During Windows XP’s (2001) development, Microsoft asked design company Frog Design to help “generate key elements of the UI”. This included a new Windows logo. 50 potential logos were drafted, which were whittled down to a top 3. With a few tweaks, the final XP logo was born. 🤩 #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #WindowsXP

The Windows wordmark font has changed many times. The original used Goudy. Windows 3 (1990) changed it to Times New Roman. NT 3.5 (1994) introduced Baskerville Old Face. Franklin Gothic was used from 95 (1995) to XP (2001). Since Vista (2006), variants of Segoe UI have been used. #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #Logo #Wordmark

Windows 8 (2012) shipped with 2 versions of Internet Explorer: the regular "desktop" variant, plus a new, touch-friendly, full screen "Metro" variant. In the latter, most of the window chrome is hidden & must be accessed using touch gestures (e.g. swiping ⬇️ to view/manage tabs). #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #Windows8 #Windows81 #InternetExplorer #Metro

Windows Codename Longhorn build 4093, from August 2004, is the last available build of what would become Windows Vista (2006), before its infamous “development reset”. As such, it contains many prototype features that were either vastly reworked for Vista, or scrapped altogether. #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #WindowsVista #WindowsLonghorn #WindowsCodenameLonghorn

Windows Codename Longhorn build 3683, from September 2002, is the 1st known build of Windows Vista (2006). It had features that didn’t make the final release, such as a login screen clock & centred title bar text. Both would eventually arrive a decade later in Windows 8 (2012). 🤯 #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #WindowsVista #WindowsLonghorn #WindowsCodenameLonghorn #Windows8

Mars was a Windows component that powered the so-called Activity Centres - an experimental, task-centred UI tested in early builds of Windows ME (2000) & Codename Neptune (cancelled). Whilst the Activity Centres were scrapped, Mars lived on to power ME’s Help & Support app. ;-) #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #WindowsMillenniumEdition #WindowsME #WindowsCodenameNaptune #WindowsNeptune #ActivityCenters #ActivityCentres

MS-DOS ("MicroSoft Disk Operating System") was a command-line OS from Microsoft. The initial releases of Microsoft's newer, graphical OS - Windows - required MS-DOS to run. Windows Millennium Edition (Windows ME, pronounced "Me") (2000) was the last Windows version requiring DOS. #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #WindowsMillenniumEdition #WindowsME #MSDOS

The Start Page is a feature found in early development builds of Windows Codename Longhorn, which would eventually release as Windows Vista (2006). It appears to be a precursor to the Welcome Centre that debuted in Vista, and can be traced as far back as build 3683 in late 2002. #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #WindowsVista #WindowsLonghorn #WindowsCodenameLonghorn

Windows 7 (2009) debuted the “superbar”: a beefed up taskbar with larger app icons (& no text labels by default), the ability to “pin” frequent apps, app “jump lists” to quickly access recent files, a Show Desktop button - last tested in Windows 2000 build 1796.1 - & more!👌🤩 #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #Windows7

Following the release of Windows Millennium Edition (or Windows Me - pronounced “Me”) on 19th June 2000, Microsoft launched a promo campaign called the Meet Me Tour. People visiting malls across 25 US cities could test ME’s new video, photo, music & networking capabilities. #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #WindowsMillenniumEdition #WindowsMe

Live Tiles, introduced in Windows Phone 7 (2010), are UI elements acting both as app shortcuts & dynamic information feeds. Part of Microsoft’s Metro UI, they were later added to desktop Windows in Windows 8 (2012). Kept in Windows 10, they were deprecated in Windows 11 (2021). #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #WindowsPhone7 #Windows8 #Windows81 #Windows10 #Windows11 #LiveTiles #Metro

Windows 98 build 1400, from February 1997, introduced a Show Desktop button in the bottom right of the desktop. Removed shortly after, it would be tested again in early builds of Windows 2000. However, it didn’t make a final release of Windows until Windows 7 in 2009. 🤯 #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #Windows98 #Windows2000 #WindowsCE #Windows7

The original release of Windows 10 (2015) had a hidden surprise for fans of Windows 8’s (2012) Start screen. With seemingly no-one on the Windows 10 dev team tasked with removing the underlying code, a simple hack allowed it to be reactivated in (almost) all its former glory. 😎 #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #Windows8 #Windows81 #Windows10

Windows Vista (2006) added a search box to the Start menu. This let users type to search instantly on opening the menu. Previously, users needed to click a Search option within Start to launch the Search UI first. Typing to search in Start still exists as of Windows 11 (2021). #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #WindowsVista

Windows 8 (2012) introduced accent colours - colour schemes that could be applied to its new, touch-optimised UI, such as the Start screen. Accent colours would return in Windows 10 (2015), where they were applied to the desktop. This remains the case in Windows 11 (2021). 🎨🖌️ #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #Windows8 #Windows81 #Windows10 #Windows11

With Windows 3.1 (1992) came a new Windows logo. Commissioned by Microsoft Senior Vice President & Product Manager for Windows at the time, @bradsilverberg@twitter.com - who described it as “a window with cool motion effects” - it was designed by Jeff Boettcher, Jonathan Cowles & Julie Wong. #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #Windows31

“Your name is Windows. Why are you using a flag?” That’s what graphic designer Paula Scher asked when Microsoft approached her to design a new Windows logo. Paula took the logo back to its roots, with clean lines, shapes & one colour. It launched with Windows 8 in 2012. #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #Windows8

Windows 3.1 build 43e, from 27th August 1991, features a unique, early variant of the Windows logo that would eventually be introduced in the final release of 3.1 (1992). This variant would be replaced with the final version of the logo by build 60, from 4th December 1991. 🪟 #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #Windows31

Windows Vista build 5001, from September 2004, was one of the 1st Vista builds compiled after its infamous “development reset”. Identifying itself as Windows LH, it reuses XP’s Bliss wallpaper, with a Longhorn bull (badly) edited in - a reference to Vista’s codename, Longhorn. 🐂 #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #WindowsXP #WindowsVista #WindowsLonghorn #Longhorn

If Windows ever had an identity crisis, it was Windows NT 3.1 build 196. Compiled in September 1991, the CD for this build featured 3 different logos, & the build itself identifies in various places as either NT 1, NT 32-bit Windows, NT-386, NT Windows or Windows NT Version 3. 😵‍💫 #DailyWindowsFact #Microsoft #Windows #WindowsNT #WindowsNT31