Windows 95 is 20 Years Old Today

Yes, that’s Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry from “Friends” in a Windows 95 video guide aka “the world’s first cyber sitcom.” Anybody else feeling ancient right now?

Windows 95 launched 20 years ago today – for all you kids out there, that was the old operating system with the Start button, y’know, the one that crashed all the time? And as Mashable’s Lance Ulanoff explains, it was a truly innovative marketing campaign that changed the way we thought about computers:

“Prior to the Windows 95 launch event and the media saturation that happened before and since, there had never been a mainstream computing push quite like it. Consumers did not really think about operating systems and many were unconvinced that they needed a computer in the home.

“I know, that mindset is hard to imagine in our current technology-saturated world.”

More to the point, though, looking back on the campaign has triggered a 90s nostalgia avalanche for a lot of people. Who could forget this classic commercial featuring “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones?

(FYI, “Start Me Up” is free to download on Groove Music today to celebrate the anniversary.)

Other fond memories: