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The first Windows key (center) used by Windows 95. The Windows key (also known as win, start, logo, flag or super [1] key) is a keyboard key which was originally introduced on Microsoft's Natural Keyboard in 1994. Windows 95 used it to bring up the start menu and it then became a standard key on PC keyboards.
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It might seem like the Windows key has always been with us, but it hasn't. It first appeared in September 1994 on the Microsoft Natural Keyboard. This ergonomic keyboard was in the same vein as the earlier Apple Adjustable Keyboard, which split the standard QWERTY keyboard in half. Unlike Apple's keyboard, though, Microsoft's tilted each half at gentle angles to reduce wrist strain.
By this point, Microsoft had already created other hardware products, including its widely acclaimed mice. When it was time to create its first keyboard, someone at Microsoft had the brilliant idea of including a permanent piece of Windows branding on it. This resulted in two Windows keys, located between the Control and Alt keys to the left and right of the space bar.
These new keys would justify themselves by becoming the new meta-keys for enhanced Windows shortcuts, similar to the Command key on the Mac. When pressed once, the Windows key opened the Start menu in Microsoft Windows 95 (released almost a year after the keyboard).
When used in combination with other keys, the Windows key could perform other Windows-related tasks, like opening File Explorer (Windows+E).
In addition to the Windows keys, the Natural Keyboard also had a Menu key designed to open the right-click context menu on Windows 95.
Soon after its release, the Natural Keyboard became a runaway success, selling 600,000 units a month at the height of its popularity. (In February 1996, Byte Magazine reported "nearly 1 million" units had been sold during its first year on the market). This success spawned a long-running ergonomic keyboard series at Microsoft that continues to this day.
Not everyone was a fan of the new Windows and Menu keys, however. Gamers, in particular, soon discovered the Windows key got in the way when playing many of the thousands of MS-DOS games that used the Control and Alt keys as action buttons, like Doom.
Additionally, if you played an MS-DOS game on Windows, or even just a full-screen Windows game, pressing the Windows key often launched the Start menu. This not only jolted players out of their game, but, in some cases, it also crashed the game.
Remedies included physically removing the Windows key from a keyboard with a screwdriver or running a utility like WinKey Killer that disabled the key via software. Today, you can disable the Windows key with a utility like Microsoft PowerToys.
Related: How to Disable the Windows Key on Windows 10
Beyond gaming, not everyone needed or appreciated having to use an extra modifier key. Even Brad Silverberg, former senior vice president of Microsoft's Personal Systems Division and one of Windows 95's main architects, doesn't use it.
"I just never got in the habit of using the Windows key," Silverberg told How-To Geek. "I don't use many keyboard shortcuts in general. It's just how my brain and fingers work."
As we mentioned above, a single press of the Windows key opens the Start Menu. (It's no coincidence the Start button is also the Windows logo.)
When used in combination with other keys, the Windows key can launch dozens of tasks in Windows 10, including the following:
•Windows+I: Opens Settings.
•Windows+E: Opens File Explorer.
•Windows+D: Shows/hides the desktop.
•Windows+F: Opens the Search box.
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Many features have since become key components of the Microsoft Windows series, such as the Start menu and the taskbar, originated in Windows 95. Neil MacDonald, a Gartner analyst, said that Windows 95 "was a quantum leap in difference in technological capability and stability."
Windows 95 (codenamed Chicago) is a consumer version of Microsoft Windows released by Microsoft in 1995. It is the first major release in the Windows 9x operating system line, and was designed to be the successor of Windows 3.1.
Jul 25, 2020 · The first three digits can be anything from 001 to 366 (intended for leap years but that isn’t actually checked), and the last two are the year, anything from 95 to 03 (02 for Windows 95) is considered valid. For example, a key with 19296 as the first segment was printed on the 10th of July 1996.
Oct 18, 2019 · The time is the '90s. The place: My dad's new keyboard, arrived fresh with our exciting state-of-the-art Pentium tower running Windows 95. Our new keyboard had a key I'd never seen before, with a...
Aug 24, 2020 · On August 24, 1995, Microsoft launched Windows 95. This innovative, and highly-successful PC operating system weaned people who used PCs off of command lines. It also made Microsoft a household name. Here's why Windows 95 was so special.
