Founder of Microsoft. Microsoft - from its founding to the present day. Microsoft logo and its history
The history of the American corporation Microsoft is the history of the most successful IT company in the world in the twentieth century.
Internet audience
2018: In the top 20 Internet giants by Internet audience size
Management
General directors of the company:
- 1975-2000 - Bill Gates
- 2000-2013 - Steve Ballmer
- February 2014 - to present - Satya Nadella
Structure
As of the end of June 2019, Microsoft's business is built on the following main divisions:
- Productivity and Business Processes;
- Intelligent Cloud;
- More Personal Computing;
Other Microsoft divisions:
- Windows + Devices
Performance indicators
Main article: .
The company's financial year ends at the end of June.
2019
Revenue growth by 14% to $125.8 billion
In 2019 financial year Microsoft earned $125.8 billion, an increase of 14% compared to 2018. The main catalyst financial growth The company remains in the cloud business.
The Intelligent Cloud division responsible for it for the 12-month reporting period ending June 30, 2019 calendar year, registered a turnover of $39 billion versus $32.2 billion a year earlier.
The Productivity and Business Processes division (office applications Office and Office 365, as well as customer relationship management systems Dynamics CRM) received revenue of $41.2 billion at the end of the 2019 fiscal year. A year earlier, revenues here were measured at $35.9 billion. By the end of June 2019, the number of Office 365 users in the consumer sector reached 34.8 million.
In the More Personal Computing division (among other things, responsible for selling Windows licenses and bringing Microsoft most revenue) annual revenue increased from $42.3 billion to $45.7 billion. Microsoft's head of investor relations, Mike Spencer, attributed the rise to the replacement of Windows 7 with Windows 10 by consumers and companies, as well as the fact that some computer manufacturers began to increase inventories equipment in anticipation of a possible increase in duties. Spencer noted that Microsoft has not felt any impact from US sanctions against Huawei.
Microsoft's net profit in the 2019 financial year was $39.2 billion, which is 137% more than a year ago.
On the day of publication of Microsoft's annual reports, the company's quote rate increased by 2.66% and exceeded $140 (a record result) in electronic trading after the stock exchange closed. The software giant's market capitalization reached $1.05 trillion.
Business in countries around the world
Business in Russia
Business in China
In 1995, the Microsoft China office began operations.
Acquisitions of companies
Business culture
Own IT infrastructure
Microsoft's IT budget in 2011 will remain at the 2010 level and amount to just over $1 billion, the corporation's CIO Tony Scott told CNews.
Microsoft divides all its IT expenses into two parts. 60% of the funds go to organizing communication channels, data storage, information security and other general infrastructure work, for which it is difficult to identify specific internal customers. The remaining 40% is spent on the development and maintenance of internal business software used in specific business processes. This ratio, according to Scott, will change: “The target for me is 50% to 50%.”
The core of Microsoft's IT infrastructure is the SAP ERP system; satellites for various tasks are products based on own system Microsoft Dynamics, he says. In particular, the company is testing new versions of SQL Server on SAP. According to the CIO, Microsoft does not plan to change the main ERP system.
Microsoft's corporate infrastructure operates 1.2 million user devices (PCs, laptops, smartphones, etc.) and 7.5 thousand servers located in 8 data centers (3 main ones are located in). According to the CIO, the company has no preferences regarding one supplier or another.
“Microsoft's multi-vendor hardware support policy is different than the companies I've worked for,” says Tony Scott. “Typically, consumers try to limit the number of suppliers, but at Microsoft, our own products must run on equipment from a wide variety of vendors, so we use devices from almost all the major players.”
Microsoft offices around the world have 106 thousand copies of the Windows 7 operating system and 105 thousand Office 2010 packages installed, and the company uses more than 1 thousand different business applications. For internal needs, Microsoft operates 746 thousand SharePoint 2010 sites. Wireless Internet is provided by 15.5 thousand access points. Microsoft has about 89 thousand employees.
The company's official website on the Internet - Microsoft.com - receives 1.7 billion hits per day, and the number of sessions running simultaneously reaches 750 thousand, says Scott. In the near future, the site, according to him, will undergo a complete reorganization.
About 2.5 years ago, Microsoft set its sights on moving its infrastructure to the cloud. In the next four years, 80% of a company's software needs to be delivered as a service, Scott says. The remaining 20% of applications will be phased out as unnecessary.
Products
The Redmond company, with its 10 thousand patents (2010), is one of the five largest patent holders. Most intellectual property protection documents cover a very broad area software. But there are those that are also important for the broad masses of consumers. For example, the five-thousandth patent was received for the technology for remote monitoring of games on the popular Xbox console.
Separate articles are devoted to some areas of Microsoft's work:
- Microsoft Open Source Software Policy
Microsoft platform
Bill Gates is a computer genius who was at the forefront of creating the world's most popular Windows software from Microsoft. An entrepreneur whose name topped the list of the richest and most influential people on the planet for 20 years. A businessman who donates an impressive part of his fortune to charity.
Childhood and youth
Bill Gates was born in Seattle (Washington, USA) in the family of corporate lawyer William Henry Gates II, and Mary Maxwell Gates, who held senior positions on the board of directors of several major American companies. Bill was the second child in the family, he has two sisters - the older Christy and the younger Libby.
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Bill Gates as a child
When the boy went to school, his parents enrolled him in the most privileged educational institution Seattle - Lakeside. Bill's favorite subject was programming, to which he devoted everything free time. As a teenager, the American wrote his first game in Basic. Although these were only “Tic Tac Toe”, for the boy they became the starting point in his future successes in his professional biography.
At a prestigious school in Seattle, the student began to develop programming skills on a mini-computer, but some subjects were difficult to improve. He considered the lessons in grammar and civics to be trivial in their way, but in mathematics the future billionaire had only the highest scores. In elementary school, Bill showed no results at all, and his grades disappointed his parents so much that they turned to specialists for help. The father and mother were forced to refer their son to a psychiatrist.
Young Bill Gates and his mother Mary
In high school, Bill met Paul Allen, who would later become his main business partner, but at school the guys had more fun hacking computer programs without thinking about the strategy for developing innovative ideas.
In 1970, together with a school friend, Bill wrote the first traffic control program and organized a company to distribute it, called Traf-O-Data. This project brought the authors $20 thousand. Such success made the programmers believe in their own abilities, defining the future strategy for implementing their own concepts for many years to come.
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Bill Gates in his youth
In 1971, Bill and Paul even worked for a professional company, Information Sciences. The guys wrote a program for maintaining payrolls, but did not have time to finish it, since the project was stopped. In addition, as schoolchildren, Gates and Allen worked for TRW, where they programmed part of the code for a project that employees of the Bonneville Power Administration planned to use.
In 1973, Bill Gates became a student at Harvard University. Of course, he was going to specialize in software, but the practical side of things attracted the young man much more than the theory of science, so the unmotivated student missed a lot of classes. After studying only 2 courses, the aspiring programmer was expelled from the university.
Microsoft Company
In early 1975, Paul Allen learns that Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems is releasing a new generation of computers, the Altair 8800. Bill Gates gets bold and calls Ed Roberts, who headed this organization. Soon after the interview at MITS, the bosom friends become partners of the company.
