Which came first, Windows 95's taskbar or NeXT's Dock? Neither

The debate over which graphical user interface element was first to emerge – Windows 95's taskbar or NeXT's Dock – reignited last week, as the 31st anniversary of Windows 95's release drew attention to its design influences. Former Microsoft executive Joe Belfiore recently clarified that the NeXT dock did not directly inspire the Windows taskbar; rather, it was a Cairo team project that had been conceptualizing a bottom tray for easy file and text transfer since 1991, which eventually evolved into the Windows taskbar.

Paul Fellows, who led Acorn's Arthur project, claimed that the icon bar in Acorn's Arthur operating system, released in 1987, was the first to resemble the Windows taskbar. Fellows insisted that Apple acquired the Dock from Steve Jobs and the NeXTstep OS, which he claimed he had independently invented after seeing the similarity during meetings.

Despite the visual similarities and possible influence, Microsoft and Apple both developed the icon bar concept independently, with Arthur appearing first in 1987 and NeXTstep following in 1988. The Windows taskbar, on the other hand, was introduced in 1995, well after both Arthur and NeXTstep had already established their respective interfaces.