Section Contents:<a name="top"></a>
- On August 12, 1981, after negotiations with Digital Research failed, IBM awarded a contract to Microsoft to provide a version of the CP/M operating system, which was set to be used in the upcoming IBM Personal Computer (PC).<a href="#hdng0">(More...)</a>
- Download a free trial of Windows Live OneCare " all-in-one PC care from Microsoft Help fight spyware.<a href="#hdng1">(More...)</a>
<a name="hdng0"></a>
On August 12, 1981, after negotiations with Digital Research failed, IBM awarded a contract to Microsoft to provide a version of the CP/M operating system, which was set to be used in the upcoming IBM Personal Computer (PC). For this deal, Microsoft purchased a CP/M clone called 86-DOS from Seattle Computer Products, which IBM renamed to PC-DOS. <a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Later, the market saw a flood of IBM PC clones after Columbia Data Products successfully cloned the IBM BIOS, and by aggressively marketing MS-DOS to manufacturers of IBM-PC clones, Microsoft rose from a small player to one of the major software vendors in the home computer industry.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
Key decision makers at every level are either developers or former developers. In a sense, the software developers at Microsoft are considered the "stars" of the company in the same way that the sales staff at IBM are considered the "stars" of their company. Within Microsoft the expression "eating our own dog food" is used to describe the policy of using the latest Microsoft products inside the company in an effort to test them in "real-world" situations.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Only prerelease and beta versions of products are considered dog food. This is usually shortened to just "dogfood" and is used as noun, verb, and adjective. The company is also known for their hiring process, dubbed the " Microsoft interview ", which is notorious for off-the-wall questions such as "Why is a manhole cover round?" and is a process often mimicked in other organizations, although these types of questions are rarer now than they were in the past.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Microsoft was accused of bowing to pressure from local evangelical pastor Ken Hutcherson who met with a senior Microsoft executive and threatened a national boycott of Microsoft's products. Microsoft also revealed they were paying evangelical conservative Ralph Reed's company Century Strategies a $20,000 monthly fee.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> The current desktop version of Windows is Windows Vista. The online service MSN, the cable television station MSNBC and the Microsoft online magazine Slate are all part of this division. ( Slate was acquired by The Washington Post on December 21, 2004.)<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> The current logo of Microsoft Windows, one of the company's best-known products. This division produces Microsoft's flagship product, the Windows operating system. It has been produced in many versions, including Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP and Windows Vista.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
On May 22, 1990 Microsoft launched Windows 3.0. The new version of Microsoft's operating system boasted such new features as streamlined user interface graphics and improved protected mode capability for the Intel 386 processor; it sold over 100,000 copies in two weeks.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
The Xbox 360, Microsoft's second system in the gaming console market. Microsoft has attempted to expand the Windows brand into many other markets, with products such as Windows CE for PDAs and its "Windows-powered" Smartphone products.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> In the ensuing years, the popularity of OS/2 declined, and Windows quickly became the favored PC platform. During the transition from MS-DOS to Windows, the success of Microsoft's product Microsoft Office allowed the company to gain ground on application-software competitors, such as WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3. Microsoft Office became the dominant business suite, with a market share far exceeding that of its competitors.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
Microsoft has often been described as having a developer-centric business culture. A great deal of time and money is spent each year on recruiting young university-trained software developers and on keeping them in the company.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Windows at the time generated more revenue for Microsoft than OS/2, and the company decided to move more resources from OS/2 to Windows.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> MSDN also offers subscriptions for companies and individuals, and the more expensive subscriptions usually offer access to pre-release beta versions of Microsoft software. In recent years, Microsoft launched a community site for developers and users, entitled Channel9, which provides many modern features such as a wiki and an Internet forum. Another community site that provides daily videocasts and other services, On10.net, launched on March 3, 2006.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> On March 13, 1986 the company went public with an IPO, with a starting initial offering price of $21.00 and ending at the first day of trading as at U.S. $28.00. In 1987, Microsoft eventually released their first version of OS/2 to OEMs.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> The company expanded into new markets with the release of the Microsoft Mouse in 1983, as well as a publishing division named Microsoft Press.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Microsoft entered the multi-billion-dollar game console market dominated by Sony and Nintendo in late 2001, with the release of the Xbox. The company develops and publishes its own video games for this console, with the help of its Microsoft Game Studios subsidiary, in addition to third-party Xbox video game publishers such as Electronic Arts and Activision, who pay a license fee to publish games for the system.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> With the Xbox 360, Microsoft hopes to compensate for the losses incurred with the original Xbox. Microsoft made some decisions considered controversial in the video gaming community, such as releasing the console with high failure rates, selling two different versions of the system, one without the HDD and providing limited backward compatibility with only particular Xbox titles.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
