Microsoft Windows 95 Launch with Bill Gates & Jay Leno (1995)

Dreams come true: the holy grail of Microsoft launch events finally made available for viewing pleasure after nearly 27 years. This launch event stars Jay Leno as he explores Windows 95 and the campus while making remarkably corny and dated celebrity jokes, so it's an unexpected relief to hear Bill Gates talk when he isn't around.

Several pieces of footage from this event have been floating around for many years, but the full uncut version was nowhere to be found up until now, so you'll be witnessing a lot of stuff that hasn't been seen by anyone outside of attendees, the press, and the development team. One example is some of the websites shown near the end, including pages from the older MSN service, and the official homepage for the Windows 95 launch campus complete with rich web graphics. And that was all displayed on Internet Explorer 1.0!

This tape also houses that infamous Windows 1.0 "commercial" with Steve Ballmer that I uploaded previously, in case you're wondering where that originates from. It's also one of possibly several different prints for that video, as there are other old copies floating around shown to have different intros.

A pretty crucial detail at the beginning of the video regarding Windows 95's release to manufacturing date is also brought up, as the one that's present on Wikipedia wrongly states that its August 15th, so that's another mystery cleared up.

I consider this to be the absolute pinnacle of my VHS collection, as I doubt anything else I collect will ever top this. It cost a pretty penny to obtain too! That doesn't mean it won't be the end of my collecting endeavors, as I'll be back to upload more tapes from time to time - mostly on the Internet Archive. So now I bring this crucial piece of software history to you, and I hope you hold this landmark of a tape in high regard as much as I do. Enjoy!

"Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones (1981)

Chapter selection:
0:00 Prelude and Legal Jargon
2:08 July 14, 1995 - Developer Stories (and geese which make pig noises)
4:22 Windows Then - Steve Ballmer in 1986 "selling" Windows 1.0, except in Nebraska
5:29 Windows Now - Beta Tester Testimonies
6:59 Launch Show Begins! Jay Leno on Stage
11:41 Bill Gates Demonstrates the Start Button
18:12 Comparing Windows 95 against Windows for Workgroups 3.11
20:15 Windows 95 Upgrade Volunteers (Chicago CD vest guy)
24:20 Gates' PowerPoint outlining Windows 95's key technical features
30:59 Demonstration of Networking Features (easy printer installation, group policies)
34:15 Microsoft Mousemobile
35:20 More Beta Tester Testimonies (Ford Motor Company)
39:49 Even More Beta Tester Testimonies from Other Companies
44:09 Bill Gates Discusses End User Benefits of Windows 95
46:11 Pavilion Tour, 3D Gaming Demo
48:29 Windows 95 Upgrade Under Way, Plug and Play Devices Installed
49:06 Yet More Beta Tester Testimonies (Artists, researching on Encarta, the simplicity of AutoPlay)
52:20 Microsoft Office 95 Demonstration
1:05:36 Windows 95 Upgrade Complete, PCMCIA Demo
1:06:28 Bill Miller Demonstrates the Microsoft Network
1:12:54 Windows 95 On-Line Launch Event website
1:16:19 Microsoft Plus! Companion for Windows 95 Demonstration (Space Cadet Pinball is shown here briefly before Jay interrupts Bill yet again)
1:20:23 Brad Silverberg's Closing Notes
1:24:23 Start Me Up advertisement (1st preview)
1:25:36 The Windows 95 Development Team!
1:29:18 Ending, 3D Windows 95 Logo Animation
1:29:47 Empty space on the tape, included only for completeness