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Part Two of The Excel 25th Anniversary Video brings us into the present and then takes us into the future of this popular product. We dive into Web Apps, The Cloud, and all things Excel 2010 as we explore the power of software. Be sure to check out Part One where you get a chance to meet some of the pioneers behind the product.
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Here at Microsoft, we are celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Microsoft Excel by taking a look through its compelling and dramatic history, which is filled with great tech tidbits. In this video, we talk to Scott Oki, Charles Simonyi, Jeff Raikes, and other visionaries behind Excel. We go back to the beginning of the story with Multiplan, MS-DOS, and Lotus 1-2-3. The initial codename for Excel was "Odyssey" and that project kicked off in 1983. Now, watch to learn more. Part Two will air tomorrow.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Jeff Raikes is the Visionary behindMicrosoft Office. In Part One, we got a great glimpse into Jeff's history and the history of the technology industry. In Part Two, Jeff Raikes talks about Odyssey, which was the codename for Microsoft Excel. Jeff explains making, along with Bill Gates, the tough decision of shifting Odyssey from the PC and instead focusing its initial release on the Apple Macintosh. He also talks about the dominant word processing products WordStar and Word Perfect, and about having an idea in 1987 for a presentation product before discovering Forethought, which had a product called PowerPoint.
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Jeff Raikes left Apple in 1981 and became the visionary behindMicrosoft Office. This is Part One of the Jeff Raikes story for The History of Microsoft series.
Jeff's entire story is told with great visuals; we dug through thousands of old tapes and photographs to bring you this compelling documentary, which takes an incredible look into the history of technology, what life was like at Apple in 1980, how Jeff taught himself to program on an Apple II, and his first assignment, which was working on Visicalc, the first electronic spreadsheet.
Jeff also discusses why he left Apple, and what it was like to work for Steve Jobs and then Steve Ballmer before coming toMicrosoft at a time when there were only about 100 employees. He also tells great stories about Microsoft hiding the protype to the IBM personal computer and how Microsoft Office came to see the light of day. -
I want to thank everyone for their support of The History of Microsoft series here on Channel 9. I had a great time creating it and I hope you enjoyed watching it. 1999 is the Series finale because we may try and do something a bit different for the last decade which would include the years 2000 to 2009. Maybe go a bit more indepth. We haven't decided and they have not been shot yet. Thanks again for the support and enjoy The History of Microsoft 1999.
Previous Episodes:
For Microsoft, 1999 is the end of the decade but just the beginning of more growth. Microsoft is one of the first software companies to create its own computer science research organization, called MSR. Internet Explorer 5.0 is introduced by Bill Gates at a launch event on the Microsoft campus in Redmond and MSN Mobile the newest addition to the MSN(TM) network of Internet services is available.1975,1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
1999
1999 Revenue/Headcount
The 1999 fiscal year-end sales total $19,750,000,000. The 1999 fiscal Year employee headcount totals 31,396 people.
Official Subsidiaries Launched: SIA Microsoft Latvija, Microsoft Bulgaria EOOD, Microsoft Trinidad & Tobago Limited (Jamaica),Microsoft Tunisie S.A.R.L. (Tunisia), Microsoft Bolivia S.R.L.International Sales Offices Established: Microsoft Kuwait, Microsoft Corporation Lebanon
January 6, 1999
Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po Say 'Eh-0h' to Microsoft
Microsoft is awarded the license to produce ActiMates Interactive Teletubbies, based on the international children's phenomenon. The ActiMate "Teletubbies" are the first interactive toys created for children from one year old and will interact with children by responding to touch through a series of sensors.
February 1, 1999Microsoft is one of the first software companies to create its own computer science research organization, called MSR. Microsoft sees the need to support long-term computer science research not bound by product cycles.
February 24, 1999Microsoft's first online store, located at https://shop.microsoft.com/, debuts.
March 18, 1999Internet Explorer 5.0 is introduced by Bill Gates at a launch event on the Microsoft campus in Redmond. By the following week, more than 1 million downloads of the new version have taken place.
