The Microsoft Sound was composed by ambient musician Brian Eno for Microsoft's Windows 95, released in 1995. Asked to make a piece just a few seconds long that felt optimistic and futuristic, Eno famously produced dozens of variations before Microsoft chose the final shimmering startup cue. It became one of the most heard pieces of music in the world as Windows spread. Today creators still use it as audio shorthand for 90s computing, much like any classic notification chime from the early internet era.