R/windowsbetas: The home for betas/builds of Microsoft Windows! Share your experiences, discuss and showcase your favourite beta version of Windows. Windows 95 build 56 is a fake build of Windows 95, which was originally uploaded by BetaArchive member maxsoft on 25 January 2009. It was removed from the BetaArchive FTP server on 1 June 2012, along with builds 73 and 78. These builds were said to be made with files from various other builds and modified to report a different version number.
Location: GUIs > Windows > Chicago Beta-1screen shots
| One day while browsing the net I stumbled across an old MS-Word documenttitled 'Microsoft Windows Chicago Reviewers guide'. It contains screenshots and lengthy descriptions of Microsoft's Chicago Beta-1 operatingsystem from around May 1994. It has some very interesting information,so I decided to convert it to HTML and post it here. It is a very, verylong document with quite a bit of marketing fluff in some sections andtechnical detail in other. As a result I decided just to include the sectionsand images relevant the Chicago GUI desktop. Sections that I omitted aredenoted by [...]. If you want to see the original document, it can be downloaded here:ReviewersGuide to Chicago Beta-1/Early Windows 95 (Word 6 format) Interesting things:
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The Desktop: Neat, Clean, and Logical
After you boot into Chicago, you are presented with the new Chicagodesktop (see Figure below). It’s neat and clean with only a few graphicalobjects on the screen. It’s like moving into a new office beforeyou have the chance to really get it messy.
Figure 5. The Chicago Desktop
The simplicity of the desktop appeals to all users’ sense of cleanlinessbut also serves to focus the novice user on the essentials:
- Taskbar. Quickly start a program from the Start Button. Easily switch tasks.
- My Computer: Makes browsing your PC logical and easy.
- Network Neighborhood. In the world of mapped drives and complexinterfaces, users are unable to browse the network. Chicago’s NetworkNeighborhood makes browsing networks possible and easy, independent ofthe network provider (such as, Windows NT Advanced Server, NetWare, orChicago itself).
- Info Center. Optionally installed. Gives the user asingle place to go to access all MAPI-provided information (such as, Mail,Microsoft At Worktm faxing).
More than any other feature, the Taskbar exemplifies the order of magnitudeimprovement in ease of use and learnability of the Chicago UI. Itis the anchor of the UI. Its mission is to make 95% of what a typicaluser wants to do with the operating system easily accessible at all times. An indicator of a great design is that it turns out to be much more thanit was originally intended. The Taskbar started out specificallyas a novice user program launcher and task switcher. However, itssimplicity and power have turned out to be favorites of experienced windowsusers, and it has many more capabilities.
Figure 6. The Chicago Taskbar
The two key features of the Taskbar are the Start Button and Push-buttontask switching.
The Start Button: Up and Running in Seconds
Usability tests on Windows 3.1 show that it takes a brand new Windowsuser an average of nine minutes to open 'Write'. With Chicago, openingWordpad takes a new user an average of three minutes. If only theusers that launched Wordpad via the Start Button (rather than by othermeans) are counted the average time to launch drops below one minute! The main reason for this dramatic 3x-9x speed improvement is the StartButton. Without ever having to know about double clicking, complexhierarchies, or program manger groups, a beginning Chicago user can quicklylaunch a program and get to work.
Figure 7. The Chicago Start Button
However, the Start button is much more than a super-efficient programlauncher.
- Programs. During Setup the user is asked to select his orher most often used programs. These programs are placed in the Programsmenu of the Start Button. In the future the user can easily changethe programs that appear on this menu by selecting Taskbar Settings rightfrom the Start Button. For upgrades, all of their Windows 3.1 programgroups are converted to folders within the programs folder and are accessiblefrom the Start Button.
- Documents. The Documents menu of the Start button containsa list of the last 15 documents the user opened. It provides veryquick access to the most recently edited files. This helps preventtime-consuming and frustrating browsing and helps people begin to thinkof their work in terms of documents ('document-centricity'), rather thanapplications.
