August 24, 1995 was one of the biggest product launches in history — and it wasn't for a phone, a car, or a movie. It was for an operating system. Microsoft launched Windows 95 with a marketing blitz that included the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up," a Tonight Show appearance by Bill Gates, and midnight lines at computer stores that rivaled rock concerts.
At $209 for the upgrade version ($109 for existing Windows 3.1 users), Windows 95 introduced the Start menu, the taskbar, and long file names — features so fundamental that they're still part of Windows today, three decades later. It sold seven million copies in its first five weeks.
Windows 95 wasn't just software — it was a cultural event. It made personal computing accessible and intuitive for ordinary people. The internet browser (Internet Explorer) was bundled shortly after launch, setting the stage for the dot-com era. Microsoft's dominance of personal computing was cemented for the next two decades.
In August 1995, gold was trading around $383 per ounce. Your $209 would have bought about 0.55 ounces of gold. In 1995, gold was seen as a relic — why buy a shiny metal when tech stocks were doubling every year? The dot-com bubble was inflating, and gold was deeply out of fashion.
But fashions change. The dot-com bubble burst in 2000, and gold began a historic bull run. That "boring" half-ounce of gold has now multiplied many times over, while Windows 95 is a museum piece that can barely connect to the modern internet. Sometimes the Start menu you really need is the one at the gold dealer's shop.