Microsoft released Windows 95 in August 1995, and its startup music was created by ambient musician Brian Eno, who was asked to make a sound that was inspiring, universal and only a few seconds long. The result became one of the most recognisable computer sounds of the decade as millions of homes and offices adopted the system. As the operating system faded, the chime lived on through nostalgia videos, retro gaming streams and internet memes, where it now works as instant audio shorthand for the early personal computer era.