as Windows 95, then you can get a head start on learning Windows 95 skills by taking the plunge now. For those with insufficient hardware resources, and/or a large amount of “legacy” documents created in DOS or Windows 3.1 software, it may be best to wait until early 1996 to upgrade. By that time component prices (hard disks and RAM) should be slightly lower, a polished version of Windows 95 should be available, and a broad range of application programs optimized for Windows 95 should be on the market. All upgraders should be aware that there is a dollar threshold limit that needs to be considered. If memory and storage space are required to upgrade a computer, sum the costs of the new RAM, hard disk, peripherals, and the OS and compare to the cost of a new system. Keep in mind that currently computer systems are fully depreciating in approximately 3 years, and that a new system can often be purchased with OS and software bundles.
Additional Information Direct From Microsoft
To obtain the most current information and technical tips about Windows 95, use your Web browser to visit the Microsoft site at: http://www.microsoft.com/windows95.
