Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft is an American multinational computer technology corporation whose history started 4th April 1975. Formed by Harvard College dropout, Bill Gates and his childhood friend Paul Allen, Microsoft has now become the biggest software company. It is also one of the most valuable companies in the world. It develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services. Its best known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, the Microsoft Office suite, and the Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface lineup of touchscreen personal computers. it was the world's largest software maker by revenue as of 2016. It is considered one of the Big Five companies in the U.S. information technology industry, along with Google, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook.
● Also read - Microsoft Word Shortcut Keys
History of Microsoft :
Gates and Allen established Microsoft on April 4, 1975, with Gates as CEO, and Allen suggested the name "Micro-Soft", short for micro-computer software. In August 1977, the company formed an agreement with ASCII Magazine in Japan, resulting in its first international office of ASCII Microsoft. Microsoft moved its headquarters to Bellevue, Washington in January 1979. Microsoft entered the operating system (OS) business in 1980 with its own version of Unix called Xenix, but it was MS-DOS that solidified the company's dominance. IBM awarded a contract to Microsoft in November 1980 to provide a version of the CP/M OS to be used in the IBM Personal Computer. For this deal, Microsoft purchased a CP/M clone called 86-DOS from Seattle Computer Products which it branded as MS-DOS, although IBM rebranded it to IBM PC DOS.
Windows and Office :
Microsoft released Microsoft Windows on November 20, 1985, as a graphical extension for MS-DOS, despite having begun jointly developing OS/2 with IBM the previous August. Meanwhile, the company was at work on Microsoft Windows NT, which was heavily based on their copy of the OS/2 code. It shipped on July 21, 1993, with a new modular kernel and the 32-bit Win32 application programming interface (API), making it easier to port from 16-bit (MS-DOS-based) Windows. Microsoft informed IBM of Windows NT, and the OS/2 partnership deteriorated.
Microsoft introduced the Microsoft Office In 1990, suite which bundled separate applications such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. On May 22, Microsoft launched Windows 3.0, featuring streamlined user interface graphics and improved protected mode capability for the Intel 386 processor.
On July 27, 1994, the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division filed a competitive impact statement which said: "Beginning in 1988, and continuing until July 15, 1994, Microsoft induced many OEMs to execute anti-competitive 'per processor' licenses. Under a per-processor license, an OEM pays Microsoft a royalty for each computer it sells containing a particular microprocessor, whether the OEM sells the computer with a Microsoft operating system or a non-Microsoft operating system.
● Also read - Microsoft Excel Shortcut Keys
Chasing The Internet :
Partly because of its stunning success in PC software, Microsoft was slow to realize the commercial possibilities of network systems and the Internet. In 1993 it released Windows NT, a landmark program that tied disparate PCs together and offered improved reliability and network security. Sales were initially disappointing, but by 1996 Windows NT was being hailed as the likely standard for PC networking, quickly surpassing Novell’s NetWare in market share. Microsoft did not move into Internet software until a new venture, Netscape Communications Corp., had introduced Navigator, a Web browser program that simplified the once-arcane process of navigating the World Wide Web. In a violent change of course, Microsoft quickly developed its own browser, Internet Explorer, made it free, and moved aggressively to persuade computer makers and Internet service providers to distribute it exclusively.
Windows 95, Windows XP, & Xbox :
The company released Windows 95 on August 24, 1995, featuring pre-emptive multitasking, a completely new user interface with a novel start button, and 32-bit compatibility, it provided the Win32 API. Microsoft created Windows CE 1.0, a new OS designed for devices with low memory and other constraints, such as personal digital assistants.
On October 25, 2001, Microsoft released Windows XP, unifying the mainstream and NT lines of OS under the NT codebase.
The company released the Xbox later that year, entering the video game console market dominated by Sony and Nintendo. In November 2005, the company's second video game console, the Xbox 360.
Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Microsoft Stores :
In January 2007, the next version of Windows, Vista, focused on features, security and a redesigned user interface dubbed Aero. On February 12, 2009, Microsoft announced its intent to open a chain of Microsoft-branded retail stores, and on October 22, 2009, the first retail Microsoft Store opened in Scottsdale, Arizona; the same day Windows 7 was officially released to the public. Windows 7's focus was on refining Vista with ease-of-use features and performance enhancements, rather than an extensive reworking of Windows. Azure Services Platform, the company's entry into the cloud computing market for Windows.
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Windows 8/8.1, Surface Devices, Outlook :
Microsoft unveiled Windows 8, an operating system designed to power both personal computers and tablet computers, in Taipei in June 2011. The Surface was unveiled on June 18, becoming the first computer in the company's history to have its hardware made by Microsoft. On July 31, they launched the Outlook.com webmail service to compete with Gmail. On October 26, 2012, Microsoft launched Windows 8 and the Microsoft Surface. Three days later, Windows Phone 8 was launched. On 2013 release of the Xbox One video game console.
Windows 10 :
On July 29, 2015, Windows 10 was released, with its server sibling, Windows Server 2016, released in September 2016. In January 2018, Microsoft patched Windows 10 to account for CPU problems related to Intel's Meltdown security breach. The patch led to issues with the Microsoft Azure virtual machines reliant on Intel's CPU architecture. Microsoft was the third largest maker of mobile phones.
Headquarters :
The corporate headquarters, informally known as the Microsoft Redmond campus, is located at One Microsoft Way in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft initially moved onto the grounds of the campus on February 26, 1986, weeks before the company went public on March 13. The headquarters has since experienced multiple expansions since its establishment.
Board of Directors :
The company is run by a board of directors made up of mostly company outsiders, as is customary for publicly traded companies. Members of the board of directors as of July 2020 are Satya Nadella, Reid Hoffman, Hugh Johnston, Teri List-Stoll, Sandi Peterson, Penny Pritzker, Charles Scharf, Arne Sorenson, John W. Stanton, John W. Thompson, Emma Walmsley and Padmasree Warrior. Board members are elected every year at the annual shareholders' meeting using a majority vote system. On March 13, 2020, Gates announced that he is leaving the board of directors of Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway in order to focus more on his philanthropic efforts.
● Also read - History of Google
Chief Executives :
- Bill Gates (1975–2000)
- Steve Ballmer (2000–2014)
- Satya Nadella (2014–present {2021} )
Industry :
- Software development
- Computer hardware
- Consumer electronics
- Social networking service
- Cloud computing
- Video games
- Internet
- Corporate venture capital
Products - List of software
- Windows
- Office
- Servers
- Skype
- Visual Studio
- Dynamics
- Xbox
- Surface
- Mobile
Services :
- Azure
- Bing
- Yammer
- MSDN
- Office 365
- OneDrive
- Outlook.com
- GitHub
- TechNet
- Pay
- Microsoft Store
- Windows Update
- Xbox Game Pass
- Xbox Live
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