In addition to the Xbox line of products, Microsoft also markets a number of other computing-related hardware products as well, including mice, keyboards, joysticks, and gamepads, along with other game controllers, the production of which is outsourced in most cases.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> The Corporate Staff Council is made up of employees from the Law and Corporate Affairs, Finance, Human Resources, Corporate Marketing, and Advanced Strategy and Policy groups at Microsoft. Other Executive Officers include the Presidents and Vice Presidents of the various product divisions, leaders of the marketing section, and the CTO, among others.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
Over 2,000 employees signed a petition asking Microsoft to reinstate support for the bill. Under harsh criticism from both outside and inside the company's walls, Microsoft decided to support the bill again in May 2005.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Known for what is generally described as a developer-centric business culture, Microsoft has historically given customer support over Usenet newsgroups and the World Wide Web, and awards Microsoft MVP status to volunteers who are deemed helpful in assisting the company's customers.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> The company's first international office was founded on November 1, 1978, in Japan, entitled " ASCII Microsoft" (now called " Microsoft Japan ").<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Technical reference for developers and articles for various Microsoft magazines such as Microsoft Systems Journal (or MSJ) are available through the Microsoft Developer Network, often called MSDN.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> The group markets Axapta and Solomon, catering to similar markets, which is scheduled to be combined with the Navision and Great Plains lines into a common platform called Microsoft Dynamics.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
Microsoft offers a suite of server software, entitled Windows Server System.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Microsoft initially entered the mobile market through Windows CE for handheld devices, which today has developed into Windows Mobile 6.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
In the mid-90s, Microsoft began to expand its product line into computer networking and the World Wide Web.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Microsoft Research " A division responsible for the research of computer sciences.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Microsoft Studios " A division responsible for the creation of video content for Microsoft and its partners.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Pirates of Silicon Valley " A movie based on the rise of Apple and Microsoft.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Ultra Mobile PC " Joint specification by Microsoft and others for a small form factor tablet PC.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
" Microsoft and Its Employees Surpass $2.5 Billion Mark Through Charitable Donations: Culture of volunteerism and philanthropy encourages company and 70,000 employees to make a difference ".<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Founded to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800, Microsoft rose to dominate the home computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> In August 1985, Microsoft and IBM partnered in the development of a different operating system called OS/2. On November 20, 1985, Microsoft released its first retail version of Microsoft Windows, originally a graphical extension for its MS-DOS operating system.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
The current version is Visual Studio 2008. The previous version, Visual Studio 2005 was a major improvement over its predecessor, Visual Studio.Net 2003, named after the.NET initiative, a Microsoft marketing initiative covering a number of technologies.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> In April 2005, Microsoft received wide criticism for withdrawing support from Washington state's H.B. 1515 bill that would have extended the state's current anti-discrimination laws to people with alternate sexual orientations.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> In January 2007, the Harris Interactive/The Wall Street Journal Reputation Quotient survey concluded that Microsoft had the world's best corporate reputation, citing strong financial performance, vision & leadership, workplace environment rankings, and the charitable deeds of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> MS, known to millions worldwide as the trademark for Bill Gates's Microsoft empire, has a dual meaning for retired Christchurch journalist John Brown."<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> The year 1998 was significant in Microsoft's history, with Bill Gates appointing Steve Ballmer as president of Microsoft but remaining as Chair and CEO himself.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Despite the company's ninth split on February 2, 2003 and subsequent increases in dividend payouts, the price of Microsoft's stock continued to fall for the next several years.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
