D2CA.ORG - Dan's 20th Century Abandonware - Microsoft® Bob™ Exhibit

Microsoft had a unique and colorful packaging design for Microsoft Bob. Not seen on store shelves much these days, featured below are digital photos and scanned images of my retail and OEM packages of Microsoft Bob 1.00 and 1.0a.

Microsoft Bob 1.00 retail packages - 1995

Microsoft Bob 1.00 retail packages
Copyright © 1995 Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft Bob 1.00 was released in two different retail packages -- one with 3½" 1.68MB DMF floppy disks and one with a CD- ROM disc. Image 1 above is a digital photo of the front of both retail packages, still in their original shrinkwrap. These titles are part of my legacy software collection.

The only differences in the outside packaging art is the floppy media package states it contains 3.5" high-density disks on the front of the package, the CD-ROM package has an icon of a compact disc with "CD-ROM" underneath it on the front of its package, and the system requirements are different on the back (a CD-ROM drive is required for the CD-based release).

On the back of the Microsoft Bob 1.00 retail package is an advertisement (image 4, image 8) for the only software program created by Microsoft for Microsoft Bob, Microsoft Great Greetings. I have an original shrinkwrap retail package of Microsoft Great Greetings (image 9). Educational Insights Interactive created two add-on modules for Bob GeoSafari, Animals & Science. Beyond these titles, I know of no other retail, shareware, or freeware programs created for Microsoft Bob. Do you?

Microsoft Satisfaction Guarantee Seal
This seal is emblazoned on the back of the retail package of Microsoft Bob 1.00 (image 4, image 10). This 90-day money back "satisfaction guarantee" was also put on other "Microsoft Home" software titles. You won't find this seal on retail packages of Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, or any other Microsoft title that is not part of the "Microsoft Home" series which ended in 1996. This offer was not valid for OEM copies of Microsoft Bob that were bundled with PC purchases.

Under the satisfaction guarantee seal is the statement, "Good in the U.S. and Canada only." On top of the retail packages it reads, "For distribution in the United States and Canada only."

Given the negative publicity about Microsoft Bob in 1995, how many people actually returned their retail copies of Microsoft Bob?

Microsoft Bob 1.00 Retail CD-ROM
The front CD case insert art is identical for both the retail and OEM versions of Microsoft Bob 1.00. The side insert, however, sports different fonts for the "Bob™" portion of the label between the retail and OEM versions. The content on the back of the CD- ROM cases is different for obvious reasons (image 13).

The CD-ROM labels of the retail and OEM versions are also different, but Microsoft also changed the slogan for the OEM CD label. The slogan for the retail CD-ROM label is the same as on the front of the retail package, "Hard-working, Easy-going software Everyone Will Use." The slogan on the OEM CD-ROM label of Microsoft Bob, however, is, "Essential Programs for Everyday Home Computing," (image 12) which is also the same slogan they use on the retail 3½" floppy disk labels (image 11).

Microsoft Bob 1.0a Gateway 2000 Edition
In 1995, Microsoft and Gateway 2000 made an agreement to distribute a special "Gateway 2000 Edition" of Microsoft Bob 1.0a with Gateway 2000 personal computers. This special edition of Microsoft Bob was included with a bundle of other Microsoft software on a CD-ROM disc (image 14).

The Gateway 2000 PCs this special edition of Microsoft Bob was bundled with ran the then-new Windows 95 operating system. On the front CD insert of the Microsoft software bundle, the title for Microsoft Bob reads, "Microsoft® Bob™ 1.0 for Windows®" while other titles end with "for Windows® 95."

Note in image 14 that the Microsoft Bob, Microsoft Entertainment Pack, and Microsoft Home CD Sampler titles do not end with "for Windows® 95." This is because Microsoft Bob and these other titles are actually 16-bit Windows titles, capable of running on Microsoft Windows 3.1x.

Microsoft Bob Decal Sheet
A sheet of six decals of the Bob logo and "Bob faces" was included in the retail package of Microsoft Bob 1.00 (image 15). The shading of these "Bob faces" gives Microsoft Bob an almost sinister appearance. Rather frightening.

The Bob Magazine
This "premiere issue" of The Bob Magazine is a print publication Microsoft included with the retail version of Microsoft Bob 1.00 (image 16). On the inside cover of The Bob Magazine it states, "Welcome to the Microsoft® Bob™ Magazine! This is your 'manual' for Bob."

However, the back of the retail packaging of Microsoft Bob 1.00 states, "You don't need a manual" (image 4, image 8).
And the "Home Tour" states "Woof, woof! Where's the manual? There isn't one!"

So, The Bob Magazine is the "manual" for the graphical environment that claims it doesn't need and doesn't have one. Hmm...

The Bob Magazine contains the following sections:
- Are you new to computers?
- A day in your life with Bob
- Pay On-Line(sm) with Checkbook
- Working with Bob
- Introducing the Friends of Bob
- Make your own great cards
- Beyond plain paper
- Stay in touch with E-mail
- Animals and Science
- Making yourself at home
- Setting up Bob
- Home repair

On the back of The Bob Magazine is a paragraph called "Make a wish!" that states if there are "changes" users wanted in "the next version of Microsoft Bob" they could write, telephone, or e-mail Microsoft with them.

Originally, Microsoft had planned to release an updated Microsoft Bob 2.0 that would have addressed many of the issues pointed out here at D2CA. But due to the massive criticizm of Microsoft Bob 1.0x by the computer industry and computer users, and because at that time Microsoft had just released Windows 95 with its new graphical interface, Microsoft decided not to release future versions of Microsoft Bob. In reality, a Microsoft Bob 2.0 would have been another new graphical environment competing with the then-new graphical interface of Windows 95 (a Microsoft developer who was part of the Microsoft Bob development team contributed to this paragraph's content).

The Bob Magazine has 29 pages total. The other 28 pages cannot be shown because this is a copyrighted publication by Microsoft Corporation. Just as this site cannot offer downloads of Microsoft Bob because it is a copyrighted program, showing all of the content of The Bob Magazine would amount to as much of an infringement on Microsoft's copyright of this publication.

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