Paul Allen and Bill Gates
Initially, they planned the name “Allen and Gates,” but such names are not typical for the high-tech market. Then the guys looked at the name of the employing company, deciding on a specific phrase - Micro-Soft (Microprocessors and Software). Within a year, the hyphen disappeared from the brand name, and the Microsoft trademark was registered in November 1976.
In 1976, Gates also introduced the practice of licensing proprietary software for direct use by computer manufacturers, allowing them to build new features into PCs. OS and programming languages. Such innovation in marketing increased the organization's revenue.
Bill Gates and Steve JobsMITS soon ceased to exist, but Microsoft was able to attract new customers. Apple Corporation, whose founder was Steve Jobs, and Commodore, as well as computer developer Radio shack, have become new partners of Microsoft.
Friends and business partners began to plan the development of an innovative structure for decades. Allen dealt primarily with technical issues, while Gates focused on developing public relations, contracts, and other business contacts. The result of Microsoft's work was the Microsoft Fortran operating system, which appeared in 1977. This OS can easily be considered the first full-fledged competitor to the standard CP/M system for Intel-based computers.
Embed from Getty Images Microsoft CEO Bill GatesIn 1980, Microsoft achieved success by concluding a deal with the “shark” of the computer business – IBM Corporation. Gates and Allen offered a more attractive system for their new computer than Digital Research, with which IBM had previously collaborated. Not least important for achieving this goal was the friendly acquaintance of Gates’ mother with IBM executives John Opel and John Akers.
Soon, Bill and Paul's company offered the computer market a new system, MS-DOS, which for a long time would become the main OS for Intel-based personal computers. In 1985, Microsoft released Windows, which differed from all previous competitors in its graphic design. Thus began the Windows computer era, although the real breakthrough came only in 1993 after the appearance of the third version of this system - Windows 3.1.
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Bill Gates
In 1986, Microsoft Corporation entered the stock markets. The value of the shares grew rapidly, and within a few months Bill Gates became a billionaire. The company's position is gradually strengthening. By 1988, Microsoft was already the largest computer software developer in the world.
By 1998, Gates becomes the richest person in the world. Now financially able to focus his attention on programming, he announced that he was leaving the organization. Until 2006, Bill was still responsible for product strategy at Microsoft, but decided to step down from business development responsibilities, declaring that he wanted to devote his time to charity.
Career
In 1989, the businessman founded the Corbis company. The main task of this structure was the licensing of photographs, videos and other multimedia material for media mass media. Gates' idea was that in the future people would decorate their homes not with paintings, but with electronic reproductions of them.
Businessman Bill Gates
Corbis owns the rights to reproduce images of works of art in museums around the world. The St. Petersburg Hermitage, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the London National Gallery constantly cooperate with the company of the American entrepreneur. Bill Gates personally acquired a collection of rare works by Leonardo da Vinci, which are now on display at the Seattle Art Museum.
In the fall of 2008, Gates registered new company bgC3 (Bill Gates Company Three). This acronym stands for Bill Gates' Third Company. The main tasks of the organization are research and analytical. It is a center providing scientific and technological services.
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Bill Gates and Melinda Gates
In addition, Bill Gates does a lot of charity work. He and his wife Melinda became the founders of the world's largest charitable foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which provides assistance to all those in need, regardless of nationality. The purpose of this enterprise is to support and improve the healthcare system, as well as overcome hunger in poor countries. From his own funds, Gates partially financed the Republican presidential campaign in 2004, spending more than $30 thousand.
Entrepreneur passionate about conservation ideas environmental safety on the ground. In collaboration with Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates created the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, whose work is to identify and attract private investment in the production of clean energy sources.
Books
Bill Gates has published two bestsellers. In these books, the entrepreneur decided to tell his own success story. In 1995, The Road Ahead was published, which was at one time on the bestseller list of the American newspaper The New York Times.
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Bill Gates with books
In 1999, Gates published the book Business the Speed of Thought. The work has been translated into 25 languages. The author in his publications talks about ways to use computer technology to solve problems in business. Proceeds from the sale of both books were donated to non-profit organizations that support the development of technology and education.
The history of the origin and development of the computer industry was captured in the film “Pirates of Silicon Valley,” released in 1999. The drama was about the confrontation between Microsoft and Apple. Spectators and critics noted the great similarity between the leading actors and their characters. The image of Bill Gates in the frame was recreated by Anthony Michael Hall, Paul Allen was presented by Josh Hopkins.
Personal life
The personal life of an entrepreneur is connected with one woman. In 1987, at a work meeting in New York, Bill Gates met Microsoft employee Melinda French. They got married on January 1, 1994. After 2 years, the couple had a daughter, Jennifer Katharine, and later two more children - son Rory John and daughter Phoebe Adele.
Bill Gates and his wife Melinda
For the amount of money that Bill and his wife spend annually on charity, Time magazine named them People of the Year in 2005. Their family photo was featured on the cover of the publication, which often publishes interviews and articles about the business and charity of the computer genius. In the same year, Bill received a Knight of the British Empire for his contribution to the UK's innovative enterprise and efforts to reduce global poverty.
Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975
Microsoft of the 21st century is a transnational company that is a leader in the production of software for various types of computer technology.
Initially, the company was called Micro-soft, with a hyphen, which was an abbreviation for English. MICROcomputer SOFTware (software for microcomputers). 39 years have passed since its founding, and now not a single reputable rating can do without the Microsoft brand:
Microsoft is developing in several directions at once. The range of the company's products is quite wide - these are network and desktop operating systems, various office applications for users, online programs and games, tools for working on the Internet. In addition, the company produces peripheral equipment for personal computers, publishes books on computer topics, etc.
The Windows operating system is the most popular OS in the world! This is perhaps the most famous Microsoft product. In the third millennium, according to information from the Netmarketshare resource, about 90% of all PCs in the world operate under Windows operating systems!
The emergence of the MS-DOS operating system and the Windows graphical interface became one of the key evolutionary stages in the computer industry, initiated by Microsoft. It was a real technical breakthrough!
Over the entire history of its existence, Microsoft has released more than two dozen different Windows, divided, depending on the functions implemented, into several groups (families). Most of us are familiar with Windows 95, 98, XP, and now the 7th and 8th versions of the popular operating system.
What did Bill Gates steal from Steve Jobs?
Steve Jobs accused Bill Gates of stealing from him the idea of a windowed operating system, which we all know so well under the name Windows.
This is partly true, since Steve Jobs was the first to introduce a graphical interface for an operating system that allows you to drag data from one window to another using the mouse.
But if you look at the essence of the problem more closely, you will notice that Steve Jobs himself borrowed this idea from the Xerox company when he was on an excursion to Palo Alto. It was in this company that ideas for convenient computer use were first tried and tested.
But the trouble is that at Xerox all this remained at the test level and they did not make any finished product. And Jobs, seeing these developments, brought them to their logical conclusion, luring 15 of the best Xerox engineers to join him. The true potential of the graphical interface was realized in 1984 with the Macintosh computer released by Apple. This computer was very popular at that time, largely due to the new operating system.
As detractors say, it was the unprecedented popularity of the operating system, thanks to which the desktop could be controlled by a “drag and drop” towing system (drag and drop), that prompted Bill Gates as early as the following 1985 to release the first version of Windows for IBM-compatible computers. After all, IBM was Apple's main competitor at that time.
The functional and even graphical similarity of the two companies' operating systems was so obvious that Apple even sued Microsoft in 1988, accusing it of theft and commercial use of its ideas.
