Windows Explorer got a major overhaul in 2001, when Windows XP debuted.
It was the first version to have a sidebar, which featured tasks relevant to the folder that the user navigated to. And it was the first Windows Explorer to allow for thumbnail image previews.
Windows XP's Explorer also debuted Microsoft's "Search Companions": "helpful" animated guides similar to Microsoft Office's abhorrent Clippy. Ironically, Microsoft killed off Clippy in Office XP, which debuted several months before Windows XP.
Microsoft's Windows 8 purports to be a PC operating system for every device. But a PC experience may no longer be necessary.
