[1] The concept was originally developed at Xerox PARC by Stuart Card, Robert Kincaid, Sonny Lundin, Kim Medrano, Ed Stitt, Gary Schoolcraft, Hal Schoolcraft, Steven Calwas, Steve Farrell, Kerry Kobashi, Janine Walters, Pat Gibberson, Rick Soriano, and David Ching.
[citation needed] TabWorks was shipped in 1993 and distributed with PCs from 1993 to around 1997 by several companies, including Compaq[1][2] and NEC.
"Since the release of Windows 95, Microsoft has become aware of instances in which OEMs are modifying the product as a method of differentiating their hardware.
As a result, Microsoft is taking this opportunity to define the requirements and restrictions of the preinstallation process, so that all of our end users have a consistent experience with our products.
"[6] Compaq stopped bundling TabWorks with its machines in 1996, claiming it was no longer necessary given the improvements to the shell in Windows 95.