• 30 years later, the iconic ‘Bliss’ green hill from Windows XP is still thriving - lucky passerby captures the hill looking almost identical to the 1996 photograph in ‘super rare’ event Still got it. • Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. • You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful For the release of Windows XP, Microsoft picked out a default wallpaper featuring a then-random rolling green hill and named it “Bliss.” Almost immediately, it became a worldwide sensation, largely due to the operating system’s prevalence, turning common terrain into an icon. • Decades later, it’s hard to find that hill in the same condition because it’s usually covered in dead grass, but one lucky Redditor managed to capture it at the perfect time of the year. • windows from r/windows/comments/1r8iper/windows_xp_bliss_hill_looking_almost_identical_to In the picture above, the hill looks almost identical to the original wallpaper, and that’s because OP was very lucky. • This is actually a privately owned hill in Sonoma County, in the small town of Napa, and it’s usually covered in vineyards all year round.
Article Summaries:
- A Reddit user captured a photo of the privately owned hill in Sonoma County that originally served as the Windows XP wallpaper “Bliss.” The image, taken in 2023, closely resembles the 1996 photograph by Charles O’Rear, showing the hill’s emerald grass and clear sky without the vineyards that once covered the area. The hill, now free of vines and dead grass, has returned to a natural state that mirrors the iconic wallpaper. The post highlights how the landscape has remained largely unchanged over three decades, sparking nostalgia among Windows XP fans.
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