Will Windows 7 Be As Big As Windows 95 At Release?

I remember the release of Windows 95 like it was yesterday. I worked at a local computer retail store and was responsible for all the displays for the product. We geared up for it big time, offering many products below cost along with a Windows 95 purchase. People lined up outside the doors before we opened, waiting in anticipation. We unlocked the doors to a flurry of people with wide smiles on their faces, swiping up copies of Windows 95 left and right. I’m sure most customers rushed home in a mad dash to install Windows 95 on their computers with 486/50Mhz processors and 250MB hard drives. I know when my shift ended, I did.

I enjoyed the day Windows 95 was released immensely. There’s just something to be enjoyed when there is such a fury over a product release. Memories of a midnight release of the PlayStation 2 come to my mind. The strangers I met while I waited in line, talking about how cool it’ll be if they somehow manage to score a PS2 and a few games.

Will Windows 7 produce the kind of euphoria Windows 95 did? There hasn’t been a really huge release for a Microsoft operating system since Windows 95. Is now the time? Unfortunately, we probably will never see that kind of huge release again. The reasons?

#1. Windows 95 was a huge step. Prior to Windows 95, we had DOS and Windows 3.1. The innovation between those products was huge and the wait was long. Now we seem to see a new operating system every few years. The steps are smaller and the difference, not that big.

#2. The ability for anybody and everybody to grab a beta copy of Windows 7 prior to release has ruined the mystique of its release. Nobody had really seen Windows 95 before. With Windows 7, you can just ask a friend for a copy of his or download it online.

These two points leave consumers nothing to be excited about. We all know what to expect from Windows 7. It’s just a faster version of Windows Vista. I do believe it will help sell many more computers. I know looking at laptops in stores that contain Vista make me want to run to the closest Apple Store I can find. But as far as the Windows 7 or any other Windows release having the excitement level of a midnight release equivalent to the release of a Harry Potter book, no. I’m afraid we’ll have to wait for Halo 4 for that.