Editor’s Notice: PCWorld initially revealed this story in 2014. This 12 months, 2021, marks the twentieth anniversary of Charles O’Rear’s iconic photograph in 1996, which grew to become the idea of the Home windows XP desktop wallpaper. Microsoft first revealed Home windows XP on Oct. 25, 2001. The vineyards are nonetheless there, greener than ever after the autumn rains.
It’s not too far-fetched to imagine {that a} billion individuals have considered the “Bliss” picture that defines the desktop view of Home windows XP, the seminal OS that Microsoft is retiring Tuesday. However you’d barely discover the real-world “Bliss” scene if you happen to stepped out of your automotive and gazed at it right now.
Driving wherever in California’s wine nation will be treacherous. Roads curve forwards and backwards, nicely, drunkenly. Bicyclists are widespread, and the subsequent bend might conceal an entrance to one in every of Napa’s most interesting wineries, a tour group jaywalking throughout the highway, or perhaps a couple on horseback, exploring the realm.
A Home windows XP desktop, with the “Bliss” picture within the background.
In 1998, photographer Charles “Chuck” O’Rear was driving from Sonoma County by Napa on his option to Marin County. His mission was to satisfy Daphne, the lady who finally grew to become his spouse. In January, as most California natives know, the rains come, and the hills explode into inexperienced for just a few months earlier than the withering summer time warmth browns them as soon as once more.
O’Rear, a 25-year veteran of National Geographic, drove down the highway, then pulled over. That stretch of Freeway 12 is slender and windy, with solely a slender shoulder for stopping one’s automotive. On the backside of a steep embankment is a barbed-wire fence. And in 1998, when O’Rear took his well-known “Bliss” photograph, all he might see was an emerald-green hill, a ridge behind it, and some puffy clouds.
“I acquired out, took a few photos, and saved on going,” he advised PCWorld in an interview on Monday. “And the remaining is historical past.”
What the “Bliss” web site seems like, right now.
Quick-forward to the 12 months 2000. Microsoft was about to launch Home windows XP. The corporate had designed the brand new working system with the steadiness of its company OS, Home windows 2000, and the patron options of Home windows 98 and Home windows ME. O’Rear was one of many first photographers to make use of a service known as Corbis to digitize and license his images. And Corbis was owned by Microsoft’s chief government on the time, Invoice Gates.
“What number of photos they checked out, I do not know,” O’Rear mentioned. However what he did do was hop on an airplane with the unique transparency and settle for a hefty test for his work. O’Rear can’t disclose the quantity, however he mentioned it could be an appropriate quantity again then—and stays so right now.
Methods to discover the positioning
Since then, the placement of the “Bliss” photograph has been disclosed: about here, on Freeway 12 (overlapping with Hwy 121) in Sonoma County. If you happen to’re driving from Napa to Sonoma, it’s little greater than a mile or so previous the magnificent Domaine Carneros. The most secure option to go to the spot is to discover a spot on the town to park, then hike again. However another is to discover a place to show round, then park subsequent to a name field whereas driving east to Sonoma. Then fastidiously stroll again 1 / 4 mile or so, crossing the freeway solely when no automobiles are coming. It’s a busy, busy highway. You’ve been warned.
On the backside of the hill, you’ll must stroll forwards and backwards till you discover the fitting vantage level. As you’ll see in my images, I by no means fairly discovered a option to get rid of the ridge within the background.
What you’ll rapidly uncover, nonetheless, is that the verdant inexperienced hills have given option to the area’s money crop: wine. And the grapes used to make them.The one grasses are these on the backside of a steep embankment, rising subsequent to rosebushes which are being established subsequent to the fence. Sadly, the presence of farm tools—and a home that has been constructed onto the again facet of the hill—robs the brand new “Bliss” view of its pure magnificence. However as you already know from the drive, these inexperienced vistas are just some hundred yards away.
If the 2014 model of “Bliss” isn’t your factor, extra verdant vistas are only a brief stroll away.
O’Rear swears the unique Bliss photograph seems as his digicam caught it. “Sorry, everyone, it’s the actual deal,” he mentioned. “Nothing was altered.”
O’Rear himself has his personal, separate expertise connections. He helped pioneer Nationwide Geographic’s expertise protection. It’s his hand, he mentioned, holding a Motorola 68000 chip on the duvet of the Oct. 1982 cowl of the journal. He shot images for different tales on superior supplies, in addition to a espresso desk e book on Silicon Valley. However “Bliss” stays his most well-known work. And, almost definitely, “Bliss” will stay his most well-known work ceaselessly.
“I acquired an e-mail from somebody at Microsoft—I believe it was the engineering division—saying, ‘We’ve got a contest going about that {photograph},’” O’Rear mentioned. “‘Most of us assume it was Photoshopped. A few of us assume it was taken out in jap Washington within the Palouse space. Inform us about it.’ I wrote again and mentioned, ‘Sorry, it’s the actual deal. It was all there. The clouds had been there, the inexperienced grass was there and the blue sky.”
“So the subsequent week I acquired a 100 8-by-10s from them saying ‘Please autograph them and ship them again.”
However as Microsoft continues to remodel Home windows, so, too, do the house owners of the winery. Sixteen years later, “Bliss” is nearly unrecognizable. O’Rear mentioned he used to know the landowners, however they bought to a brand new proprietor a few years in the past. And time marches on.
As PCWorld’s senior editor, Mark focuses on Microsoft information and chip expertise, amongst different beats. He has previously written for PCMag, BYTE, Slashdot, eWEEK, and ReadWrite.