Here is a rundown of some quick statistics comparing Windows 95 and Windows Vista. All prices are in USD. All figures for Windows 95 seem to be verified and although there are sources for the Windows Vista figures, Microsoft has not officially confirmed them. Windows 95 contained 11.2 million lines of code while Vista is believed to be at 50 million. Windows 95 had approximately 200 programmers while Vista supposedly had 2,000, according one Microsoft developer"s blog.
The common retail price of Windows 95 was $89.95. The lowest amount you can pay for Vista (Home Basic Edition) is $99, and that"s an upgrade – the full retail version is more than double Windows 95"s price, $199. At the other extremity there is Windows Vista Ultimate Edition, ranging from $259 for the upgrade and $399 for the full. This of course, doesn"t consider OEM prices, but I decided to do a little hunting. At mwave.com, Home Basic is priced at $89.90 while an OEM copy of Windows 95 is currently going for $19.95, but that isn"t exactly a fair comparison. Anyone remember the OEM price for Windows 95 when it was released?