- Settings. Gives quick access to the Control Panel, the Printersfolder, and the Fonts Folder. It also allows the user to customizethe Taskbar itself (such as, what programs to include in Start Programsmenu) to suit personal working preferences.
- Find. Find is a new feature of Chicago that goes far beyondFile Manager’s File Search feature in Windows 3.1. Searches do neednot conform to the *.* searching syntax, and criteria such as last modificationdate, size of file, and full text can now be used. More on Find in'Power' below.
- Help Topics. Help has been overhauled for usability in Chicagoand is easily accessible from the Start menu. See 'Help' topic laterin this section for details.
- Run. Provides enhanced command-line type functionality fromthe Start Button.
- Shutdown. Allows for easily accessible and safe shutdown,restart, and logoff.
Task Switching Made Simple From the Taskbar
Novices need powerful features presented to them in a very simple andcompelling way, otherwise these features will not be used. Researchon active Windows users shows that only 27% of general Windows users frequentlyuse more than one application at a time and only 20% frequently use ALT+TABtask switching. These powerful features of Windows 3.1 are simplynot discoverable.
The objective of the Taskbar is to make switching among multiple applicationsas simple as changing channels on a television set. Every new windowthat is opened automatically gets a button on the Taskbar. To changetasks, all the user must do is go to the Taskbar and select the desiredchannel. No more minimized program icons, no more disappearing windows. No matter where the user is, he or she can see all of his or her activetasks simply by looking at the Taskbar, the Windows TV guide.
Task Buttons re-size automatically depending on the number of activetasks. Should the buttons get too small to be useful the user cancustom configure the Taskbar. In fact, there are a host of WindowsTaskbar configuration options that allow the user to configure it to fithis or her needs including:
- Reposition. The Windows Taskbar can be dragged to any perimeterposition on the screen.
- Re-size. The width of the Windows Taskbar can be widened bydragging the inside edge.
- Auto Hide. The Windows Taskbar can be hidden from the screenand made appear only when the mouse hits the screen edge by selecting Settings,Taskbar from the Start Button.
An Easier Model for File Management and Browsing
File management and browsing in Windows 3.1 was not intuitive. Fewer than 55% of general Windows users regularly use the File Manager. For novice users the File Manger is especially confusing and intimidating.
Figure 8. Browsing My Computer
New Windows and Large Icons Work for those new to Windows
Designing a discoverable and comfortable model for browsing and filemanagement for the novice user has been a priority for the UI design teambecause of the observed difficulties with Windows 3.1. Several significantlydifferent designs have been tested and thrown out. In the courseof this testing the design team made a few basic discoveries about filemanagement and browsing:
- Exposed hierarchies are intimidating and unintuitive.
- Dual-pane views (hierarchy on the left, contents on the right) are alsointimidating and unintuitive. Novices have difficulty understandingthe connection between the logical tree hierarchy on the left and the contentspane on the right.
- Object-Oriented UI is great for basic tasks, but not for complex ones. There exists a general belief that the more object oriented a UI is theeasier it is for the user. This is an appealing theory, but in reallife this is not the case. Direct manipulation of screen objectsand logical resulting behaviors are important for basic functionality (suchas, dragging a file from a folder to the desktop). However, advanceddirect manipulation features such as dragging a file to a printer icon,are not intuitive. Intuitively, users understand selecting an objectwith the mouse then browsing menus or buttons for actions to perform onthat object.
- Large icon views are much more comfortable than list views.
- A novice’s ability to find what he is looking for and feeling comfortableand 'grounded' along the way are the defining characteristics of a goodbrowsing experience. Efficiency and speed are less important.
Note Multiple configuration options are available to experiencedusers in View Options.
Chicago has a very powerful dual-pane browsing application for Experiencedusers called the Explorer, which is likely how you, as an experienced user,will prefer to browse. The Explorer will be covered in 'Power' below. Additionally, the File Manager can be run for backwards compatibility.
