Last week, the tech community marked the 31st anniversary of Windows 95, a milestone that continues to evoke discussions about its design influences. The conversation was reignited by a post from former Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer on X, which led to a lively exchange among ex-Microsoft employees regarding the potential British roots of the Windows 95 interface.
Former Microsoft executive Joe Belfiore was quick to respond, asserting that the NeXT dock did not inspire the Windows taskbar. Instead, he pointed to two key developments from the Cairo team: the design of a persistent “tray” at the bottom of the screen intended for easy file transfers between applications. Belfiore’s comments have already sparked further exploration into the origins of the taskbar.
The debate traces back to Paul Fellows, who led the original Arthur project at Acorn. His remarks during a discussion moderated by ROUGOL, the RISC OS User Group of London, highlighted Arthur’s influence on both NeXTstep and Windows. Fellows recounted his experience, stating, “I came up with the idea of the icon bar across the bottom… we thought ‘we can’t go across the top, we’ll have to go across the bottom – and we can’t use text, so we’ll have to use icons.'” This innovative thinking was a strategic move to differentiate from Apple’s menu bar design.
King Arthur
Arthur was the original operating system for Acorn’s RISC-based Archimedes computers, launched in 1987. Initially intended as a BASIC demo, Arthur’s desktop design, featuring the iconic icon bar, became a defining characteristic. By 1989, Acorn rebranded it as RISC OS, yet the foundational design elements remained unchanged.
Fellows’ insights were first shared during a ROUGOL event in 2012, and he has since reiterated these points in various forums, including a talk at the RISC OS London show in 2015, which is available on YouTube.
From a chronological perspective, Acorn’s Arthur appears to have introduced the first “icon bar” in 1987. Allegedly, a former Acorn engineer showcased the Archimedes to colleagues in California, paving the way for future innovations. The following year, Steve Jobs unveiled the NeXT Cube, and by 1988, NeXTstep was demonstrating its distinctive grayscale GUI.
In the broader context, Windows 2.0 was released in December 1987, followed by OS/2 1.1 in late 1988, both of which bore visual similarities to NeXTstep. The design evolution continued, culminating in Windows 3.0 in May 1990, which embraced a more pronounced 3D aesthetic.
While the historical timeline suggests that NeXTstep could have influenced later operating systems, it remains unclear whether direct consultation or copying occurred among the designers. The Microsoft Cairo project, referenced by Belfiore, ran from 1991 to 1996, coinciding with the development of Windows NT 4.
It is essential to note that while the Windows 95 taskbar and NeXT’s dock served different functions—primarily application switching versus launching—the historical context of these design elements is significant. The persistent strip along the bottom of the desktop first appeared in Acorn’s Arthur in 1987, followed by NeXTstep’s dock in 1988, leading up to the introduction of the Windows taskbar in 1995.
Which came first, Windows 95’s taskbar or NeXT’s Dock? Neither
Last week, the tech community marked the 31st anniversary of Windows 95, a milestone that continues to evoke discussions about its design influences. The conversation was reignited by a post from former Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer on X, which led to a lively exchange among ex-Microsoft employees regarding the potential British roots of the Windows 95 interface.
Former Microsoft executive Joe Belfiore was quick to respond, asserting that the NeXT dock did not inspire the Windows taskbar. Instead, he pointed to two key developments from the Cairo team: the design of a persistent “tray” at the bottom of the screen intended for easy file transfers between applications. Belfiore’s comments have already sparked further exploration into the origins of the taskbar.
The debate traces back to Paul Fellows, who led the original Arthur project at Acorn. His remarks during a discussion moderated by ROUGOL, the RISC OS User Group of London, highlighted Arthur’s influence on both NeXTstep and Windows. Fellows recounted his experience, stating, “I came up with the idea of the icon bar across the bottom… we thought ‘we can’t go across the top, we’ll have to go across the bottom – and we can’t use text, so we’ll have to use icons.'” This innovative thinking was a strategic move to differentiate from Apple’s menu bar design.
King Arthur
Arthur was the original operating system for Acorn’s RISC-based Archimedes computers, launched in 1987. Initially intended as a BASIC demo, Arthur’s desktop design, featuring the iconic icon bar, became a defining characteristic. By 1989, Acorn rebranded it as RISC OS, yet the foundational design elements remained unchanged.
Fellows’ insights were first shared during a ROUGOL event in 2012, and he has since reiterated these points in various forums, including a talk at the RISC OS London show in 2015, which is available on YouTube.
From a chronological perspective, Acorn’s Arthur appears to have introduced the first “icon bar” in 1987. Allegedly, a former Acorn engineer showcased the Archimedes to colleagues in California, paving the way for future innovations. The following year, Steve Jobs unveiled the NeXT Cube, and by 1988, NeXTstep was demonstrating its distinctive grayscale GUI.
In the broader context, Windows 2.0 was released in December 1987, followed by OS/2 1.1 in late 1988, both of which bore visual similarities to NeXTstep. The design evolution continued, culminating in Windows 3.0 in May 1990, which embraced a more pronounced 3D aesthetic.
While the historical timeline suggests that NeXTstep could have influenced later operating systems, it remains unclear whether direct consultation or copying occurred among the designers. The Microsoft Cairo project, referenced by Belfiore, ran from 1991 to 1996, coinciding with the development of Windows NT 4.
It is essential to note that while the Windows 95 taskbar and NeXT’s dock served different functions—primarily application switching versus launching—the historical context of these design elements is significant. The persistent strip along the bottom of the desktop first appeared in Acorn’s Arthur in 1987, followed by NeXTstep’s dock in 1988, leading up to the introduction of the Windows taskbar in 1995.