Microsoft Bob - Wikipedia
Microsoft Bob was a Microsoft software product intended to provide a more user-friendly interface for the Windows 3.1x, Windows 95 and Windows NT operating systems, supplanting the Windows Program Manager. The program was released on March 11, 1995 and discontinued in early 1996. Microsoft Bob presented screens showing a house, with rooms that the user could visit containing familiar objects corresponding to computer applications, such as a desk with pen and paper and a checkbook. Clicking on the pen and paper would open the system's word processor.
Upon release, Microsoft Bob was criticized in the media and did not gain wide acceptance with users, which resulted in its discontinuation. Its legacy would be observed in future Microsoft products, notably the use of virtual assistants. The Rover character later reappeared as a Windows XP search companion.
Microsoft Bob was released in March 1995 (before Windows 95 was released), although it had been widely publicized under the codename Utopia.[3][4] The project leader for Bob was Karen Fries, a Microsoft researcher. The design was based on research by professors Clifford Nass and Byron Reeves of Stanford University.[5] Melinda Gates, wife of Bill Gates, was the marketing manager for the product.[6] Microsoft originally purchased the domain name bob.com from Boston-area techie Bob Antia, but later traded it to Bob Kerstein for the windows2000.com domain name.[7]
