Packard Bell Navigator 1.0

Packard Bell Navigator is an alternate user interface that replaces the Windows 3.1 Program Manager shell. It presents the content of your computer as a series of rooms.

Packard Bell bundled this with their Windows 3.1 computers. It was intended as an aid for first-time users purchasing computers to reduce computer returns, with a focus on presenting the value of the pre-installed bundled applications. Packard Bell sales were wildly successful during this time.

Microsoft BOB was created as a direct response to Packard Bell Navigator. Microsoft tried to force Packard Bell to use BOB instead, and finally forced PB Navigator off with Windows 95, threats of higher Windows prices, and licensing changes forbidding alternate shells.

Afterwards, PB's sales plummeted and they shut down. This was brought up in the DOJ's Antitrust case against Microsoft.

Screenshots

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Release notes

This is the first version of Packard Bell Navigator. The 1.x versions do not yet have the "room" metaphor, but instead display selections in a series of simple screens.

This version is sometimes compared to Apple's At Ease.

Installation instructions

Important: This is only the installed folder! Extract and move the PBFRONT folder to C:\PBFRONT.