Today marks 30 years since Microsoft released Windows NT 4.0 for retail sale on 24 August 1996, the version that finally merged the stable but old-fashioned NT operating system with the modern Explorer desktop interface introduced by Windows 95. Coincidentally, this is also the 31st anniversary of Windows 95 itself, which launched on 24 August 1995. NT 4 mattered because it ended an awkward period in which Microsoft's two operating system lines looked completely different, bringing the familiar Start menu and Explorer shell to the more robust NT kernel used in business and enterprise settings.

Earlier NT releases (3.1, 3.5 and 3.51) were praised for stability but retained the dated Program Manager and File Manager interface inherited from Windows 3 and OS/2, and demanded serious hardware for their time, with a usable 1993 setup costing over £5,000. Windows 95's Explorer shell, developed under the codename "Chicago", introduced concepts such as "My Computer" and "Network Neighborhood" partly to avoid resembling Apple's Mac interface too closely, though it also had quirks like a single-process desktop that froze during file operations. Porting that Explorer interface onto the NT kernel for the "Shell Update Release" was a non-trivial task, complicated by NT's native Unicode support, but it gave rise to NT 4.0, the release that started unifying Microsoft's consumer and business Windows experiences.