Windows 95 goes on sale at 12:01 a.m., Thursday, August 24, 1995.
Wednesday, 11:40 p.m.: Twenty minutes. The pallets are out on the floor, the extra registers are set up, and the line was already down past the sub shop next door when I came home for a shower. I'm leaving for the store now. See you there!
Hi. I'm Keith Abreu, and I run the software department at Harborside Computer Superstore on Route 6, just outside New Bedford, Massachusetts. Since about March, the question I hear most (after "where's the restroom?") has been some version of "So what's the deal with this Windows 95?" I put my answers here so I could stop writing them on the backs of receipts. If you got this address from me at the counter, hello again.
The Start button and the taskbar. There's a gray strip along the bottom of the screen with a button marked Start in the corner. Click it and everything is right there: your programs, your recent documents, the settings, Help, and Shut Down. (Yes, you click Start to stop. Everybody laughs at that. Then they get used to it.) Every program you have open gets its own button on the taskbar, so you can't lose a window behind another one anymore.
Long file names. Goodbye to eight letters, a dot and three more. A file can now be called "Christmas card list 1995," up to 255 characters, spaces and all. Your older Windows 3.1 programs will still see a short version of the name (that one comes out CHRIST~1.DOC), so nothing breaks.
Plug and Play. Put in a new card that's marked Plug and Play, turn the computer on, and Windows 95 finds it and sets it up by itself. No jumpers, no IRQ settings. That's for new hardware. Your old sound card will still work, but it'll still need setting up the old way. (The guys in our service department call it "Plug and Pray." They're kidding. Mostly.)
The Recycle Bin. When you delete a file, it goes into the Recycle Bin on your desktop instead of disappearing. Change your mind and you can drag it right back out. It isn't really gone until you empty the bin.
Networking built in. Hooking two or three PCs together at the office is built right in. Even better, so is what you need to dial into the Internet: Dial-Up Networking and TCP/IP come in the box. No more hunting down a separate Winsock program and hoping it works with your provider.
The Microsoft Network. There's an icon on the desktop for MSN, Microsoft's new online service, which opens the same day. It's along the lines of CompuServe or America Online: e-mail, bulletin boards, chat, news. You'll need a modem. I haven't been on it yet, so no opinions until Sunday.
Real multitasking. You can format a floppy and keep typing your letter at the same time. Under Windows 3.1, formatting a floppy meant going for coffee.
Explorer and the right mouse button. The Windows Explorer replaces File Manager, and clicking the right mouse button pops up a little menu just about anywhere. You can make a shortcut to any program or file and leave it right on the desktop.
No more typing WIN. The computer starts straight into Windows. DOS is still in there for your old games, but you won't see a C:\> prompt unless you ask for one.
This is the big one. Here are the questions I get most, with straight answers.
Q. What's the minimum?
Microsoft says a 386DX or better, 4 MB of memory, a VGA monitor, a mouse, and about 35 to 40 MB of free hard disk space if you're upgrading from Windows 3.1. A fresh install takes more.
Q. So my 386DX with 4 MB will run it?
It will start. We've had it on a 386 with 4 MB in the back office since the preview copies came in, and I wouldn't wish that machine on anybody. It works, but every time you open a second program you can hear the hard drive grinding away. Get 8 MB. I know memory isn't cheap this year. If you spend money on one thing for Windows 95, spend it on memory anyway. A 486 with 8 MB runs it nicely.
Q. I have a 386SX.
The box says 386DX. I'd put the money toward a new machine.
Q. Do I need a CD-ROM drive?
No. It comes on floppies too: a stack of 13 of them, and Setup will ask for every one. The CD-ROM version is the same Windows plus some extras, like a couple of videos and a game. If you have the drive, get the CD. Your wrist will thank you.
Q. Will my programs still work?
Almost all of your Windows 3.1 programs will. Most DOS programs and games will too; a few of the fussier games want you to restart in MS-DOS mode, which is one of the choices when you shut down. We'll keep a list at the software counter of what customers tell us works and what doesn't.
Q. Do I have to reinstall everything?
No. The upgrade goes right over Windows 3.1 and keeps your programs and settings. Your Program Manager groups turn into folders on the Start menu.
Q. Should I back up first?
YES. Every time somebody asks me this, the answer is yes.
Q. How long does it take to install?
Plan on an hour, more from floppies. Don't start it at midnight. (Says the man who's going to do exactly that.)
Q. Will it run on my Mac?
No, Windows 95 is for PCs. Mac software is in aisle 9, and I'm happy to walk you over.
If your computer has Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups on it now, buy the upgrade. That's almost everybody.
If you have only DOS, or a brand new empty hard drive, you need the full version.
The upgrade looks for your old Windows when it installs. If it can't find it on the hard drive (say you wiped the drive first), it will ask you to put in Disk 1 from your old Windows. So don't throw those disks out.
If you bought a new PC this summer, check the paperwork. Some of the manufacturers put an upgrade coupon in the box. Bring it in.
Plus! is a separate box that also goes on sale tonight. It has desktop themes (pictures, colors and sounds that go together), a pinball game, DriveSpace 3 for squeezing more onto your hard drive, and the Internet Jumpstart Kit, which includes Microsoft's new Web browser. Nice to have, not necessary. It wants a 486 and 8 MB, so see above.
Starting with the launch, you're going to hear the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up" until you hum it in your sleep. It's the song in the Windows 95 commercials. Start button, "Start Me Up," get it? The word in the trade papers is that Microsoft paid the Stones a bundle for it. It's the biggest advertising push I've ever seen for one piece of software, and I've been selling software for nine years. Our store manager says the song is going on the PA at midnight and staying there all weekend. Don't blame me.
Here's the plan for tonight, Wednesday, August 23:
Doors open at 11:00 p.m. Registers open at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, not a second earlier. That's the official on-sale time, and we stick to it.
Windows 95 upgrade, floppy or CD: $89.95 tonight through Sunday.
Free coffee and doughnuts all night. Pizza at midnight, while it lasts.
The first 100 people in line get a free Windows 95 mouse pad.
Memory upgrades installed while you wait, all weekend, in the service department. Bring the computer in, or just tell us the make and model.
Every register open, and extra hands in software. There are more Windows 95 boxes stacked in our back room than I have ever seen of one program. We will not run out. (I hope.)
Free installation clinics on Saturday, August 26, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the training room. Bring your questions.
All right, my first four days. I'm putting it on my own machine at home (a 486DX2/66 with 8 MB and a 340 MB drive) the minute I get home Thursday morning, sleep or no sleep. My wife Jackie has already said she'll be at her sister's. Look for my honest review here on Sunday, August 27: what I liked, what broke, and whether MSN is worth the trouble.
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since May 1995.
Questions? E-mail me at [email protected]. I answer everything, usually the same night.
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Last updated Wednesday, August 23, 1995, 11:40 p.m. Leaving for the store now!
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Wednesday, 11:40 p.m.: Twenty minutes. The pallets are out on the floor, the extra registers are set up, and the line was already down past the sub shop next door when I came home for a shower. I'm leaving for the store now. See you there!
since May 1995.