March 24, 1999Bill Gates releases his latest book, "Business @ the Speed of Thought," published by Warner Books.
June 7, 1999Steve Ballmer officially launches Office 2000, a key element of the company's vision of "Knowledge Workers Without Limits."
June 14, 1999
Microsoft Corp. today announced the product details of its client and server software for the television industry - the Microsoft® TV Platform Adaptation Kit (Microsoft TVPAK) - and confirmed that it has released the software in different forms to key industry leaders. More than 30 industry-leading companies are already actively working with the software, which merges Internet and television technologies, to create new devices, services and content to enhance the entertainment value and usefulness of television for consumers.
June 14, 1999
MSN Mobile the newest addition to the MSN(TM) network of Internet services is available. From MSN.COM, consumers can now sign up to receive a host of wireless information services on their interactive pagers and cellular phones. MSN is the first of the major Internet portal sites to provide wireless information services. Microsoft also revealed it has acquired OmniBrowse Inc., a wireless data services company specializing in applications for wireless handheld devices. An enhanced version of MSN Mobile is scheduled to be available later this year in conjunction with the next major upgrade of MSN.COM.
August 5, 1999
Asheron's Call is scheduled for holiday release. Microsoft is calling on all gamers attending the 32nd annual GenCon Game Fair to be among the first to explore the expansive new world of "Asheron's Call(TM)," an epic, massively multiplayer online role-playing game, months before its scheduled holiday release on the MSN(TM) Gaming Zone. Also on display at the Microsoft booth is "Age of Empires(R) II: The Age of Kings," and "Starlancer," an intense first-person space combat game created by Digital Anvil Inc.'s Chris and Erin Roberts, pioneers of the space combat genre.
September 13, 1999Microsoft announces Windows DNA 2000, a comprehensive, integrated platform for building and operating state-of-the-art distributed Web applications as well as the next wave of Internet-based Web services.
November2, 1999
Microsoft launched MSN eShop, a new shopping site built with the specific goal of helping consumers easily find, decide on and buy products. The site is a full-featured shopping service that integrates with the entire MSN network of Internet services giving shoppers the ability to easily find and buy exactly what they are looking for this holiday season.
November 5, 1999U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson issues his initial findings of fact in the antitrust trial, finding that Microsoft held monopoly power and used it to harm consumers, rivals and other companies.
November 23, 1999
Microsoft® Passport "wallet" service is now live at 24 leading merchant sites. In addition to these live sites, there are now over 100 e-commerce sites committed to supporting Passport, a 90% increase since the service was launched in October. According to Jupiter Communications, shoppers will spend more than $6 billion dollars online this holiday season. Microsoft Passport can help streamline the online purchasing process for consumers by giving them one electronic wallet for use across multiple Web sites, making it faster and easier to purchase their gifts online.
November 30, 1999Mediation in the antitrust trial begins as both sides meet with the mediator, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner, to see if they can settle the ongoing antitrust lawsuit.
Other Products Released in 1998: Internet Explorer 4.5 for the Mac, Outlook Express 4.5 for the Mac, MacTopia (website), Microsoft® DirectX® Software Development Kit (SDK) 6.1, Systems Management Server 2.0, Windows Media™ Technologies 4, Windows NT Embedded 4.0, MapPoint 2000, Midtown Madness, IntelliMouse Explorer, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) 6.0 , VBA Software Development Kit (SDK) 6.0, Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores the World of Animals, Baseball 2000, Windows 98 Second Edition, SideWinder Dual Strike 1.0, SideWinder Game Pad Pro 1.0, BackOffice Server 4.5, Links Extreme, Vizact 2000, Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI) 2.5, Publisher 2000, MCIS 2.5, Access 2000, The Natural Keyboard Pro, Internet Keyboard Pro, Internet Keyboard, Microsoft Outlook® Express 5.0 for Mac, ActiveSync 3.0, NBA Inside Drive 2000, NFL Fever 2000, Encarta Reference Suite 2000, Encarta Reference Suite 2000, Microsoft Word 98 Special Edition For the iMac and iBook, Money 2000 Deluxe, Cordless Wheel Mouse, Works Suite 2000, Home Publishing Suite 2000, Pandora's Box, PhotoDraw(TM) 2000 Version 2, "Age of Empires® II: The Age of Kings, Flight Simulator 2000, Links LS 2000, Encarta Africana 2000, Play Pack CD-ROM, Windows Smart Card Toolkit, MSN Messenger Service 2.0
Notable New Hires:
In the World:
· Linux Kernel 2.2 releases. The number of people running Linux is estimated at over 10 million, making it not only an important operating system in the Unix world, but an increasingly important one in the PC world.