However, this attempt to put an arrogant competitor in his place came to nothing due to the lack of legislative framework, which would protect the copyright of the software.
But the most interesting thing happened later, in 1997, when Apple again sued Microsoft on similar charges. By that time, the necessary legal framework already existed and, realizing his vulnerability, Bill Gates entered into multimillion-dollar contracts with Apple, the value of which is estimated at $150 million. Thanks to these contracts, Microsoft actually managed to pay off the claims of Apple, which at that time was going through hard times and needed any cash injections.
Here's what Bill Gates himself responded to Steve Jobs' accusations of stealing his ideas: “I think it's more like we had a rich neighbor named Xerox, and I broke into his house to steal his TV and found out that you already stole it"
Microsoft today - largest corporation with representative offices in more than 110 countries around the world
Microsoft products are compatible with most personal computer platforms and are translated into more than 30 languages.
The company's headquarters are located in Redmond. This small town in Washington state is known for its wealth, precisely because of the large number of highly paid tech workers from Microsoft.
In total, the Microsoft team employs more than 100 thousand employees.
Note that the entire business culture of the company is built around its developers - important issues at all levels are decided by either current or former developers. And this is not surprising, because what Microsoft values most in its employees is brains.
Despite the fact that in most cases “in old age human brain“This is increasingly advanced software on increasingly less serviceable hardware,” the company is not afraid to attract young people - capable students and university graduates. Every year, large sums of money are invested in selecting young software developers and keeping them in companies.
Well, such a strategy is completely justified and necessary to realize Microsoft's mission.
The company's main goal is to "help people and companies around the world realize their potential by creating technology that is accessible to all ages and abilities"
The development of new computer technologies is one of the most important areas of Microsoft's activities. About 9 billion dollars are invested in this area annually, which exceeds the monetary investments of any other company in the field of scientific and technical development.
And if “some people are not smart enough to use their brains,” then in relation to Microsoft, we will say that it is “smart enough” to understand that such large investments in research into information technology and software will pay off handsomely.
Microsoft is working to make the future of products that help people achieve and connect easier and more accessible.
In 2014, Satya Nadella became CEO of Microsoft. He replaced Steve Ballmer in this post.
In 2008, Gates handed over management responsibilities to Microsoft so he could devote more time to his other projects and family. Together with his wife, Mr. Gates is involved in a foundation whose main goal is to improve healthcare, and also participates in global projects, such as the launch of satellites that provide worldwide telecommunications and the development of the world's largest source of visual information.
At Microsoft, Gates is a non-executive director and its, so to speak, ideological inspirer. He owns 7.55% of the company's shares (CEO Steve Ballmer has more than 4%).
The remaining Microsoft securities, minus 1% - the shares of a number of other top managers of the company, are in free circulation. They are traded on the American NASDAQ exchange (MSFT), specializing in shares of high-tech companies.
The company entered the stock market in March 1986. The starting stock price of one share was only 10 cents! Microsoft developed and the value of its securities grew along with it - the historical maximum was recorded in 1999, when more than $58 were offered per share. Over the past decade, Microsoft stock prices have fluctuated between $20 and $40 per share.
All this allows Microsoft to be proud of its market capitalization, which at the time of writing is $333 billion.
However, like any company, Microsoft has had its ups and downs in its history. Repeated antimonopoly processes ended in either victory or defeat for the company. Microsoft became a defendant in claims by the antitrust commissions of the US, EU and competitors.
The company had to “fork out” sums amounting to millions of dollars, but Microsoft still received a big win - after filing an appeal, it retained its integrity, although it was supposed to be divided into two companies.
Generations of users change, hardware progresses, and Microsoft does not stand still either.
The company justifies its look into the future with the release of a new Microsoft Surface tablet, which was presented in June and launched on sale in October 2012.
And although the Surface was not the first tablet from Microsoft (in November 2002, the company introduced the Tablet PC, which never became a breakthrough in the tablet market), it allows us to talk about a new step for the company
The Microsoft Surface tablet has not escaped comparison with the iPod, an Apple product, since the Apple gadget was presented to the general public earlier. The Internet is full of videos with stories on the topic “what is better and who will win.” However, according to the media, Microsoft’s new creation will not become an “iPad killer”; each of them will probably find its own buyer.
Just as there has been a confrontation between Coca-Cola and Pepsi since time immemorial, Microsoft and Apple fit the definition of “sworn friends.” All the more interesting and unexpected is Steve Wozniak's (editor's note - co-founder of Apple) comment about the new Surface tablet.
Steve believes the software giant's latest products have remarkable appearance, reminiscent of what Steve Jobs was always looking for - "a combination of art and technology." Therefore, during the press conference, he joked that Microsoft was able to create such a wonderful product because Steve Jobs himself reincarnated as Microsoft. What a compliment!
But Microsoft's hopes for Surface were not destined to come true. At the end of 2013, Surface RT tablets generated $900 million in losses. In connection with this, investors began to demand that the new Microsoft CEO get rid of non-core assets, which, in addition to Surface, also include Xbox and Bing.
Microsoft is still trying to keep up with the times. Indeed, in addition to the production of operating systems, Microsoft began to actively attack the gaming, mobile and computer markets. In connection with this, the company in 2012 redesigned its logo, the first in the last 25 years! The company's logo now reflects the concept of its new key products - the Windows 8 operating systems, Windows Phone, Office suite and online gaming service X-Box Live.
However, Microsoft did not rest on this. For example, in 2013, the “golden” company acquired the assets of Nokia, in particular its division for the production and maintenance of mobile phones.
With this deal, Gates' brainchild plans to take away mobile market share from Apple and Samsung. For a long time Microsoft was only a software company. Now she plans to go further and combine her software with real hardware.
Let's also not forget about the acquisition of Skype in 2011, which cost the company $8.5 billion. Although Skype is not a Microsoft development, it is Microsoft that is now developing this project, thanks to which we all have the opportunity to make free calls to our loved ones and friends, no matter where they are (of course, where there is Internet).
Since Paul Allen and Bill Gates got the idea to develop a language for the first computer for the mass market, Altair, not much less, but 39 years have passed. Now almost every PC user is a consumer of Microsoft products.
Microsoft (Microsoft Corporation, read "microsoft")- the largest (profit for 2008 - $17.7 billion with a turnover of $60.4 billion) transnational company producing software for various types of computer equipment - personal computers, game consoles, PDAs, mobile phones and other things. It also produces some accessories for personal computers (keyboards, mice, etc.). The company's headquarters are located in Redmond (a suburb of Seattle), Washington.
Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, then students. The company name is an abbreviation of English. MICROcomputer SOFTware (software for microcomputers).
Founders of Microsoft
William Henry Gates III (William Henry Gates III) born October 28, 1955 in Seattle, where his father William Henry Gates II worked as a lawyer. Mother, Mary Gates, was school teacher, and has served on various boards, including the University of Washington, United Way International, USWest and First Interstate Bancorp. In addition to Bill, who received the nickname Trey in the family (the word “trey” means three in card games and in this case is associated with the “number” prefix to the name), the Gates raised two daughters: Kristi (a year older than her brother), and Libby ( Libby, who was nine years younger than him.
After graduating from high school, he studied at Harvard University, but dropped out to pursue what became the main focus of his life—creating software.
