In Pictures: Microsoft codenames, a visual history

In its 37 years, Microsoft has not only created technologies that have shaped our world, it has also offered up some of the most memorable codenames in the tech business.

By Thor Olavsrud

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O'Hare (Internet Explorer 1)

Along with Windows 95, 1995 also saw the release of another product that would play a pivotal role in Microsoft's history: Internet Explorer 1. Codenamed O'Hare for the airport that Microsoft said would provide "a point of departure to distant places from Chicago," the browser would first be shipped in Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95. In time, Microsoft's decision to bundle the browser for free with its operating system would kick off the Browser Wars, leading to the ouster of Netscape Navigator as the world's preeminent Web browser.

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