· Sun Microsystems acquires StarDivision, the developers behind the StarOffice suite of software.
· IEEE introduces 802.11b, aka Wi-Fi.
· The release of the movie "The Matrix" raises the bar for computer-generated special effects.
· Internet Restrictions: The China News Service announces new government restrictions on Internet use aimed especially at Internet cafes.
· Super Bowl: The Denver Broncos win their second Super Bowl in a row, defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34-19 in Super Bowl XXXIII at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida.
· Endurance Record: While trying to circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon, Colin Prescot and Andy Elson set a new endurance record after being aloft for 233 hours and 55 minutes.
· Enron: Enron energy traders allegedly route 2,900 megawatts of electricity destined for California to the town of Silver Peak, Nevada, population 200.
· Melissa: The Melissa worm attacks the Internet, forcing several large corporations to shut down their e-mail servers.
· The Last Supper: After 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo de Vinci’s "The Last Supper" is placed back on display in Milan, Italy.
· Female Prime Minister: The left-wing Labour Party takes control of the New Zealand government with leader Helen Clark becoming the first elected female Prime Minister in New Zealand's history.
· Panama Canal: The US turns over complete administration of the Panama Canal to the Panamanian Government as stipulated in the Torrijos-Carter Treaty of 1977.
· Russian President: Boris Yeltsin resigns as President of Russia, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President.
· Columbine: Two Colorado students go on shooting spree in Columbine High School, killing 15, including themselves
· Joe DiMaggio: Baseball legend Joe DiMaggio dies at age 84.
· Gene Siskel: Chicago Tribune film critic Gene Siskel dies at age 53.
· Internet Use: The number of Internet users worldwide reaches 150 million by the beginning of 1999. Over 50% are from the United States.
· Space Capsule: The Liberty Bell 7 space capsule, piloted by Gus Grissom on America's second manned space flight, is discovered off the Florida coast after being submerged for 38 years
· NATO: Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic join NATO.
· Tornado: An F5 tornado slams into Moore, Oklahoma, killing 38 people - the second strongest tornado ever recorded in United States history.
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For Microsoft, 1998 means a changing of the guard as Bill Gates appoints Steve Ballmer president of Microsoft. Microsoft Corporation's Board of Directors approves a 2-for-1 split of its common shares and The U.S. Justice Department and 20 state attorneys general file an antitrust suit against Microsoft, charging the company with abusing its market power to thwart competition.
Previous Episodes:1975,1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
1998
The 1998 fiscal year-end sales total $14,480,000,000.
The 1998 fiscal Year employee headcount totals 27,055 people.Official Subsidiaries Launched: Microsoft India (R&D) Private Limited, Microsoft El Salvador S.A. de C.V., Microsoft Arabia
January 26, 1998
Microsoft will add two new Actimates learning system characters to its product lineup. Marc Brown's Arthur, and Arthur's little sister, D.W., will be introduced at Toy Fair in New York on Feb. 9. They join preschool Barney™, who debuted last year as the first ActiMates plush character.January 26, 1998
Microsoft Corporation's Board of Directors approves a 2-for-1 split of its common shares. Shareholders will receive one additional common share held on the record date of February 6, 1998. As of December 31, 1997, Microsoft had approximately 1.2 billion common shares outstanding.