On January 1, 1994, Gates married Melinda French. Bill Gates first met Melinda in 1987, at a Microsoft press briefing in New York. She, as it turned out, had been working in his company for a long time. Melinda left the service to marry her boss, and soon they had a daughter, Jennifer. In the shadow of her husband, Melinda threw herself into charity work. She values her privacy above all else and, as a rule, does not give interviews to journalists. They have three children and live in a very large house on a hillside overlooking Lake Washington. This is a very modern 21st century house in the "Pacific Lodge" style, full of complex electronic systems.
(Paul Allen) born on January 21, 1953 in Seattle (USA), in the family of a librarian. He studied at the same private school Lakeside School in Seattle with Bill Gates, with whom he had been friends since childhood. Together we were interested in computer programming, and skipped the last year of school together. Of course, the decision to drop out of university after the second year is always attributed to Bill Gates. Be that as it may, together with Allen they got a job in the same company. Paul performed with the founder of Microsoft, from whose management he left in 1983. The official version claims that due to illness, evil tongues are talking about disagreements with Bill. Which of them was the main generator of ideas in the company is a mystery, but be that as it may, Allen was destined to forever remain “No. 2” in the history of Microsoft.
How it all began
When Bill graduated primary school, the parents decided that ordinary school would not suit their son, and sent him to study on the other side of the city - to private school Lakeside School. Gates enjoyed participating in school theater productions, but most of all he was interested in classes in one of the educational buildings, where a computer terminal was installed. At the age of 13, Bill, who demonstrated brilliant academic abilities, took up programming.
Bill is 13 years old, next to him is Paul Allen, with whom he later founded Microsoft (1968)
At school, together with his friend Paul Allen, Bill studied the BASIC programming language from a textbook. And it should be noted that Paul’s passion for computers reached fanaticism. In an interview given to the American edition of Fortune in 1995, Bill Gates told the story of an embarrassment that happened to his friend at a ceremony to mark the end of the school year. The administration simply refused to issue Allen a certificate until the mother of the future billionaire, who was present at the ceremony, paid a debt of $200 for the computer time used by her offspring. In addition to such hobbies as cinema, books, guitar, chess, and scuba diving, Allen had another passion - cards. During his school years, Paul Allen was famous for playing poker. As legend has it, it was while playing poker that he met his future friend, partner and colleague, Bill Gates.
In eighth grade, Bill Gates wrote his first programs: one that converted numbers from one mathematical base to another, another that was a game of tic-tac-toe. Bill later created a computer analogue of the board strategy game Risk, in which the goal is world domination. Soon, Gates and Allen received unlimited computer time at a local company. As payment, students were required to identify and correct problems with the machine. As Gates’ father recalled, Bill even secretly left the house at night to work on the computer. There is a legend according to which fifteen-year-old Gates managed to hack two of the most advanced operating systems at that time - DEC and CDC.
In the ninth grade, Gates set himself the goal of getting only excellent grades and successfully entered the top ten students in the country in terms of math testing results. In the tenth grade, he already taught computer skills and wrote a program that was responsible for creating a school schedule, from which he earned $4,200.
Together with Allen and another close friend, Kent Evans, Gates created the Lakeside Programmers Group, which received an order for a payroll program for a Seattle company. Then the first conflict arose between Allen and Gates: Allen decided to do all the work himself, but soon realized that he could not do without Gates. Bill agreed to return, but set the condition: “Okay, but I will be in charge and I will get used to being in charge, and now it will be difficult to deal with me if I am not in charge.”
By the time he graduated from high school, Gates had become a self-employed entrepreneur. Together with friends, he organized a company that analyzed traffic in the city and compiled special schedules. This enterprise, which was called Traf-O-Data, brought its creators 20 thousand dollars. At the age of seventeen, Gates received an order to write a software package for the distribution of energy at the Bonneville Dam. He received $30,000 for working on this project for a year, and in addition, the project was accepted by the school as part of most of the required coursework.
The greatest shock in Bill's late school years was the death of Evans, who crashed while climbing. After this, Gates became even closer to Allen. Together they studied an artificial intelligence programming language.
Altair 8800 and Micro-soft base
In 1971, Paul, who entered the Washington State University, read an article about the world’s first microprocessor, the Intel 4004. The computer “brain” was compressed to the size of a chip, and this turned into reality his and Bill’s dream of a time when everyone would have their own personal copy of a computer on their desk. Allen, inspired by what he had read, enthusiastically proved to his friend that microprocessors would now be constantly improved and would form the basis of future computing systems. And a year later, friends pooled for $360 to buy a miracle of the technology of that time - the Intel 8008 microprocessor. It was supposed to serve as the heart of a computer to control traffic: According to Paul Allen himself, his and Bill’s first joint venture, the Traf-O-Data company, organized in 1972, although it brought some profit, was generally not very successful. The partners, crushed by price competition, were forced to “close down” their business. However, what could break others was just a good lesson for the future for Allen and Gates.
In 1973, Gates entered the first year of Harvard University. At Harvard, he lived on the same floor as Steve Ballmer, who today serves as Microsoft's vice president of sales and support.
Popular Electronics magazine January 1975
In the winter of 1974, Paul Allen came across an article published in Popular Electronics magazine about the world's first microcomputer, the Altair 8800, based on Intel's latest 8080 microprocessor. The microcomputer was sold by mail order as a do-it-yourself kit by a tiny company in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This company was called MITS and was headed by a certain Ed Roberts. Confident of the future success of desktop computers, he realized that this was just what he needed. As a programmer, Paul realized that without a user-friendly programming language, Altair was virtually useless to computing enthusiasts. Gates shared the same opinion. It was a small task - to “teach” the first personal computer the language and not to miss this chance until others took up the work. The situation was also unique in that Allen and Gates had in their hands an almost ready-made project for a BASIC language interpreter, created while working on their own Traf-O-Data project. Adapting it to the Altair was a matter of engineering. All that remained was to convince the MITS management of the correctness of their ideas.
MITS. Photo of the workshop where Altair computers were produced at 8800 (during lunch, when there are no workers)
The cunning Paul and Bill immediately contacted MITS and said that they currently had an excellent version of the BASIC language, which, frankly, they had no trace of. However, in addition to the cunning, Bill and Paul had three weeks at their disposal, after which face-to-face contact with MITS representatives was to take place. All that remained was a mere trifle - to create the interpreter himself. And three weeks later the plane was already carrying friends, so to speak, towards success. Negotiations with Altair 8800 manufacturer Ed Roberts were conducted with the persistence and assertiveness characteristic of youth. As a result, Paul Allen was hired by MITS, and the buddies received a contract to develop a programming language for Altair and an office to work in to boot. Who would have known that this was the beginning of a legend. Soon, Basic punch cards hit the market for $150 per copy. From this moment Micro-soft originates, just like that, with a hyphen, an abbreviation from English. MICROcomputer SOFTware (software for microcomputers).
Among the most enthusiastic fans of Altair, undoubtedly, are the members of the Homemade Computer club organized at that time. Geographically, it was located in California, in the town of Palo Alto, and was an independent association of computer enthusiasts.
"Letter to Lovers"
At their casual meetings, club members exchanged information, technical advice, computer parts and programs. No information related to computer hardware or software, no matter how hard it took to obtain it, was hidden.
