Microsoft's new logo is not so new

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REDMOND, Wash., Aug. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. software giant Microsoft's new logo is a rehash of a 17-year-old design, a technology news Web site reported Friday.

Appearing in ads that ran in 1995 is a logo nearly identical to the one unveiled Thursday, the Web site Neowin said.

The logo is simple and the differences slight.

The new logo is four colored squares arranged in a square block with a narrow border between them.

The upper left square is cherry red. The upper right square is a grassy green color. The bottom left square is sky blue. The bottom right square is gold.

In 1995, in ads for the newly released Windows 95, "eagle eyed (Neowin) readers have already spotted that the image next to the new look of the Microsoft font has appeared before," the Web site said.

Sure enough, the older logo has green and blue squares in the same placement as before and orange and yellow squares, which are now replaced, respectively, with red and gold.

In response to an inquiry, Microsoft told the Web site that "the new ... logo is an evolution of the Microsoft Store logo, which was inspired by the Windows flag."