Windows 93 would ship together with MS-DOS 7.0, offering a more integrated experience to the user and making it pointless for other companies to create DOS clones. Initially, the decision was made not to include a new user interface, as this was planned for Cairo, and only focus on making installation, configuration, and networking easier. So the development of Windows 'Chicago' was started and, as it was planned for a late 1993 release, became known as Windows 93. Microsoft realized they were in need of an updated version of Windows that could support 32-bit applications and preemptive multitasking, but could still run on low-end hardware (Windows NT did not). Simultaneously with Windows 3.1's release, IBM started shipping OS/2 2.0. Cairo would be Microsoft's next-generation operating system based on Windows NT and featuring a new user interface and an object-based file system, but it was not planned to be shipped before 1994 (Cairo would eventually partially ship in July 1996 in the form of Windows NT 4.0, but without the object-based file system, which would later evolve into WinFS). At this time, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and Windows NT 3.1 were still in development and Microsoft's plan for the future was focused on Cairo.

The initial design and planning of Windows 95 can be traced back to around March 1992, just after the release of Windows 3.1. Support for Windows 95 ended on December 31, 2001. Some three years after its introduction, Windows 95 was succeeded by Windows 98.

It was also suggested that Windows 95 had an effect of driving other major players (including OS/2) out of business, something which would later be used in court against Microsoft. It also introduced numerous functions and features that were featured in later Windows versions, such as the taskbar, the 'Start' button, and the way the user navigates. There were also major changes made at lower levels of the operating system, such as moving from a mainly 16-bit architecture to a pre-emptively multitasked 32-bit architecture.Īccompanied by an extensive marketing campaign, Windows 95 was a major success in the marketplace at launch and shortly became the most popular desktop operating system. It featured significant improvements over its predecessor, Windows 3.1, most notably in the graphical user interface (GUI) and in its relatively simplified 'plug-n-play' features. Windows 95 integrated Microsoft's formerly separate MS-DOS and Windows products. During development, it was referred to as Windows 4.0 or by the internal codename Chicago. It was released on August 24, 1995, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products. Windows 95 (codenamed Chicago) is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system developed by Microsoft.

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