Naturally, amateurs - the true bearers of the spirit of hackers - passionately wanted to get their hands on a BASIC interpreter for the Altair machine. But the MITS company sold a tape with the program for $500, which created an insurmountable barrier between BASIC and the bulk of computer enthusiasts. In June 1975, a group of engineers from MITS demonstrated the Altair at a seminar in Palo Alto. To the delight of many hackers from the “Homemade Computer” club present there, the model shown allowed working with BASIC.
Unable to resist the temptation, one of the club members grabbed a spare punched paper tape that happened to be near a working Altair teletype. At the next meeting at the club, he asked one of the participants to make several copies of this tape. Soon every club member who wanted a ribbon was able to get one. And then, through the national hacker network, BASIC for the Altair machine quickly spread to other hacker clubs.
Paul Allen and Bill Gates, who sold their program to MITS on the condition of deduction of royalties from each copy sold, were more than depressed by this development of events. Their irritation increased even more when it became obvious that the number of buyers would have been much greater if this “samizdat” version of the program had not appeared.
After the initial outrage had subsided somewhat, Bill Gates sent an “open letter to hobbyists,” which was published in several computer publications. The letter noted that Bill Gates and Paul Allen had received a lot of praise for their program, but it turned out that most of those who lavished praise on it did not actually buy the program. “How could this happen? - Bill Gates asked the question, and then answered it himself, voicing a sharp accusation against amateurs. “All these numerous amateurs should be aware that they actually stole the program,” he wrote. – Who can afford to do professional work for nothing? What hobbyist can spend three man-years programming, finding all the bugs, documenting a product, and then give it away for free?”
For Bill Gates, the answer to this question was obvious, but not everyone shared his point of view. For example, the editor of one small amateur publication stated that “the best thing to do was to tear up the letter and forget about it.” And members of one computer club even discussed the question of whether Bill Gates should be brought to court for an unfounded charge of theft. Of the several hundred letters Gates received in response to his protest, most contained a negative response, and only five or six contained a check requested by Bill Gates in payment for the smuggled BASIC interpreter.
The dispute between Bill Gates and hackers has become known in computer circles as the software scandal. Some hackers remained unconvinced for many years after the scandal had subsided. They wrote and distributed so-called public domain programs that anyone could use for free. These programs can still be found in hundreds of computer newsletters distributed throughout the United States.
Collaboration with IBM
Let's return to Microsoft. At first, things weren't going well for the company. Gates, Allen and their associates worked around the clock, but did not have the strength and means to create any ingenious product. At that time there was enough opportunity (and perhaps talent) for all sorts of specific things: for example, improvements were made to BASIC. The company could not afford to hire a sales manager; Bill's mother did this, unabashedly offering Microsoft programs to such huge corporations as IBM and AT&T.
1977. July. Microsoft begins selling its second programming language, FORTRAN.
1978. April 11. Start of sales of the third programming language COBOL-80 for microprocessor systems 8080, Z-80 and 8085.
1979. April 4. BASIC 8080 is the first software product to receive the million-dollar ICP award. This award, presented to Paul, is Microsoft's first.
1979. June 18. Microsoft introduces BASIC for computer systems based on the 8086 microprocessor. It is the first resident high-level language to appear on 16-bit machines. From this moment on, the wide distribution of this processor begins.
All this is great, but the real ascent to Everest began when the decision to seriously engage in the production of personal computers matured in the bowels of International Business Machines. In 1980, IBM invited Microsoft to begin developing a base operating system for all of its personal computers. By that time, Microsoft already employed 39 people - the company developed and supplied programming languages to IBM, but Bill did not have a suitable OS. He had to recommend that IBM turn to Microsoft's rival, Digital Research, which already had a fairly popular CP / M system installed on many 8-bit computers. Having deliberately contributed to the success of his competitor, Gates immediately corrected himself: an entire dissertation was sent to IBM management about the need to switch to a more powerful 16-bit processor 8080 from Intel. Apparently, the text turned out to be convincing, as a result of which CP / M was rejected, and an agreement was signed with Digital Research to develop a new operating system (However, some reliable sources claim that IBM already had an 8085A processor, which was quite 16-bit, with the exception of the 8-bit data bus; we cannot judge where the truth is).
Microsoft had time to get ahead of DR, and the company didn't miss a beat. Moreover, fate was more than lenient: Paul Allen established contact with a small company, Seattle Compute Products, which had the required operating system, but simply did not have time to optimize it by the time the IBM PC appeared, the “release” of which was supposed to take place in a month. In addition to purchasing Seattle Computer's 86-DOS development, Microsoft hired Tim Patterson, its creator. Gates and the company were actively polishing the OS purchased from Seattle Computer, working 25 hours a day.
We were lucky the second time when we managed to persuade IBM to enter into a contract with Microsoft to supply a new operating system. Conditions of a contract (managers are now studying this as an example of a classic mistake) were completed. According to him, IBM assumed the costs of producing the system and promised to sell computers only with PC-DOS (first version of MS-DOS), while deducting Microsoft a percentage of each machine sold.
1979. June 25. Microsoft becomes a private corporation, led by Bill Gates, chairman of the board, and Paul Allen, executive vice president. August 2. IBM presents its PC, which uses the 16-bit Microsoft operating system - MS-DOS 1.0, as well as BASIC, COBOL, Pascal and other Microsoft Inc. software products.
1982. April 1. The first sales and marketing office was opened in Europe, as well as the company's first foreign branch in the UK.
1982. April 27. Microsoft announces BW-BASIC, a graphics support product that gives you more options to work with Microsoft BASIC.
1982. November. The number of installations of MS-DOS is growing rapidly - in the first 16 months, 50 computer manufacturers bought a license from Microsoft for this 16-bit operating system.
Microsoft's dependence on IBM alone ran counter to Gates' free-spirited spirit. The next lengthy letter sent to patrons was devoted to the advisability of selling MS-DOS under license to other computer manufacturers. “The spread of MS-DOS will help fight the influence of its main competitor, Apple Computer - IBM gave in to this argument. But that was not all.
Since the beginning of the eighties, computer production in the West began to grow, one might say geometric progression. IBM still retained its leadership, however, it could no longer be considered a monopolist: Compaq was formed and began to actively develop, and the PC market attracted the attention of Hewlett-Packard and Texas Instruments. But it seems unlikely that these and other firms would be able to successfully compete with IBM if they happened to develop their own operating systems against the backdrop of the growing popularity of MS-DOS. Seeing the urgency of the moment, Bill encouraged some of the leading PC manufacturers (such as Compaq) to create products designed to be fully compatible with IBM machines - so that any program written for IBM could be used on those computers. Gates' gift of persuasion led to the fact that MS-DOS began to be bought wholesale and retail, almost standing in line for it - MS-DOS was installed on 80% of all PCs, which is why the concept of “IBM compatibility” arose. The successful promotion of MS-DOS was Microsoft's first step towards a monopoly.
Realizing the results of the agreement with Microsoft, IBM management tried to achieve a revision of the terms of the agreement. But since there were only moral reasons for this, the attempts led to nothing.
OS/2
Windows 1.0 users finally have the ability to work with multiple programs at once and freely switch between them. True, covering the windows is not allowed, which sharply reduces the convenience of the environment. In addition, quite a few programs are written for Windows 1.0; as a result, it did not gain popularity on the market.
1986. March 13. Microsoft shares arrive at open sale and start selling at $21 per share, but by the end of the day their value increases to $28. The initial share offering rose to $61 million.
