<operating system> (Win95) Microsoft's successor to their
Windows 3.11 operating system for IBM PCs. It was known
as "Chicago" during development. Its release was originally
scheduled for late 1994 but eventually happened on 11 Jul
1995, followed by Service Release 1 on 1995-12-31 and OSR2
(OEM Service Release 2) on 1996-08-24.
In contrast to earlier versions, Windows 95 is a complete
operating system rather than a graphical user interface
running on top of MS-DOS.
It provides 32-bit application support, pre-emptive
multitasking, threading and built-in networking (TCP/IP,
IPX, SLIP, PPP, and Windows Sockets). It includes
MS-DOS 7.0, but takes over completely after booting. The
graphical user interface, while similar to previous Windows
versions, is significantly improved.
Windows 95 has also been described as "32-bit extensions and a
graphical shell for a 16-bit patch to an 8-bit operating
system originally coded for a 4-bit microprocessor, written by
a 2-bit company that can't stand 1-bit of competition".
The successor to Windows 95 was Windows 98.
(1998-07-19)
Nearby terms:
Windows/386 « Windows 4GL « Windows 94 « Windows 95 » Windows 98 » Windows 9X » Windows Application Binary Interface