New Capabilities in the Default Browsing Model
New capabilities of the default browsing model should not be overlookedin this discussion of simplicity. Folders can be created within folders. Files and folders respond very logically to being dragged and dropped. Files and folders can be cut, copied, and pasted just like text and objectswithin applications. Views can be customized by the user and eachwindow 'remembers' how the user last configured it, so that the next timeit opens it is in the user’s favorite view. The best way to discoverthe capabilities of the default browsing model is to play with it yourself,or better yet, find a novice user and watch him use it.
Windows Chicago Build 58 Iso Free
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Name Files in English with Long Filenames
By far, the number one most requested feature since Microsoft has beenin the operating system business is long filenames. The usabilitywin by eliminating the need to conform to the 8.3 naming convention isobvious and large. To ensure backwards compatibility with the universeof existing MS-DOS and Win16 applications, extensions have not been eliminated,just hidden from view by default.
Figure 9. Chicago long filename
Additionally, files can be renamed in place in Chicago by selectingthe file, clicking on the filename, and typing a new name. The hiddenfile extension is not affected by renaming the file. Files can alsobe renamed from within the new Chicago common dialogs (including File Openand Save).
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Network Neighborhood and Networking Accessibility
This section will discuss how the Chicago client makes browsing networkspossible and easy, independent of the network provider (such as, WindowsNT Advanced Server, Netware, or Chicago itself). For more detailsabout Chicago’s networking capabilities, see the section called 'ChicagoNetworking and Systems Management.'
The Network Neighborhood icon, shown in the figure below, sits on thedesktop and logically separates for the user the place to go to browseresources not on 'My Computer'. The user can easily browse the networkvia the Network Neighborhood just as if he or she were browsing his orher hard disk.
Figure 10. Network Neighborhood desktop iconin Chicago
- The Network Neighborhood is also configured by the administratorto display, at the top level only those PCs, servers, and printers thatare in the user’s immediate workgroup. This insulates the user fromthe vastness of large corporate networks. However, if the user wantsto browse the larger network, this can be done by opening 'Entire Network'from within the Network Neighborhood. This was not possible priorto Chicago. When a user browses servers, network connections arebeing made without ever having 'mapped' a drive.
- System-wide support for UNC pathnames makes obsolete the unnecessaryprocess of 'mapping' drives (assigning new drive letters to a specificnetwork resource). This technology allows the natural networkbrowsing observed through the Network Neighborhood. UNC pathnamesupport allows a whole host of usability improvements of which networkbrowsing is just one.
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- The 'Network' Control Panel tool consolidates all networking configurationin one location. Solves difficulty of configuring Windows networkingunder Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups 3.x.
- Easy drive mapping is also available in Chicago. There isa Map Network Drive button on the Explorer and browsing window toolbars. Also available via right-click on 'My computer' for power users. Mapped drives appear as persistent connections in 'My Computer'.
- Networking and mobility are intrinsic to the Chicago UI. TheChicago UI was designed from the ground up with networking and remote accessin mind. For example, when a file copy detects that the copy is beingperformed over a slow-link (modem connection), the copy dialog itself includesan 'estimated time to completion' clock.
- Networking integration with new common dialogs (including File Openand File Save). Full exploitation of new common dialogs throughoutthe system will not be implemented until Beta-2. However, key tothe great leap in usability of new common dialogs observed in the labs,is tight integration with networking. From new common dialogs, theNetwork Neighborhood can be browsed just like My Computer. Also,the majority of basic file management tasks can be performed from withincommon dialogs.
Online help has been completely re-tooled in Chicago. It underwentextensive usability testing in the labs and the result is a significantlyeasier to use and learn help system. Additionally, customizing anddeveloping Windows help files by ISVs and corporate customers has beenmade dramatically easier. A brief description of the major featuresof new Chicago Help follows.
- Simplified interface. Help in Windows 3.1 was difficult tolearn and use. It had three main functions: Contents, Search,and Glossary. The Contents view was not well organized and presentedand there was some ambiguity about which of the functions to use when. Chicago behaves much more intuitively and more like a real reference book. It only has two Tabs: Contents and Index.