1986. April 18. The Association of Software Suppliers awards annual awards for “Best Software Products” in the categories “ Best program for Business" and "Most Productive Product" Microsoft Excel for PC Macintosh, in the categories "Best Technical Achievement", "Best User Interface" and " Best product of the Year" – Microsoft Windows.
1987. April. Microsoft and IBM announce an agreement to develop the OS /2 operating system.
1987. September 8. Microsoft's first CD-ROM application, Bookshelf, is released.
1987. November 1. Windows 2.0 was released. Unlike previous versions with a tiled window placement system, this one features an overlapping window system. In addition, the advantages of the protected mode of the 80826 processor and more advanced are taken advantage of, which allows programs to overcome the DOS main memory limit of 640 KB
1988. May 31. The operating system OS /2, version 1.1 with Presentation Manager appears.
1988. October 9. Windows 386 is released, an edition of Windows 2.0 optimized for latest processor from Intel; it lays the foundation for most future Windows functions 3.0.
1988. November. International sales reach 48% of all Microsoft software sales. Excel for Windows 2.0, the first spreadsheet with a graphical interface for the IBM-compatible PC, was conceived as a program with which Microsoft hoped to displace the leader in the spreadsheet market, LOTUS. True, Excel was quite demanding on resources, and its use required its own device drivers, which somewhat reduced the competitiveness of the product.
The OS /2 operating system began as a joint development between IBM and Microsoft (although Microsoft had to do most of the work). It was originally intended as a replacement for DOS. Even then it was clear that DOS, with its limitations in memory and file system capabilities, would not be able to take advantage of the computing power of emerging computers. OS /2 was a well-designed system. It had to support preemptive multitasking, virtual memory, a graphical user interface, and a virtual machine for running DOS applications.
The first versions of OS /2 did not have a significant impact on the market. OS /2 1.0, released in 1987, had most of the technical features needed for a multitasking OS. However, it lacked a presentation manager (PM), as well as drivers for many popular printers and other devices. OS/2 1.1, released in 1989, included a rudimentary version of PM that finally made it possible to run graphical applications across multiple windows. Released in 1990, version 1.2 had an improved PM, although it did not follow conventional GUI concepts. Drivers have appeared for most printers and other peripheral devices.
But OS /2 has already been discredited. Version 1.2 wasn't much better than the previous versions and still had significant hardware requirements. In addition, many popular DOS applications were inaccessible to OS /2 users, and those that were available could not interact with the OS /2 environment, remaining with the proven, if not very perfect, DOS. Many users decided to move to the new Windows 3.0 platform or wait until something fundamentally better came along.
The difficulties of OS /2 force Microsoft to continue working on Windows, and IBM is still developing OS /2. After some time, IBM representatives expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Microsoft was shifting its focus to Windows development. After the advent of Windows 3.0, when 3 million copies of the system were sold in a year (while only 300 thousand OS / 2 packages were sold since the end of development in 1987), the paths of the two corporations finally diverged. Gates himself, dismissing all the accusations as unfounded, modestly says that the whole point is that “Microsoft has changed the world a lot.”
In June 1988, Digital Research released DR-DOS, which, according to the press, was superior to MS-DOS due to more powerful utilities. However further development The OS was hampered by the need to make changes to be compatible with Windows, and DR-DOS never gained significant market share, dying out in 1994.
1990. March 13. The corporation announces the accrual of 100% dividends on shares. Shareholders will learn that they will receive one additional share for each share purchased prior to March 26, 1990.
1990. April 2. The Russian version of MS-DOS appears - the first software product localized for the Soviet market. The number of foreign language versions of MS-DOS has reached 13.
1990. July 25. In celebration of the company's 15th anniversary, it announced annual revenues of $1 billion 18 million. Microsoft becomes the first software company to exceed $1 billion in annual sales. The number of Microsoft employees by that time was 5,975 people.
1990. September 17. The Windows Marketing Program has been announced, the largest single product marketing program in Microsoft's 15-year history.
Windows 3.0
When Windows 3.0 came out, many agreed that this system, which had a graphical interface and could work in multitasking mode, actually seemed more user-friendly and user-friendly. Improvements aimed at programmers have led to an explosion of activity in the Windows software market. OS stability leaves much to be desired, but Windows 3.0 is becoming a dominant product in the market thanks to pre-installation on new computers and widespread support from independent hardware and software vendors. Microsoft's relentless pursuit of making Windows a viable OS is finally bearing fruit. After Windows 3.0 hit the market, making computers quite accessible to non-professionals, Apple sued Microsoft, accusing it of copyright infringement.
Almost the entire team of the company worked on Windows, without looking away from the displays, for about 10 years. And those who could not withstand the frantic rhythm quit. In 1986, Gates even broke up with Paul Allen, who developed blood cancer from prolonged computer radiation and overwork. Fortunately, Paul managed to overcome the fatal illness, but the doctors categorically prescribed him a gentle regimen. Having learned that best friend Will never be able to work at full capacity, Gates decided to call him for a conversation, as a result of which Allen was forced to leave the company, giving Bill his shares, albeit at a very favorable price.
Windows 95
After numerous delays and unprecedented advertising hype for a software product, Windows 95 was released. Succumbing to the general hype, even people who do not have a computer are queuing for it. “Windows 95 is the most user-friendly version of Windows, the installation of which does not require you to first install DOS!” Windows 95 has a significantly improved interface, a built-in set of TCP/IP protocols, a Dial-Up Networking utility, and the use of long file names.
1996. January. Windows 95 has sold 25 million copies. 2 million users switch to this operating system every month.
1996. March 12. America Online and Microsoft enter into a strategic partnership as AOL integrates Microsoft Internet Explorer as the standard Web browsing program for its 5 million users.
Windows NT 4.0
1996. July 31. Microsoft releases Windows NT 4.0, which is significantly improved over version 3.51: it features a Windows 95 user interface, advanced features for working with hardware devices, and numerous built-in server processes, such as the Internet Information Server WEB server. Designed to replace Unix, the operating system's share of the US corporate market is small at first, but over time it will increase dramatically, and Windows NT will increasingly become the platform for intranets and public Internet sites.
1996. October. Microsoft is releasing OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2) for Windows 95, which is intended for PC manufacturers installing the OS on new machines. It fixes bugs and improves many of the built-in Windows 95 Control Panel features and applets. Several Windows 98 innovations are included in OSR2, including the FAT32 file system, which allows for more efficient use of hard drive space, and an improved Dial-Up Networking utility. . OSR2 included Internet Explorer 3.3, Microsoft's first successful browser. 1997. September 23. The first beta version of Windows NT 5.0 was presented at a programmers' conference. The fundamental new version will provide compatibility with next-generation hardware, as well as enhanced management and data protection features. Release date: January 1997
Windows 98
1998. June 25. Following Windows 95, already recognized as the de facto standard for home users, breathing down its neck and stepping on its heels, this year a new version of Windows loudly announced itself, receiving the corresponding iconic serial number - 98. The motto is “Works better.” . Plays better,” which Microsoft provided her, directly indicated that the company, in its opinion, had managed to achieve significant success this time, and the user, with the help of its new product, would be able to work better and play, too. It was the first Windows created specifically for, so to speak, buyers or consumers. And, I must say, the success of this system is obvious and incredible to this day.
