The History Behind Microsoft Xp's Вђњbl... - 1920x1200

: Because the original film was so valuable, no shipping company would insure it for the full amount. O'Rear had to personally fly to Microsoft’s headquarters in Seattle to hand-deliver the transparency. Cultural Impact

O'Rear originally uploaded the photo to , a stock photo agency that was later acquired by Corbis , a licensing company owned by Bill Gates. 1920x1200 The History Behind Microsoft XP's “Bl...

: Microsoft engineers selected the image to be the default wallpaper for Windows XP (codenamed "Whistler"). : Because the original film was so valuable,

The photograph was captured in by former National Geographic photographer Charles O'Rear . While driving through Sonoma County, California, to visit his girlfriend, O'Rear pulled over along Highway 12/121 to photograph a lush, rolling green hill under a brilliant blue sky. : Microsoft engineers selected the image to be

: While the exact amount is confidential, reports suggest it was the second most expensive license ever paid for a single photograph at the time.

: The hill, located in the Los Carneros American Viticultural Area, was temporarily covered in grass because the grapevines had been removed following a phylloxera infestation . Today, the site is once again a working vineyard and looks significantly different. Selection by Microsoft

Released on , " Bliss " became the face of the new "Luna" interface, which favored colorful, friendly aesthetics over the grey boxes of earlier versions.