How Microsoft’s Windows 95 test nearly crashed an entire software store

The switch from Windows 3.x to Windows 95 was a big step for Microsoft and their software developers. Accordingly, Microsoft tested the compatibility of as many programs as possible when making the transition. Former Windows developer Raymond Chen described the process in detail in Microsoft’s developer blog.

As the story goes, Microsoft sent the development manager for Windows 95 to a local software store in his pickup truck, where he bought up all the available software—one physical copy of each program.