Microsoft Bob

Microsoft Bob

Developer(s)	Microsoft
Initial release	March 10, 1995 (1995-03-10)
Stable release	1.00a / August 30, 1995 (1995-08-30)
Operating system	Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, XP
Type	GUI
License	Proprietary

Microsoft Bob is a computer program that was made by Microsoft. It was created to make Microsoft Windows easier and better for old people to use. The main character of the program was a cartoon styled dog named Rover. Microsoft Bob looks like a house that the user can move around in, this makes it good for both old and young people, because it will be familler. The user's computer programs can be moved around the room to look like things in the house, like calenders, pictures and clocks.

History

Microsoft Bob was released in March 1995 (before Windows 95 was released), although it had been widely made public before to that date under the codename "Utopia" and featuring a dog named "Rover".

Gateway 2000 Edition

A version of Microsoft Bob came with a computer called Gateway 2000 around 1995. It has the Gateway logo on the login screen of Microsoft Bob. It has more rooms and backgrounds that where not in the normal version, like the attic for example. It has a Gateway 2000 computer in the attic. Also, more icons appear in rooms already included.

Other websites

• Microsoft Bob Review
• Information about Microsoft Bob version 1.0 for Windows
• The GUI Gallery: Microsoft Bob' Examining Bob in the context of other graphical user interfaces
• A short computing history (story and slideshow) of Bobs from Microsoft Bob to Bob Metcalfe to Alice & Bob.
• A more in-depth article about Microsoft Bob (in German)
• Video of the Microsoft Bob in action at YouTube
• Modern Microsoft Bob Support