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Microsoft Was Founded On April 4

Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, initially focusing on BASIC interpreters for early personal computers. The company's major breakthrough came in 1980 with the licensing of MS-DOS to IBM, leading to its dominance in the PC market, further solidified by the success of Windows and Microsoft Office. Under CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has diversified into gaming, cloud computing, and AI, maintaining its status as a leading technology company.

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3 views1 page

Microsoft Was Founded On April 4

Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, initially focusing on BASIC interpreters for early personal computers. The company's major breakthrough came in 1980 with the licensing of MS-DOS to IBM, leading to its dominance in the PC market, further solidified by the success of Windows and Microsoft Office. Under CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has diversified into gaming, cloud computing, and AI, maintaining its status as a leading technology company.

Uploaded by

anwaralijunk
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Microsoft was founded on April 4, 1975, by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in

Albuquerque, New Mexico. Their initial vision was to develop and sell BASIC
interpreters for the Altair 8800, one of the earliest personal computers.

The company's big break came in 1980 when IBM contracted them to provide
an operating system for their new personal computer (PC). Microsoft
purchased an operating system called 86-DOS, rebranded it as MS-DOS, and
licensed it to IBM. This deal was pivotal, as Microsoft retained ownership of
MS-DOS, allowing them to license it to other PC manufacturers. This decision
cemented Microsoft's dominance in the burgeoning PC market.

In 1985, Microsoft launched its first version of Windows, a graphical user


interface (GUI) that aimed to make computers more accessible. While early
versions had limited success, Windows 3.0, released in 1990, gained
widespread popularity. By the mid-1990s, with the release of Windows 95,
Microsoft had captured over 90% of the world's personal computer operating
system market.

Beyond operating systems, Microsoft also became a leader in productivity


software. The Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint,
became indispensable tools for businesses and individuals worldwide.

The late 1990s saw Microsoft face antitrust challenges from the U.S.
government due to its perceived monopolistic practices, particularly
regarding its bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows. Despite legal
battles, Microsoft continued to expand its reach.

In the 21st century, Microsoft diversified its portfolio significantly. It entered


the gaming market with the launch of the Xbox in 2001, which quickly
became a major competitor in the console industry. The company also
ventured into cloud computing with Microsoft Azure and developed various
hardware products, including the Surface line of devices.

Under the leadership of Satya Nadella, who became CEO in 2014, Microsoft
has embraced cloud-first and mobile-first strategies, with a strong focus on
artificial intelligence (AI) and enterprise services. Today, Microsoft remains
one of the largest and most influential technology companies in the world,
with a vast array of products and services spanning software, hardware, and
cloud computing.

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