In the early 2000s, fans began making pilgrimages to Sonoma, California, to find the exact GPS coordinates of the hill. They wanted to stand where O’Rear stood. But when they got there, they found a horror show for nostalgia.
In January 1998 (four years before XP launched), O’Rear was driving from his home in St. Helena, California, to visit his girlfriend in Novato. He was on Highway 12, passing through the Sonoma Valley. It had rained the night before—a rare, heavy winter rain that washed the pollution out of the sky and turned the grass an almost radioactive shade of green. original windows xp wallpaper
That beautiful, sweeping vista?
And it will still be the most beautiful desktop you’ve ever had. In the early 2000s, fans began making pilgrimages
If you visit today, you can’t see the horizon. You see agriculture. The digital Eden has been reclaimed by the real world. Microsoft retired Bliss after Windows XP reached End of Life. But it never really left us. It’s the meme behind the "Clean your desktop" jokes. It’s the standard by which all default wallpapers are judged (and found wanting). In January 1998 (four years before XP launched),