For worldwide matters there is the Executive Team, made up of sixteen company officers across the globe, which is charged with various duties including making sure employees understand Microsoft's culture of business.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> As of 15 November 2007, Microsoft announced the purchase of Musiwave, Openwave's mobile phone music sales business.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> " Update: Microsoft fined $32M by South Korea ", IDG News Service, 2005 - 12-07.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Gates left Harvard University, moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where MITS was located, and founded Microsoft there.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
For fun, Microsoft also hosts the Microsoft Puzzle Hunt, an annual puzzle hunt (a live puzzle game where teams compete to solve a series of puzzles) held at the Redmond campus.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Microsoft Zone hosts free premium and retail games where players can compete against each other and in tournaments.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
While many software companies often place an entry-level software developer in a cubicle desk within a large office space filled with other cubicles, Microsoft assigns a private or semiprivate closed office to every developer or pair of developers.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> At the end of 1997, Microsoft acquired Hotmail, the most popular webmail service, which it rebranded as "MSN Hotmail".<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> On August 24, 1995, it launched a major online service, MSN (Microsoft Network), as a direct competitor to AOL.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> In 1999, Microsoft introduced MSN Messenger, an instant messaging client, to compete with the popular AOL Instant Messenger.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
In 1987, Microsoft adopted its current logo, the so-called " Pacman Logo" designed by Scott Baker.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> The first instance of "velvet sweatshop" in reference to Microsoft originated from a Seattle Times article in 1989.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Subsequently, Navision was acquired to provide a similar entry into the European market, resulting in the planned release of Microsoft Dynamics NAV in 2006.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> "Microsoft Fourth Quarter FY 2007 Earnings Release: Microsoft"s Annual Revenue Surpasses $50 Billion". microsoft.com.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
" Microsoft Realigns for Next Wave of Innovation and Growth: CEO Ballmer appoints presidents of three core divisions; Allchin announces retirement plan ".<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Microsoft Visual Studio is the company's set of programming tools and compilers.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> " tagline below the main corporate name, is based on the slogan Microsoft had as of 2008.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
The Microsoft Business Division produces Microsoft Office, which is the company's line of office software.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> The Redmond Microsoft campus today includes more than 8 million square feet (approx. 750,000m") and over 30,000 employees. In 1989, Microsoft introduced its flagship office suite, Microsoft Office. This was a bundle of separate office productivity applications, such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
Most free technical support available through Microsoft is provided through online Usenet newsgroups (in the early days it was also provided on CompuServe ). There are several of these newsgroups for nearly every product Microsoft provides, and often they are monitored by Microsoft employees.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> As of 2006, Microsoft employees, not including Bill Gates, have given over $2.5 billion dollars to non-profit organizations worldwide, making Microsoft the worldwide top company in per-employee donations.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> The initial close and ensuing rise in subsequent years made several Microsoft employees millions.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
PCsafety " Part of Microsoft's technical support that deals with malware and virus issues.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> " HRC Expresses profound disappointment with Microsoft's withdrawal of support for H.B. 1515 ".<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
Trustworthy Computing " Microsoft's initiative for increasing security and reliability on PCs.<a href="
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
<a href="#top"><img alt="Back to Top" title="Back to Top" src="
" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 72px; height: 14px;"></a>
<a name="hdng1"></a>
Download a free trial of Windows Live OneCare " all-in-one PC care from Microsoft Help fight spyware. <a href="
http://support.microsoft.com/" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Microsoft Corporation provides software products for computing devices worldwide.<a href="
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=MSFT" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a>
Microsoft Windows Update You have tried to visit Windows Update with a browser that does not support Frames or ActiveX technology. To learn more about browsers that do support these technologies, please visit the Microsoft Web site.<a href="
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a>
<a href="#top"><img alt="Back to Top" title="Back to Top" src="
" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 72px; height: 14px;"></a>
" width="800" height="45" align="middle">
" width="800" height="45">
" alt="General Info."></a>
" title="Submit advanced request" align="center" height="21" type="image" width="77"></form>