15 Years of Microsoft Bob

harrymcc writes "Microsoft Bob — still synonymous in the tech industry with 'embarrassing flop' — shipped fifteen years ago this week, on March 31st, 1995. When the Windows interface featuring animated cartoon helpers was announced, it was hyped to the heavens and briefly accepted as a breakthrough that showed where software was going. Instead, dismal reviews and poor sales killed it after only a year on the market. At Technologizer, we're marking the anniversary with a complete look at how it came to be and why it failed so resoundingly — and how Microsoft tried again with Office's 'Clippy' and other attempts to revive the basic idea."

Comments

Like Java

[GigsVT]

s was announced it was hyped to the heavens and briefly accepted as a breakthrough that showed where software was going.

Kind of like Java.

Except Java's hype produced a cult that was so dead set on making a bad idea work that they actually did hammer it into something barely usable.