2024-07-20 12:47:00
Dave explains to us that the menu To start up Windows 95 had to accommodate a wide variety of languages. So due to the hardware limitations of the time an innovative approach was needed to implement it effectively in Microsoft OS. Instead of using bitmaps, Dave chose another solution: using the GDI graphical interface. In other words, this means that instead of creating still images for each language and each version of the menu To start up, Dave used a programming method that allowed the computer to draw the menu directly on the screen. Thus, the menu could automatically and efficiently adapt to different languages and configurations, without requiring a large amount of memory to store multiple images. Very clever!
« To avoid multiple bitmaps, I chose to use the GDI graphical interface. So I created the blue-black gradient you see on the bar. I’m not sure if this idea came from me, a product designer, or if it just made sense given the look of our logo. Anyway, it was our logo » he explains.
This technique allowed not only dynamic adaptation to different languages, but also considerable flexibility given the very diverse hardware configurations of the time. The menu To start up could therefore adapt to the graphics capabilities of each machine without making them suffer too much.
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