Steve Ballmer

Maybe it's post-NT, maybe it's part of NT, but this is like a really sophisticated, crazy set of technologies that we're going to eventually bake into an operating system. It doesn't really have a release date. No one really believes in any of the release dates that are proposed.

But the Windows 95 team, the Windows 4 team, the Chicago team loved contrasting this idea of like a far-flung land relationship. That's really ambitious. And who knows what it'll actually be like with this. Chicago is something we know quite well. You get on I-90 from Seattle, you drive for three days and you're there. And that is sort of like the goal. That's the spiritual thing about Windows 95.

But the Windows 95 team, the Windows 4 team, the Chicago team loved contrasting this idea of like a far-flung land relationship. That's really ambitious. And who knows what it'll actually be like with this. Chicago is something we know quite well. You get on I-90 from Seattle, you drive for three days and you're there. And that is sort of like the goal. That's the spiritual thing about Windows 95.

A hundred percent. We should say Cairo never shipped. So there's a lesson in that.

A hundred percent. We should say Cairo never shipped. So there's a lesson in that.

Or Longhorn. Right.

Or Longhorn. Right.

We are getting ahead of ourselves. So, okay. Windows 95, let's start with the launch event itself. It was a huge, ridiculous, insane day in Redmond, Washington. They set up tents all over Microsoft's campus. They flew in journalists, beta testers. There was a movement around Windows 95 in a way that you would not believe. It was an operating system launch and Jay Leno launched it.

We are getting ahead of ourselves. So, okay. Windows 95, let's start with the launch event itself. It was a huge, ridiculous, insane day in Redmond, Washington. They set up tents all over Microsoft's campus. They flew in journalists, beta testers. There was a movement around Windows 95 in a way that you would not believe. It was an operating system launch and Jay Leno launched it.

It wasn't like Jay Leno did some stand-up. It was like Jay Leno for 90 minutes in a tightly scripted environment co-hosted with Bill Gates all of the fanfare and festivities.

It wasn't like Jay Leno did some stand-up. It was like Jay Leno for 90 minutes in a tightly scripted environment co-hosted with Bill Gates all of the fanfare and festivities.

It might be like the peak moment of pure joy to celebrate technology before a lot of the sort of skepticism came in and the tech haters.

It might be like the peak moment of pure joy to celebrate technology before a lot of the sort of skepticism came in and the tech haters.

Totally. It was unabashed celebration of software is probably the best way to put it. Microsoft licensed Start Me Up famously from the Rolling Stones.

Totally. It was unabashed celebration of software is probably the best way to put it. Microsoft licensed Start Me Up famously from the Rolling Stones.

Totally. The other thing that's happening in 1995 is the internet hype is starting to build, but we will table that for next episode. Right at this point in history, only 14% of Americans had internet access. It was still very early. So there was no guarantee that any story posted online would actually reach the masses.

Totally. The other thing that's happening in 1995 is the internet hype is starting to build, but we will table that for next episode. Right at this point in history, only 14% of Americans had internet access. It was still very early. So there was no guarantee that any story posted online would actually reach the masses.

And so Microsoft had really relied on traditional broadcast coverage of this event and brought in all these journalists and all these print magazines and all these newspapers to kind of build the hype.

And so Microsoft had really relied on traditional broadcast coverage of this event and brought in all these journalists and all these print magazines and all these newspapers to kind of build the hype.

I watched the whole keynote yesterday, and at the end, they ripped down the sort of back of the tent behind the stage, and there's the entire development team in the red, yellow, green, and blue squares of the Windows logo sort of sitting outside on the big sports field on Redmond's campus.