Microsoft has tweeted nostalgic and cryptic messages before, but this might be the first time the technology company has “announced” a baffling new product along with a celebration of its past.
On July 1, Microsoft posted nearly identical social media posts on Twitter and Instagram, announcing what seems to be a new (’80s-style) operating system named Windows 1.0. While the announcement of Windows 1.0 is most probably some sort of marketing campaign made in jest, that didn’t stop the technology company from posting an 1980s-themed ad for the new product or from touting its features, which apparently include MS-DOS Executive, Clock, and Paint (which was mentioned in the Instagram caption but not on Twitter).
Introducing the all-new Windows 1.0, with MS-Dos Executive, Clock, and more!! ???? ???? pic.twitter.com/guU4QxwsGG
— Windows (@Windows) July 1, 2019
Microsoft hasn’t released any further details on Windows 1.0, at least not anything beyond a “totally tubular” reply tweet. And that only adds to the confusion and to the pile of follow-up questions we have for these posts: Why include an ’80s throwback theme in the ad? Since Windows 1.0 doesn’t seem to be a real product, what exactly is Microsoft advertising? And what’s up with that pale blue logo at the end paired with the sad, plain serif font? That new logo seems important to whatever Microsoft has planned, because both of Microsoft’s Twitter and Instagram accounts feature it as the profile picture.
Cnet notes that the nostalgic social media posts may be tied to the fact that the third season of Netflix’s Stranger Things” is set to premiere on Thursday, July 4. That’s certainly possible, considering that the third season of “Stranger Things” is set in 1985, which, as Cnet points out, is also the year in which Microsoft’s first Graphical User Interface (GUI) was released.
Whatever Microsoft has in store for its customers, we just hope it isn’t just another branded merchandise giveaway, like Microsoft’s last nostalgic tweet, which was a throwback to the ’90s and Windows 95 that only resulted in a ugly sweater giveaway. That seemed like a missed opportunity to announce the release of ’90s-themed desktop games or even a line of ’90s-themed wearables. We could have had slap-bracelet smartwatches, but instead received a Windows 95 sweater. Hopefully, this campaign leads to something more useful.
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