Yes, it was ten years ago today that Windows95 was released. My how windows has changed computing. Actually, it was Apple that began using icons and graphic interface. Before that most of us used Dos. What a pain it was typing in all the commands, remembering the commands, or typing in the "help" command to get a list of the commands if you forgot them.
When I first started using a micro-computer back in 1980, I used to go to user group meetings to learn what I could. These guys would have heated debated over which was the language of the future Dos or CP/M. The majority leaned towards CP/M, the language used by the very popular Atari micro-computers (see pic), because they felt it was technically superior. CP/M was the standard up until minor legal problems with IBM caused IBM to look to Microsoft. With IBM's superior R&D and marketing, they came to dominate the PC market, thus Microsoft DOS (MS-DOS) became the dominate operating system.
Other computer manufacturers surpassed IBM but they adopted MS-DOS as there operating system, IBM and CP/M were left in the dust, and the rest is history.
Microsoft now operates like your local heroin dealer. They gave us a taste, offered newer and better, got us hooked and now we have to keep buying from them to get our fix. I want to migrate to an open source software, such as Linux (democracy in action) but I have invested so much in my Windows/NT/XP habit that I would have to detox and learn a whole new way of computing. That is too similar to my real life and my recovery from my alcohol and drug addiction. I think I'll stay focused on that and my spiritual recovery for now and save my computer platform recovery for later.
And if you didn't know this bit of history, "Now you know the rest of the Story"
Peace, Alan
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