So. Let's go back to 1998. Internet Explorer is fully integrated into the system. Windows Explorer has undergone significant changes, and the integration of IE has significantly helped it in this regard. The user now has the opportunity to manage resources and files in the same way as managing the transition between web pages in the browser (Forward and Back buttons appeared on the toolbar). In addition, the list of available drives and folders is also displayed on the screen like a web page: general information about the drive or folder is on the left, a list of drives or folders is on the right. To launch a file, just one click of the mouse button on it is enough, just like following a link on the Internet. In the help system, the content is designed in the same way - similar to the design of a web page. A Quick Launch panel has appeared, which can be integrated with the start menu. In general, all these web special effects with which the new OS is stuffed are well known to you, so we note as a plus the Active Desktop, which adds to the system (at the user’s request) a greater web identity and move on, past the interface.
The hard drive file system was replaced with FAT32 (although Windows 95 OSR2 did implement it, there was no way to convert FAT16 to FAT32), which allowed large partitions to be organized and provided more reliable and efficient data storage. And, of course, Microsoft has worked hard on the compatibility of the operating system with hardware, especially with peripheral devices - USB and FireWire (IEEE1394).
To the defragmenter and Scandisk supplied by default and updated in this version of the OS, a disk cleanup utility was added, with which the user could delete temporary files and files located in the Recycle Bin, and some other utilities appeared, such as a tool for search the Internet for updated versions of the system and fresh device drivers.
In 1998, Microsoft released Office 98 for Macintosh - as an extension of the previously released Office 97 suite. The irony of fate is that Mac users are using software from Microsoft.
On November 22, 1998, Shane Brooks wrote an installer that would allow Windows 98 users to remove the integrated Internet Explorer from the system. Which, in fact, proved the fact that Windows 98 can exist quite calmly without Microsoft Internet Explorer. Until this point, users of this OS only had the opportunity, in addition to IE, to install an alternative browser (Netscape Navigator, for example) and use it, rather than Microsoft’s built-in tool for surfing the Web.
In 1998, having worked his way up the corporate ladder, Ballmer was appointed president of Microsoft.
Operating system Microsoft Windows 98 SE – 1999
On May 5, 1999, Windows 98 SE (Second Edition) was released, which corrected errors previous version operating systems, and users received more advanced compatibility of the system with the hardware and new Internet capabilities. Windows 98 SE included Internet Explorer 5; Microsoft Windows NetMeeting 3.0 program – a tool for conducting audio and video conferencing on the Internet; DirectX 6.1, loaded automatically; a new Internet connection sharing (ICS) function, which allows you to use a computer running Windows 98 as a gateway to the Internet for other computers on the local network; and finally, improved multimedia facilities.
Windows 2000
On February 17, 2000, Windows 2000 was released, which was positioned as an upgrade to replace Windows NT Workstation 4.0, but was already something much more than just an improved reincarnation of the already well-known NT line system. In fact, Windows 2000 was created with the goal of replacing Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT Workstation 4.0 on all business desktops and laptops.
Like the OS version for desktop computers and servers, Windows 2000 was released in four different versions:
Professional – client version for desktop and laptop computers;
Server – for entry-level servers (entry level), a fairly reliable server platform for the most critical applications of e-commerce and business in a certain area or for intranet servers;
Advanced Server – for high-performance applications and servers;
Data Center Server – for complex and high-performance cluster systems.
Interface Windows systems 2000 closely resembles the interface of Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 with Internet Explorer 4.0. But Internet Explorer 5 is integrated into this operating system.
For IT professionals, the Windows NT Server family brings features such as centralized, policy-based management with new management technologies - Microsoft IntelliMirror management and the Microsoft Active Directory service. While working on the Windows 2000 operating system, the company launched the Change and Configuration Management (CCM) initiative, the goal of which is to reduce the cost of installing and maintaining desktop computers. For example, the IntelliMirror package includes a subset of technologies used in Windows 2000 that can be used to implement SCM.
Companies, convinced of the reliability and promise of this system, are beginning to slowly migrate to Windows 2000.
Microsoft Windows Me operating system – 2000
Windows Millennium Edition (ME) was released on September 14, 2000. An optional and overdue upgrade for Windows 98. Windows Me was positioned as a system for home users who are actually ready to replace 98 with something newer and more advanced.
The system was stuffed with improved multimedia tools (the new media player supported large quantity file types and removable skins), games, more convenient processing of digital images, digital and analog video, digital music was implemented...
Xbox
On November 14-15, 2001, the official launch of the Xbox took place. The first consoles arrived in US stores on the evening of November 14th. Bill Gates personally took part in the official launch of the console, presenting the first copies of Xbox to customers. The price of the set-top box was only $299. Despite the fact that many still thought the console was ugly, the joystick was too big, and the price was too high, Microsoft managed to sell one million consoles in three weeks. It was an incredible result. An interesting fact is that the launch of the Nintendo GameCube (working title Dolphin) in the United States took place just three days later on November 18th. It was a real fight between Microsoft and Nintendo that lasted for many years. It was the GameCube that became the main rival for the Xbox for the next three years, while the Playstation 2 remained in first place. Now there is approximately equal volume of Playstation 2 and Xbox, while the GameCube is noticeably inferior to them, the reason is that many use the PS2 and Xbox as a DVD player, while the Nintendo console is not capable of playing DVDs(everyone knows Nintendo's piratophobia: the Nintendo 64 console was still on cartridges, since counterfeiting them was not cost-effective; the GameCube used special 1.5GB disks, in both cases nothing good came of it).
Windows XP
Operating system Microsoft Windows XP – 2001
Windows XP is released on October 25, 2001. The most enchanting output of the system that you can imagine: a holiday, fireworks, firecrackers and all sorts of fun throughout the United States and Europe. When the release of Windows XP was celebrated with pomp, users around the world began to slowly figure out what it actually was. new system.
Two main versions are Professional Edition and Home Edition, designed for users with different goals and objectives.
The Professional version is the base version for three “secondary” versions – Media Center Edition, TabletPC Edition and Windows XP Embedded. Windows PE (Preinstallation Environment) is also based on the Windows XP kernel. B Windows XP Professional is the main program code used in Windows 2000 and Windows NT Workstation. Thanks to this code, called the NT kernel or the new Windows kernel, the Windows XP operating system is more efficient, secure and stable than Windows 9x/Me.
Windows XP Home Edition is designed for home users, provides faster and more convenient access to OS functions, and its external design significantly simplifies and at the same time makes it more convenient. effective implementation typical tasks: working with digital images; work with music and video files - efficient search, download and storage; quick and easy organization of shared access to a computer and a simplified approach to creating a home network; effective means communications for instant messaging, voice and video conferencing, and collaboration.
Court
In 2002, after nine US states went to court demanding that Microsoft release a simplified version of Windows without applications such as Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player, Gates was forced to admit the possibility of releasing such a simplified version of the system. The corporation later faced similar demands outside the United States. In 2004, the European Commission fined Microsoft €497 million and required the corporation to release a version of Windows without a media player. In 2006, after an appeal filed by Microsoft, the antitrust process in Europe continued.
Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2003 was released on April 24, 2003. The evolution of Windows server systems has so far stopped at Windows Server 2003, a system based on the principles of increased reliability, scalability and manageability. Windows Server 2003 is a high-performance infrastructure platform for supporting connected applications, networks, and XML Web services at scale from the workgroup to the data center.