- The 'Contents' Tab is organized like a book’s table of contents. Top level 'chapters' (iconically represented by a book) are displayed andcan be drilled down on for sub topics (iconically represented as a page). Many chapters also have 'Tips and Tricks' subsections. These haveproved popular in lab testing.
- Help Topics are short. They all fit in one small screen tokeep users from having to scroll through large, complicated help topics
Figure 11. Help Shortcut button
- Shortcut Buttons make using Help advice simple. New Shortcutbuttons are the most popular feature of Help. Some Help topics containthese shortcuts that take the user right to the area of Chicago that itis referencing. For example, a user who is searching for help onhow to change the clock on the PC can 'jump' right to the Clock ControlPanel tool, right from within Help. (see figure above).
- What’s This? From within all Chicago Control Panel tools,a new '?' icon appears on the upper-right of the Title Bar. By selectingthis the user’s cursor changes to a '?' and can be dropped on any targetin the dialog box. This brings up a short description of whateverwas selected. 'What’s this?' can also be accessed by right-clickingwithin Control Panel tools.
OLE 2 introduced document-centricity with in-place editing of objects. The application window changes and the document stays the same. Thismakes the software begin to work the way people work, rather than vice-versa.
Figure 12. New Word document template
The Chicago UI picks up on the concept of document-centricity in severalsubtle, but powerful ways including:
- A window is just an open view of an object. When the user opens afolder from anywhere in the UI, a new window opens up. The titleof the new window is the same as the name under the folder before the useropened it. This is logical. In the next generation of applicationswritten for Chicago, ISVs will follow this same model. A Word forChicago document called 'My document' is double-clicked from the anywherein the UI, and a new window (Word itself) is opened entitled 'My Document-MicrosoftWord'. This is partially implemented in Beta-1 with Wordpad and Paint.
- 'New' templates from within folders and in the Explorer. From withinany folder in Chicago or from the desktop, new files can be created inplace by selecting File New and then choosing a file type. This isvery convenient for managing files based on projects rather than the whimof an application.
Wizards: Your Guide to Powerful Capabilities
Started in Microsoft’s Applications Group, Wizards are a proven toolthat make it easy for all classes of user to take advantage of powerfulbut complex functionality. A series of questions are posed to theuser in a friendly and straight-forward way.
Figure 13. New Device Installation Wizard WalksUser Through Installing a Printer
Chicago uses Wizards throughout the system, including:
- Add Printer wizard in the Printers Folder
- New Device wizard in the Control Panel
Remote Access setup wizard in the Network Neighborhood
Windows Millennium Edition (internally Windows 4.90) was the last in the line of DOS-based Windows products. Like Windows 95 and Windows 98 it used the same hybrid 16/32 bit kernel that ran on top of a bundled version of DOS (MS-DOS 8.0).
Windows ME was often criticized for its poor stability. Microsoft had made numerous internal changes at the device driver level. However with the news that this architecture was at an end, vendors did not update their Windows 98 drivers for Windows ME. While existing 98 drivers usually 'worked', they were often buggy and unstable under ME. Additionally, users were becoming used to the increased stability of Windows 2000 (NT 5.0) and the new MacOS X.
Although Windows ME still runs on top of DOS, just like Windows versions back to 1.01, it crippled the ability to start up to or exit to DOS. Many Windows 95 and 98 users had relied on that, as many popular games and utilities were still DOS based. If you wish to set up an older computer for use with DOS programs, we recommend you use nothing later than Windows 98 SE.
Feature-wise, Windows ME changes the desktop appearance to be on par with Windows 2000. It adds Windows Movie Maker, Internet Games, System Restore, Explorer Web View, Personalized Menus, and new common dialogs.
Windows Chicago Build 58 Isolation
Windows ME targeted the home market, while the NT-based Windows 2000 targeted the business market. Initiated during the Windows 2.0 days, Microsoft finally realized its dream of merging these two markets under one single, more powerful OS, with the release of Windows XP.
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