February 5, 1998
Microsoft realigns its product groups to respond to changing consumer and market needs. The reorganization focuses the product groups on investing in Windows with the goal of delivering simplicity and scalability, allowing businesses to maximize their competitive advantage through their digital nervous system, and promoting the Web lifestyle.
March 4, 1998
Microsoft makes a minority investment in General Magic. Agreements between the two companies include an equity investment as well as the licensing of certain General Magic technologies. Terms of the Agreement include a payment to General Magic of six million dollars.May 8, 1998
Microsoft announces plans to support the Euro Currency Symbol in the Windows operating systems family, including Windows 98, Windows NT 5.0 and Windows CE 2.1. A product update will be made available for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0. Michel Lacombe, president of MS Europe, Middle East and Africa (Microsoft EMEA) states, "Microsoft is serious about providing its customers with the tools they need for their systems to function smoothly with the new single currency."May 18, 1998
The U.S. Justice Department and 20 state attorneys general file an antitrust suit against Microsoft, charging the company with abusing its market power to thwart competition.
June 23, 1998
Microsoft TerraServer, the world's largest database on the Web, is available now. The site contains more than a trillion bytes of compressed aerial and satellite Earth Photos that constitute the world's largest and most detailed atlas. Co-creators of the site were Compaq Computer Corp., The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and Aerial Images, Inc. provider of SPIN-2 high-resolution satellite and digital imagery.June 25, 1998
Windows 98 is available in more than 40 countries worldwide and from more than 12,000 retail outlets in North America.
July 7, 1998
Microsoft releases to manufacturing Windows Media Player, Windows NT® Server NetShow Services and NetShow Theater Server. The Windows Media Player is now available for download and customers with Windows NT Server 4.0 can now download the NetShow Services as well. Also today, Microsoft announces unprecedented support for these technologies from Internet content providers, corporate and education customers, industry vendors and service providers.July 21, 1998
Bill Gates appoints Steve Ballmer president of Microsoft.
July 29, 1998
Microsoft and a group of leading African-American scholars will bring black history alive with Microsoft Encarta Africana, a comprehensive multimedia reference resource on the history, geography and culture of Africa and people of African descent. "For the first time, the story of Africa and its people will be told in a way never before possible-- through images, video, music and text brought together in a unique experience," Gates said.August 6, 1998
Microsoft President Steve Ballmer announces the establishment of a new Microsoft campus in Mountain View, California, to better meet the needs of Silicon Valley developers and customers and to centralize the location of nearly 800 employees who currently work at various sites throughout the Valley.October 6, 1998
Microsoft Corp. today introduced its first telephone, the Microsoft® Cordless Phone System, which uses the power of the PC to deliver unprecedented flexibility and ease for customizing call management and message services. Microsoft Call Manager software performs a variety of call-management functions. Microsoft Cordless Phone System is scheduled to be available in November 1998 at an estimated retail price of $199.95.October 16, 1998
The antitrust trial against Microsoft begins in Washington, D.C., with opening statements by the Justice Department's lead attorney, David Boies, and Stephen Houch, lead counsel for the 20 states who also sued Microsoft in May of 1998.
October 27, 1998
Microsoft announces the next major release of the Windows NT line of products, Windows 2000. The name change signals the evolution of Windows NT technology into mainstream use.
November 16, 1998
Microsoft SQL Server version 7.0 is launched at COMDEX and receives PC Week's "Best of Show" and "Best Productivity Software" awards.December 1, 1998
MSN Hotmail, World's Largest E-Mail Provider, Surpasses 30 Million Member Milestone. Already Twice the Size of AOL, Hotmail Increases Capacity To Accommodate at Least 30 Million More Users
December 7, 1998
Microsoft Project surpasses 3 millionth-customer mark , customers help make Microsoft Project a category leader.
