Brian Eno, creator of the Windows 95 startup sound, calls on Microsoft to sever ties with Israel: 'If you knowingly build systems that can enable war crimes, you inevitably become complicit in those crimes'

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 18: Brian Eno speaks during SUMUD, a fundraising event for Palestine, organised by the Amos Trust, at Union Chapel on April 18, 2024 in London, England. Sumud, meaning 'steadfast perseverance' in Arabic, is a common term used to describe Palestinian non-violent, resistance against Israel's occupation. Amos Trust is a small, creative human rights organisation who have been working in Palestine for over 30 years with local and international peace activists, partnering with grass-roots projects, campaigning for Palestinian rights. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images) — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Art rock legend Brian Eno has called on Microsoft to sever its ties with the government of Israel, saying the company's provision of cloud and AI services to Israel's Ministry of Defense "support a regime that is engaged in actions described by leading legal scholars and human rights organizations, the United Nations experts, and increasing numbers of governments from around the world, as genocidal."

Eno's connection with Microsoft goes back 30 years—he composed the famous boot-up jingle for Windows 95 that was recently inducted into the National Recording Registry at the US Library of Congress.

Eno referenced Microsoft's May 15 statement "on the issues relating to technology services in Israel and Gaza," in the which company acknowledged providing Israel's Ministry of Defense with various technologies and services but denied any culpability in IMOD's ongoing attacks on Gaza—although it also said that it "does not have visibility into how customers use our software on their own servers or other devices," essentially admitting that it doesn't really know what's going on at all.

A post shared by Brian Eno (@brianeno)
A photo posted by on

Two Microsoft employees interrupted the company's 50th anniversary event in early April to protest its entanglements with the Israeli military; both were fired less than a week later, but in spite of that similar protests occurred earlier this week at Microsoft's Build developer conference. The fate of those employees is not yet known.

Eno invited "artists, technologists, musicians, and all people of conscience" to join him in the call, and pledged that his fee for creating the Windows 95 startup sound will "go towards helping the victims of the attacks on Gaza. If a sound can signal a real change then let it be this one."

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.