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Watch Steve Ballmer go nuts in this parody Microsoft Windows ad from 1986
Today, November 20th, is the 30th birthday of Microsoft Windows 1.0, the operating system that sparked a PC revolution.
Which also means that Windows and I share a birthday. Happy birthday, Windows! Happy birthday, me!
To celebrate the occassion, check out this amazing parody "ad" for Windows 1.0 from 1986, featuring Steve Ballmer in a parody video intended to boost employee morale around the launch.
At this point, Ballmer was not yet CEO, but had been with the company for six years as its first-ever business manager.
In this ad, Ballmer channels his inner informercial pitchman: "That's right! It's $99! It's an incredible value, but it's true! It's Windows from Microsoft!" It's a hilarious precursor to the manic energy he brought as CEO.
And in case you were wondering, per a Quora answer, the "Except in Nebraska" thing he closes it out with is just because at the time, the Bell Telephone Company monopoly wouldn't let call centers have 1-800 toll free numbers for both in- and out-of-state calling.
Since Microsoft's call center was in Nebraska, they could accept calls from the other 49 United States, but locals were out of luck. It was actually a common practice at the time, since Nebraska was a popular call center location.
For comparison, here's an ad for Windows 10, released this year. Note the, ahem, improved production values:
And, because it's never not funny, here's Steve Ballmer famously chanting "Developers, Developers, Developers" at a Microsoft event years later:
I had actually long thought that the Windows 1.0 commercial was real. But I'm informed by a reliable source that in reality, this was just Ballmer having some fun for Microsoft employees — and the company didn't even make TV ads until much later.
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