You're listening to 20,000 Hertz.

What you just heard was a collection of all the Windows startup sounds from 1992 through

2009. If you used a Windows computer during that time, there's a good chance that one of those

sounds triggered some serious nostalgia. Sonically, these startup sounds might seem like they're all over the place, but they make

a lot more sense when you know the context around their creation.

These little sounds are like snapshots in time.

They can take us back to what Microsoft was thinking at key moments in their history.

As explained in our last episode, it all started in the early 90s with Windows 3.1.

That startup celebrated that Windows could actually play sound.

With Windows 95, composer Brian Eno gently encouraged people to explore this new world.

The next two sounds were very futuristic,

as Microsoft showed off what these machines could really do.

Then they went in the opposite direction,

using orchestral sounds that made these devices feel friendly and familiar.

With Windows 7, they returned to an electronic sound,

but this time it was softer and more approachable.

By the time Windows 7 launched in 2009, Microsoft had already started working on their next version, Windows 8.

It was going to be a huge revamp where they redesigned the operating system from the ground up.

To go along with this, they wanted to take the startup sound in a new direction.

We did create one for Windows 8, and we test it. startup sound in a new direction.

We did create one for Windows 8, and we tested it.

That's sound designer Matthew Bennett, who worked at Microsoft for over a decade.

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