It's interesting but there have been an option in Windows to open folders / files with one click since XP at least.

I think Web-style navigation was introduced as an option in Windows 98, along with Active Desktop. Back then, Microsoft envisioned merging local file system and web browsing in Explorer, a direction they later reversed when the IE/Windows lawsuit hit.

It's been there since the version of Windows 98 that came bundled with IE. I remember using the setting.