It is a multitasking operating system that can manage different sets of roles centrally or distributedly, depending on user needs. Available: file server and print server; web server and web application server; mail server; terminal server; server remote access/virtual private network (VPN) server; Directory service, Domain Name System (DNS), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, and Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS); streaming media server.
Windows Server 2003 is available in four versions. Standard Edition is an ideal choice for small businesses and individual departments of the organization. Supports file and printer sharing; provides a secure Internet connection; Allows you to centralize the deployment of desktop applications.
Enterprise Edition - designed to meet the general IT requirements of enterprises of any size. Designed for applications, web services and infrastructures to deliver high reliability and performance. Supports up to eight processors; Provides enterprise-grade features such as eight-node clustering and support for up to 32 GB of memory; available for computers based on Intel processor Itanium; will be available on 64-bit computing platforms capable of supporting eight processors and 64 GB random access memory.
Datacenter Edition – for mission-critical business applications and applications used to run important tasks, requiring high-level scalability and availability. The most powerful and feature-rich server operating system ever offered by Microsoft; supports 32-thread SMP multiprocessing and up to 64 GB of RAM; Provides eight-node clustering and load balancing services as standard features; will be available for 64-bit computing platforms capable of supporting 32 processors and 128 GB of RAM.
Web Edition is a new product in the Windows operating system family, designed for use as a web server. Designed for developing and hosting web applications, web pages and XML web services; designed for use primarily as an IIS 6.0 web server; provides a framework for rapid development and deployment of XML Web services that leverages ASP .NET technology, a core part of the .NET Framework.
Xbox-360
On May 19 at E3 2005 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) it was officially launched new project Microsoft Xbox-360 is the result of three years of collaboration between several companies, including ATI.
Xbox 360 is a seventh generation gaming console from Microsoft. Developed in collaboration with IBM, ATI and SiS. Xbox Live! allows you to play online, download various content such as demos, trailers, music, TV shows, etc. Positioned as the main competitor to Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. Three console options are available: Core, Premium, Elite.
In 2005, Google came to the fore among Microsoft's competitors. The area of competition between the two giant firms was search engines on the Internet, and in addition, Google has announced its intention to release programs that directly compete with the products of the Gates Corporation. As for Internet Explorer, it had serious competition from the free Mozilla Firefox browser, and in 2008 Google released its Chrome browser.
Zune
In September 2006, Microsoft officially introduced the Zune portable media player, developed jointly with Toshiba. According to Microsoft Vice President Jay Allard, the Zune is not just a pocket player, but a full-fledged entertainment platform designed for playing media files and exchanging digital information. The device is equipped with a built-in wireless controller, thanks to which owners can connect with other similar players and send, for example, music tracks or videos.
The built-in hard drive has a capacity of 30 GB. This volume, according to the developers, is enough to store approximately 7,500 music tracks, 25,000 photos or one hundred hours of video. The image on the three-inch display can be displayed in portrait and landscape orientations. Additionally, the Zune has a built-in FM tuner.
Windows Vista
Operating system Microsoft Windows Vista – 2007
On November 30, 2006, Microsoft officially released Windows Vista and Office 2007 for enterprise customers. On January 30, 2007, sales of the system began for ordinary users.
Windows Vista (codenamed Longhorn) is an operating system in the Microsoft Windows NT family, a line of operating systems used on consumer personal computers. In the Windows NT product line, the new system is version 6.0 (Windows 2000 - 5.0, Windows XP - 5.1, Windows Server 2003 - 5.2). The abbreviation "WinVI" is sometimes used to refer to "Windows Vista", which combines the name "Vista" and the version number written in Roman numerals. Windows Vista, like Windows XP, is a client-only system. Microsoft also released a server version of Windows Vista - Windows Server 2008.
Second generation Zune
In October 2007, Microsoft introduced the second generation Zune multimedia players with 4 and 8 GB flash memory, equipped with a 1.8-inch display, a built-in FM tuner and a Wi-Fi module. In addition, a second generation player based on hard drive. The new model has an 80 GB hard drive instead of the 30 GB in last year's model. The player screen has also been enlarged, and its thickness has become significantly smaller. All players will be released in black, green, pink and red, except for the last one, which will only be available in black. Second generation devices will have new markings. For example, Zune 4 will indicate a player with 4 GB of memory, Zune 8 - with 8 GB, etc.
A characteristic feature of the new devices is the so-called Zune Pad - a touch area under the screen designed to control the device. According to Microsoft, the introduction of the Zune Pad was a carefully considered decision: the user can switch tracks or adjust the volume blindly. The second generation of players will support modern video codecs H.264 and MPEG-4, and the built-in Wi-Fi module will give owners the ability to synchronize images, audio and video files with a computer. Moreover, synchronization will be performed automatically as soon as the player reaches the transmitter coverage area. Similar features are planned to be added to the new firmware for the first generation of players. It will still not be possible to download music wirelessly, as Apple proposes, but the ability to share files between devices will remain.
Bill's departure
In July 2008, Bill Gates resigned as chief executive of Microsoft. Gates himself, who has long become a legend not only in the computer world, but also in the real world, no longer manages the company - he only creates the philosophy of the computer world.
Direct leadership is provided by Gates' longtime partner, Steve Ballmer.
September, 2008. Microsoft introduced BlueTrack technology and the first mice to use it. Feature new technology is the ability to accurately track mouse movements on any surface, from granite countertops in the kitchen to carpeted living rooms. Such omnivorousness is ensured by a new illumination source and optical sensor, which are able to form an image of a surface with high contrast. The beam sizes used in BlueTrack are four times larger than the beam sizes used in today's mice.
Windows 7 (formerly known by the codenames Blackcomb and Vienna) is the name of the new operating system in the Windows family, a successor to Windows Vista, due out in late 2009.
Windows 7 should include some developments excluded from Windows Vista, as well as innovations in the interface and built-in programs. Windows 7 should be a new step in the development of Microsoft operating systems.
The story continues...
Microsoft Corporation is one of the largest transnational corporations on the planet. The company is among the leaders in the production of software for most types of computer equipment - PCs, game consoles, mobile phones, PDAs, etc.
Story
The company was founded in 1975 by two friends, students Bill Gates and Paul Allen. They decided to start their own business after reading an article in Popular Electronics magazine about the Altair 8800 computer.
In 1975, Gates made a proposal to his partner to name the joint venture MICROcomputer SOFTware, which translates as “software for microcomputers.”
In its first year, the company only made $16,000. After 25 years, Microsoft Corporation will have an annual turnover of $25.3 billion.
The union of the two friends did not last long. Already in the early 80s, the relationship between Gates and Allen deteriorated greatly. Allen did not want to spend all his time on the joint company, and Gates was completely absorbed in it. Constant conflicts between them led to Allen leaving the business in 1983, selling his stake at a price of $10 per share. This deal made him one of the richest men in the world. Paul Allen became the owner of a fortune of 13 billion dollars.
Subsequently, there were no “dark” times in the fate of Microsoft Corporation. Over the course of several decades, the company became a global monopolist in PC software.
Microsoft products brought fame and trust to Windows operating systems. Specialized software for working with text and spreadsheet formats of Microsoft Office documents enjoy continued success among millions of consumers from all over the world.
The company produces many popular products. Among them it is worth mentioning: sets of server programs; tools for developing computer programs, games and XBOX game consoles.
On July 11, 2013, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer officially announced a reorganization of the company. From this moment on, 4 structures will be created within the company.
