2 ms·

I worked at an early ISP, and Windows 95 really simplified dialup Internet, since TCP/IP, PPP, etc was all built in! With 3.1, you had to install Trumpet Winsoc

I worked at an early ISP, and Windows 95 really simplified dialup Internet, since TCP/IP, PPP, etc was all built in! With 3.1, you had to install Trumpet Winsock just to get online. It was tons of extra steps and painful for both users and the ISP to support.

cogman10 3y ago
Internet explorer was also a big thing. Having a web browser built into the OS was a major enabler to getting people online. (Though, it wasn't in windows 95, it was part of the "plus" expansion pack :D)
devilbunny 3y ago
Huh. I was supporting myself by buying cheap NE2000 clones and doing installs for students wanting onto the campus Ethernet. It took me a while to figure out the first one, but after that the DOS-mode packet drivers and Winsock were a lot less finicky than Win95's. 95 always wanted you to clear IP assignments, reboot, then assign the (static) IP you were supposed to have. Then reboot again for it to take effect. And it rarely seemed to work the first time you did that process. With most non-new PC's being a bit anemic for 95 at the time, especially all the disk activity, I was happy on 3.11 for several more years. I tried 95B on my 486-66, but was never really happy with the performance. I was happy with packet drivers on the campus network and the wonderful ETHERPPP package that did all the dial, connect, handshake stuff and then emulated a packet driver if I was stuck needing dialup (which, considering I was still using a 14.4k modem because I had no need for dialup speed most of the time, was not ideal). You could use the NCSA Telnet (+ ftp, etc.) software for DOS, and seamlessly start using Winsock in Windows (or native TCP/IP with WfW 3.11) without a reboot. But I'm sure that built-in, especially for dialup, was far easier for ISP's to support.

2 ms·

I worked at an early ISP, and Windows 95 really simplified dialup Internet, since TCP/IP, PPP, etc was all built in! With 3.1, you had to install Trumpet Winsoc

by icedchai 3y ago

cogman10 3y ago
Internet explorer was also a big thing. Having a web browser built into the OS was a major enabler to getting people online. (Though, it wasn't in windows 95, it was part of the "plus" expansion pack :D)
devilbunny 3y ago
Huh. I was supporting myself by buying cheap NE2000 clones and doing installs for students wanting onto the campus Ethernet. It took me a while to figure out the first one, but after that the DOS-mode packet drivers and Winsock were a lot less finicky than Win95's. 95 always wanted you to clear IP assignments, reboot, then assign the (static) IP you were supposed to have. Then reboot again for it to take effect. And it rarely seemed to work the first time you did that process. With most non-new PC's being a bit anemic for 95 at the time, especially all the disk activity, I was happy on 3.11 for several more years. I tried 95B on my 486-66, but was never really happy with the performance. I was happy with packet drivers on the campus network and the wonderful ETHERPPP package that did all the dial, connect, handshake stuff and then emulated a packet driver if I was stuck needing dialup (which, considering I was still using a 14.4k modem because I had no need for dialup speed most of the time, was not ideal). You could use the NCSA Telnet (+ ftp, etc.) software for DOS, and seamlessly start using Winsock in Windows (or native TCP/IP with WfW 3.11) without a reboot. But I'm sure that built-in, especially for dialup, was far easier for ISP's to support.