From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Microsoft Home was a line of software
applications and personal hardware products published by Microsoft Corporation.
Microsoft Home software titles first appeared in the middle of
1993. These applications were designed to bring multimedia to Microsoft
Windows and Macintosh personal computers. With more
than 60 products available under the Microsoft Home brand by 1994,
the company's push into the consumer market took off. Microsoft
also announced at that time Microsoft Plus!, an add-on enhancement
package for Windows, which was continued until the Windows XP era. The range
of home software catered for many different consumer interests from
gaming with Microsoft Arcade and Entertainment Packs to
reference titles such as Microsoft
Encarta, Bookshelf and Cinemania. Shortly after the
release of Microsoft Windows
95, the company began to reduce the price of Microsoft Home
products and by the rise of the World Wide Web by 1998, Microsoft began
to phase out the line of software. Today, Microsoft Home products
can still be found on eBay and Amazon.com every once in
a while, and they are beginning to fetch collector prices. However,
some of them are available for download (albeit illegally) from various Internet websites dealing
with abandonware.
Titles
Microsoft Home produced software for all different uses and
environments. The products were divided into five categories:
Reference & Exploration, Entertainment, Kids, Home Productivity
& Small Business Management, Sounds, Sights & Gear. The
category in which the product was divided is identifiable by the
package. Generally, Reference & Exploration products have a
purple base color, Entertainment has a black base color, Kids has a
yellow base color, Home Productivity & Small Business
Management has a green color and Sounds, Sights & Gear products
have a grey or red base color. Note that many applications were
developed in conjunction with other reputable software and
reference companies. For example, Microsoft Musical Instruments was
developed with Dorling Kindersley.
Reference &
Exploration
Microsoft Home Reference products brought information to Multimedia Personal
Computers - it was an effective way of presenting and exploring
information before the World Wide Web became mainstream. These
products were embellished with hyperlink navigation systems, which were
relatively new at this time. Most of these products were released
on CD-ROM, giving the software
the ability to display high-resolution graphics and animations, and
play high-quality waveforms and MIDI files. These products proved that
personal computers would revolutionize the way that we find and
explore information.
Name |
Year of First Release |
Retail Price when New |
Microsoft Encarta '94 |
1994-2009 |
US$99.95/CAD$139.95 |
Microsoft Encarta Africana |
1999 |
|
Microsoft Bookshelf '94 |
1994 |
US$69.95/CAD$99.95 |
Microsoft Cinemania '95 |
1995 |
US$59.95/CAD$79.95 |
Microsoft Automap Streets |
1995 |
|
Microsoft Automap Road Atlas |
1995 |
|
Microsoft Music Central |
1996 |
|
Microsoft Complete Baseball |
1994 |
US$49.95/CAD$69.95 |
Microsoft Complete NBA Basketball |
1995 |
US$49.95/CAD$69.95 |
Microsoft Complete Gardening |
1996 |
|
Microsoft Reader's Digest Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide |
1996 |
|
Microsoft Oceans |
1995 |
|
Microsoft 500 Nations (North American Indian tribes and
civilizations) |
1995 |
|
Microsoft World of Flight |
1995 |
|
Microsoft Ancient Lands |
1994 |
US$59.95/CAD$79.95 |
Microsoft Dinosaurs |
1993 |
US$59.95/CAD$79.95 |
Microsoft Dangerous
Creatures |
1994 |
US$59.95/CAD$79.95 |
Microsoft Dogs |
1995 |
|
Microsoft Musical Instruments |
1992 |
US$59.95/CAD$79.95 |
Microsoft Isaac Asimov's The Ultimate Robot |
1993 |
US$59.95/CAD$79.95 |
Microsoft Art Gallery |
1994 |
US$59.95/CAD$79.95 |
Microsoft Wine Guide |
1995 |
|
Microsoft The Ultimate Frank Lloyd Wright: America's
Architect |
1994 |
US$59.95/CAD$79.95 |
Microsoft Composer Collection |
1995 |
US$79.95/CAD$109.95 |
Microsoft Multimedia Mozart: The Dissonant Quartet |
1992-1995 |
US$59.95/CAD$79.95 |
Microsoft Multimedia Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony |
1992-1995 |
US$59.95/CAD$79.95 |
Microsoft Multimedia Schubert: The Trout Quintet |
1992-1995 |
US$59.95/CAD$79.95 |
Microsoft Multimedia Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring |
1992-1995 |
US$59.95/CAD$79.95 |
Microsoft Multimedia Strauss: Three Tone Poems |
1992-1995 |
US$59.95/CAD$79.95 |
Microsoft BOB |
1995 |
US$99.00/ |
Entertainment
In the early 1990s, games on personal computers generally ran on
the now obsolete MS-DOS
operating system. However, with the introduction of Microsoft Windows 3.1x in 1992,
Microsoft Home published several entertainment applications that
implemented the new technologies of Microsoft Windows. Furthermore,
these applications encouraged the computer gamers of
the time to migrate from MS-DOS to Microsoft Windows. This
transition permitted better use of computer graphics,
revolutionized game programming and resulted in a
more realistic gaming experience. For example, Microsoft Windows
Entertainment Pack Games have remained a classic for computer
gamers, ever since their development in the early 1990s.
