KAUFMANN: It is less jarring and intrusive, but I had to wonder, and asked Ball, does anyone actually pay attention at the sound their computer makes when it starts up? STEVE BALL (Microsoft): So we went and brought in about 10 composing sound designers and asked them to submit candidates that could become this new startup sound.Īnd over the course of two years, we went from somewhere around 2,000 submissions and whittled it down to the new Windows Vista startup sounds. Microsoft's Steve Ball, who's both a musician and an engineer, was in charge of creating Vista's new sounds. It will be released to business customers later this month, and to consumers at the end of January. KAUFMANN: XP is about to be replaced with Vista, Microsoft's long-delayed upgrade to its operating system. KAUFMANN: Next, Windows XP, with a more literal and realistic sound. KAUFMANN: By Windows 2000, it had morphed into something synthetic and techno.
If you opened Windows 95, it sounded like this. WENDY KAUFMANN: We'll play a new sounds in just a minute, but first a bit of history. Here's NPR's Wendy Kaufmann with a sneak preview.
Microsoft is about to replace XP with Windows Vista and it comes with new sounds. MONTAGNE: Yes, that's the sound for Widows XP. And today's last word in business goes to the first sound you hear when Windows launches on your computer.
