Thirty-one years after its historic global rollout, the launch of Windows 95 remains one of the most ambitious and influential product debuts in technology history, forever changing how people interact with personal computers.
On August 24, 1995, Microsoft unleashed Windows 95 — an operating system that didn't just update how computers worked, but fundamentally transformed their place in daily life. The launch was backed by a reported $300 million marketing campaign, making it one of the biggest tech promotional pushes of its era. Microsoft staged events across the globe, beginning with a midnight launch in New Zealand, and aired a television commercial using The Rolling Stones' Start Me Up — a reference to the iconic Start button that became the new system's centrepiece.
Windows 95 introduced the graphical user interface, the Start menu, taskbar, desktop shortcuts, and plug-and-play functionality, making PCs far more intuitive for everyday users. The system sold an estimated 1 million copies in its first four days and went on to become one of the best-selling operating systems of all time. Its success cemented Microsoft's dominance in the software industry and set the template for desktop computing for decades to come. Today, it is remembered not only as a technical milestone but as a cultural moment that signalled the arrival of the internet age.
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