In the nineties, Bill Gates was the most famous person in the world of computer technology and software. Over time, his popularity became less, as did the company Microsoft, which he founded together with his friend Paul Allen. Despite this, Microsoft is still the most famous and successful company, not only in its industry, but also in the entire world of business. And it's pretty hard to believe that a little over forty years ago it was a small enterprise of two students passionate about programming.
What is Microsoft?
Each time, when most users start a computer, a picture with a four-color flag appears on the screen. This is the Microsoft logo, as well as a symbol that its operating system is installed on this device. More sophisticated users know that Microsoft Corporation is a world leader in software and application production. And not only for computers, but also for consoles, tablets and various mobile phones.
Microsoft Corporation History in the 70s
As you know, the origins of Apple were Jobs and Wozniak. In the same way, two friends with a passion for programming, Gates and Allen, are the creators of Microsoft Corporation.
It is worth saying that the middle of the seventies is the time of the beginning of the active development of computer technology. The most amazing thing is that ordinary student enthusiasts actually created and then developed this area. These were Bill Gates and his fellow student Allen. Together, the guys tried to spend all their time at computers, writing various programs.
In 1975, Altair launched a new device, the Altair-8800. The guys were so interested in him that they created for him an interpreter of the then popular computer language "Basic." The program, written by a couple of students, impressed the owners of the company, and they concluded an agreement with talented guys on the use of their software.
However, in the United States, in order to provide any services for the sale of goods or services, and especially software, you must have a registered company. So Paul Allen and his friend Bill quickly completed the paperwork and named their company Microsoft Corporation.
Soon, the company began to gain momentum. Although the profit for the first year of operation was just over sixteen thousand dollars, in a couple of years the company became so famous that it even opened its representative office in Japan.
Microsoft in the 80s
The eighties brought grand changes to the company. In addition to experiments with the logo, another important event occurred. The creator of Microsoft Allen decided to leave the company due to personal problems.
Meanwhile, the company itself has a serious client - IBM. It was for them that the MS DOS disk operating system was created on the basis of the already existing and purchased by Microsoft from another company. This OS was used by IBM and other companies until 1993.
Not stopping there, the company was developing a qualitatively new operating system, which was introduced to the world in 1985 and was called Windows. Thanks to this Microsoft product, its creators have gained incredible popularity and wealth.
Completed the decade another breakthrough in the field of computer programs. In 1989, the user introduced Microsoft Office, an analogue of a typewriter. However, unlike the latter, it was convenient to correct the text in the new editor, change the font, its color and indents. Since then, many similar programs have been created by programmers, but they all come from this very place.
Microsoft in the 90s
In the nineties, the company entered inspired by the success of the eighties. At this time, Bill Gates, the only Microsoft founder who remained in the company, began to pursue a rather tough, but successful policy. Thanks to which, by 1993, Windows became the most popular and used in the world.
To meet the growing needs of users, Microsoft has developed over the years improved versions of the OS: Windows 95 and Windows 98. It is noteworthy that the version of the ninety-fifth year already has a browser for working with the Internet - Internet Explorer.
Microsoft in the two thousandth
The company marked the new millennium with the release of new versions of its legendary OS - Windows 2000 and Windows Millenium. Unfortunately, they were not very successful. In order to rehabilitate, in 2001, the beloved of many users of Windows XP was released, which helped Microsoft to remain a leader in the software market.
With the increasing popularity of tablets in 2009, Windows 7 was released. It was not so demanding on the resources of the device and could be freely used on tablets and laptops. She was able to help the company improve after the failed Windows Vista.
Microsoft today
Despite numerous lawsuits and fines, the company confidently remains one of the most profitable in the world. And although Microsoft earned significantly less in 2015 than in the previous one, its management does not give up.
In 2012, a new version of Windows 8 was released, which quickly gained popularity. And in 2015, Windows 10 started.
Microsoft logo and its history
At the dawn of Microsoft, when its young creators were just thinking about registering an enterprise, they planned to take a completely different name. “Allen and Gates” - that's exactly what Paul and Bill wanted to name their company. But soon the guys found such a pathos name more suitable for an organization providing legal services than for a company engaged in the development and sale of computer programs. Then Paul Allen proposed to call their enterprise an abbreviation of two words microprocessors (microprocessors) and (software) software. So the name Micro-Soft appeared.
However, in this form it did not last long and in the fall of 1976, the company of Gates and Allen was renamed Microsoft Corporation.
Around the same period, the logo appeared. True, then it was a little like the world-famous multi-colored flag. At first, the Microsoft logo was the name of the company, written in two lines in the style of disco.
In 1980, it was decided to change the logo. The inscription began to be written in one line and in style very much resembled the logo of the cult group Metallica.
Just a year later, after signing a lucrative contract with IBM, it was decided to make a more solid logo. As a result, the company name began to be written in milky color on a green background.
In 1987, the company once again changed the logo. Now they are all recognizable black inscription with a waving flag. In this form, it lasted twenty-five years, after which it was changed to modern. Now the inscription "Microsoft" for the first time in history is made in gray, and the developing flag has been replaced by a multi-colored square.
The fate of Microsoft founder Bill Gates
The legendary creator of Microsoft and its many-year-old leader, Gates, was born in 1955 in a rather wealthy family of corporate lawyer.
During his studies at one of Seattle's schools, the boy almost immediately showed the ability to mathematics, and a little later - to programming. There is a well-known fact in the Gates biography: when a guy with friends was forbidden to use a school computer, they simply hacked into the system and secured access to it. Gates was later punished for this. But soon Bill got a job at a company whose computer was hacked.
After school, he was able to enter the prestigious Harvard. However, having studied there for only two years, he flew out of there. But the guy did not lose heart, because that same year he and his friend Paul founded their own company Micro-Soft.
Gates gave his entire life to thirty years of his life, until in 2008 he was forced to resign as head of the company, but retained the position of chairman of the board of directors, as well as a stake in Microsoft.
In 2010, he finally left work at his company and, together with his wife Melinda, focused on charity. So, for all these years, the Gates have donated nearly thirty billion dollars. In this case, the state of Gates is estimated at seventy-six billion.
