The American multinational technology giant Microsoft and its umpteen products are used by over 1.9 Billion people across the world in over 192 countries.
image scource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft#/media/File:Microsoft_logo_(2012).svg
Here are some highlights in the four-decade journey of the world’s largest software maker:
1975
A 19-year-old Bill Gates drops out of Harvard University and goes on to found Microsoft with childhood friend Paul Allen. They make their first product – a BASIC programming code interpreter for the Altair 8800 microcomputer, starting the pc revolution.
image scource: https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/08d4016c-4a9c-4177-9e57-1633ce4efca9 by Marcin Wichary
1979
With sales topping $1 million at the end of 1978, the company moves to Bellevue, Washington, from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
1980
In June, Gates recruits former Harvard classmate Steve Ballmer to become the company’s first business manager.
1981
In August, Microsoft releases its new operating software Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS). It begins running on IBM personal computers – a seminal moment for the company’s future domination of personal computing systems.
1983
Microsoft announces its new software “Windows,” which aims to enhance the MS-DOS interface with visual features.
1985
After spending two years in development, “Windows 1.0” begins to ship. Moving on from MS-DOS commands, which some users found challenging to master, the system used simple clicks of a mouse to work through tasks on screens or “windows.”
image scource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_1.0x#/media/File:Windows1.0.png
1986
Microsoft moves its corporate headquarters to Redmond, Washington. It goes public at $21 per share and raises about $60 million.
1988
With the arrival of Windows 2.0 in 1987, computers start becoming more commonplace in the office. Microsoft becomes the largest PC software company based on global sales.
1990 to 1995
Windows 3.0 is launched in 1990 and five years later, Windows 95 is released and sales surpass 1 million copies in four days. PC sales begin to explode as computers make their way into homes, schools and business, kicking off the “Windows era.”
1995
1998
Windows 98, the first consumer-focused version of Windows, is released. That same year, the U.S. Department of Justice files antitrust charges against Microsoft relating to bundling of its programs into its operating systems. U.S. regulators accuse the company of using its dominance in software and monopolistic practices to drive competitors out of business.
2000
Ballmer succeeds Gates as CEO in January. The two met as students at Harvard, when Gates lived down the hall from Ballmer.
2001
Microsoft reaches a settlement with the Department of Justice in the 1998 antitrust case. In November, Microsoft enters the gaming market with the North American release of its Xbox gaming console.
image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft#/media/File:Xbox-console.jpg
2005
The next-generation Xbox 360 goes on sale in November.
2006
Microsoft launches the Zune portable music player in November, the first Microsoft-designed device to compete in a market dominated by Apple Inc’s iPod. The music player fails to take off and Microsoft discontinues it by mid-2012.
2007
In January, Microsoft unveils the widely panned Windows Vista, the company’s least-popular operating system.
image scource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Vista#/media/File:Windows_Vista.png
2009
Microsoft revamps its search engine to counter Google’s dominance in Web search and advertising. In May, Ballmer reveals the new engine, dubbed “Bing.” It remains a distant runner-up to Google today.
2010
Microsoft releases its Windows Phone operating system for mobiles, trying to woo consumers away from Apple’s iPhone and Google Inc’s Android devices. The Windows ecosystem remains distant from Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.
2012
Microsoft, hoping for a hit, launches Surface tablets and a Windows 8 operating system that uses touch commands. The devices have not gained much share in a tablet market dominated by Apple’s iPad, Amazon Inc’s Kindle and Samsung devices.
image source: https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/f2505aec-d079-4df8-befc-45bda35167f4
2013
2014
Microsoft’s board unanimously picked Satya Nadella, a 46 yo Indian-born executive, who led the creation of Microsoft’s Internet-based or “cloud” computing services. He is only the company’s third CEO in 39 years.
2015
Microsoft releases Windows 10, the latest version that’s available in the market today.
2016
Microsoft takes the boldest move by buying LinkedIn for $28.2 Billion.
image scource: https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/7b46ee6c-086c-4080-b748-909346971133 by Heisenberg Media
info scource:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft
https://www.infoclutch.com/infographic/microsoft-company-history-timeline
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