Name |
Year of First Release |
Retail Price when New |
Microsoft Fury3 |
1995 |
|
Microsoft Deadly
Tide (underwater fighting machines) |
1995 |
|
Microsoft Flight
Simulator 5.0 |
1993 |
US$49.95/CAD$64.95 |
Scenery Enhancements for Microsoft Flight Simulator Version
5.0:
- Microsoft Caribbean
- Microsoft Japan
- Microsoft Paris
- Microsoft New York
|
1995 |
US$34.95/CAD$49.95 |
Microsoft Flight
Simulator 5.1 |
1995 |
|
Microsoft Golf Version 2.0 |
1995 |
US$49.95/CAD$69.95 |
Microsoft Golf Version 1.0 (Multimedia Edition) |
1993 |
US$49.95/CAD$69.95 |
Microsoft Golf Championship Courses:
- Mauna Kea Championship Course
- Banff Springs Championship Course
- Pinehurst Championship Course
|
1993 |
US$24.95/CAD$34.95 |
Microsoft Space
Simulator |
1995 |
US$49.95/CAD$64.95 |
(The
Best of) Microsoft Entertainment Pack |
1995 |
US$24.95/CAD$34.95 |
Microsoft
Arcade |
1993 |
US$34.95/CAD$44.95 |
Microsoft Return of Arcade |
1998 |
|
Microsoft Revenge of Arcade |
|
|
Microsoft Pinball Arcade |
1998 |
|
Kids
Microsoft Home's software for kids was popular not only for home
use, but also in school and educational institutions. Microsoft
proved that the personal computer should not be daunting, but can
be used by the whole family. Tying in with the TV series, Microsoft
Scholastic's The
Magic School Bus was a highly successful series that continued
to be sold after Microsoft Home's kids range of software turned
into a subsidiary called Microsoft Kids.
Name |
Year of First Release |
Retail Price when New |
Microsoft Scholastic's The
Magic School Bus:
- Explores Bugs
- Explores in the Age of the Dinosaurs
- Explores Inside the Earth
- Explores the Human Body
- Explores the Ocean
- Explores the Rainforest
- Explores the Solar System
- Explores the World of Animals
|
1994 |
US$49.95/CAD$69.95 |
Microsoft Rudyard Kipling's "How the Leopard Got
His Spots" (a story from the Just So Stories for Little Children
collection). |
1995 |
US$49.95/CAD$69.95 |
Microsoft Paul
Bunyan |
|
|
Microsoft Gahan Wilson's The
Ultimate Haunted House |
1995 |
US$49.95/CAD$69.95 |
Microsoft Fine
Artist |
1993 |
US$49.95/CAD$69.95 |
Microsoft Creative Writer |
1993 |
US$49.95/CAD$69.95 |
Ghostwriter Mysteries for Creative Writer |
1995 |
US$19.95/CAD$29.95 |
P.J.'s Reading Adventures |
|
|
Microsoft 3D
Movie Maker |
1995 |
US$49.95/CAD$69.95 |
Microsoft Nickelodeon 3D Movie Maker |
1996 |
US$49.95/CAD$69.95 |
Microsoft Explorapedia:
- The World of People
- The World of Nature
|
1995 |
US$49.95/CAD$69.95 |
Home
Productivity & Small Business Management
Sights, Sounds &
Gear
Name |
Year of First Release |
Retail Price when New |
Microsoft Scenes Version 2.0
- Sierra Club Wildlife Collection
- Sierra Club Nature Collection
- Undersea Collection
- Sports Extremes Collection
- Personal Collection
- Outer Space Collection
- Flight Collection
- Hollywood Collection
- Brain Twister/Stereogram Collection
- Impressionist Collection
|
1994 |
US$24.95/CAD$34.95 |
Microsoft Natural
Keyboard |
1994 |
US$99.95/CAD$129.95 |
Microsoft Mouse |
1993 |
US$64.95/CAD$84.95 |
Microsoft Windows Sound System Version
2.0 |
1995 |
US$59.95/CAD$84.95 |
Microsoft Home Mouse |
1995 |
US$44.95/$59.95 |
Microsoft SoundBits
- Microsoft SoundBits - Hanna-Barbera
- Microsoft SoundBits - Hollywood
- Microsoft SoundBits - Musical Instruments
|
1992-1994 |
US$24.95/CAD$34.95 |
Legacy
References
- Microsoft Home Software Catalog Winter/Spring 1995 (from
Microsoft The Ultimate Frank Lloyd Wright) 1194 Part No.
098-56862
- Microsoft Knowledge Base
See also