Other Products Released in 1998: Internet Explorer 4.0 and Outlook Express for the Macintosh, Auto PC, Palm PC, Windows CE Embedded Toolkit for Visual C++ 5.00, Outlook 98, Internet Explorer 4.0 for Sun Solaris 2.5, Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite, Revenge of Arcade, Publisher 98, Visual InterDev™ 6.0, Site Server 3.0, Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition, Commercial Internet System 2.0, Encarta Online, Microsoft® Golf 1998, IntelliMouse Pro, Liquid Motion 1.0, Visual Studio 6.0 Enterprise Edition, Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition, Baseball 3D, MS Plus! 98, DirectX 6.0 Software Development Kit, Money 99 Financial Suite, Microsoft internet Explorer 4.01 for HP-UX, Encarta Reference Suite 99, PhotoDraw 2000, Graphics Studio Greetings 99, Graphics Studio Home Publishing 99, Graphics Studio Home Publishing Suite 99, Encarta World English Dictionary, Visual J++ development system for Java version 6.0, Windows CE Handheld PC Professional Edition, Encarta Online Deluxe, Microsoft Agent 2., MoneyCentral, Works Suite 99, Smart Card for Windows, Windows CE Platform Builder, Combat Flight Simulator, Age of Empires® Expansion: The Rise of Rome, Microsoft Golf 1999 Edition, Pinball Arcade, Motocross Madness, SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel, SideWinder Freestyle Pro, Microsoft Digital Sound System 80, Visual Basic 6.0 Enterprise Edition, Visual C++® 6.0 Professional Edition
In the World:
· For the first time ever, Exchange Server outsold Lotus Notes in the first quarter of calendar year 1998. In its two years on the market, sales of Exchange Server totaled more than 13 million seats, easily making it the fastest-growing server product in PC history.
· The FBI announced the creation of a major unit to fight cybercrimes—from hackers stealing money to terrorists seeking to shut down urban power grids.
· At the CeBIT trade fair, Intel demonstrated a PC with a Pentium II chip running at 700 megahertz, more than twice the rate of today's speed king, a 333-megahertz model. Intel said such leaps in processing power would help spark a rise in the world's PC population to more than 1 billion in the next few years, from 200 million now.
· After nine hilarious seasons "Seinfeld" took its much-publicized final bow.
· Walt Disney Co. unveils its largest—and most daring—reconstruction since the Anaheim park opened in 1955.
· Ice Storm: A massive ice storm strikes the New England area, southern Ontario and Quebec, resulting in widespread power failures, severe damage to forests, and numerous deaths.
· Daytona 500: Dale Earnhardt finally wins the Daytona 500 stock car race after 20 years of trying. After his victory, members of other race teams line up to congratulate him with handshakes and high-fives.
· Shuttle Commander: NASA announces the first woman commander of a space shuttle mission. United States Air Force Lt. Col. Eileen Collins is chosen to command a future Space Shuttle Columbia mission to launch an X-ray telescope.
· Mount Everest: At 23 years of age, Bear Grylls becomes the youngest British climber to scale the top of Mount Everest.
· Charlton Heston: Actor Charlton Heston becomes president of the National Rifle Association.
· PLANET-B: Japan launches PLANET-B, the nation’s first Mars probe, from the Kagoshima Space Center on the island of Kyushu.
· Nicholas II: Eighty years after they were killed by Bolsheviks, Nicholas II of Russia and his family are buried in St. Catherine Chapel in Saint Petersburg.
· Jesse Ventura: Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is elected Governor of Minnesota.
· Exxon-Mobil: Exxon announces a $73.7 billion deal to buy Mobil, creating Exxon-Mobil, the second-largest company on the planet by revenue.
· Augusto Pinochet: Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet is arrested in a London hospital while recovering from surgery.
· Titanic: “Titanic” becomes the highest-grossing film of all time, earning more than $580 million domestically.
· Frank Sinatra: Legendary singer Frank Sinatra dies of a heart attack at age 82.
· Harry Potter: J.W. Rowling’s first Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” is published in the United States. It was issued in the UK the previous year under the title “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.”
· John Glenn: The Space Shuttle Discovery takes off with John Glenn, 77, on board, making him the second oldest person to visit space. Previously, Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962.
· Gerhard Schroeder: German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder takes office.
· Electronic Ticketing: American Airlines becomes the first airline to offer electronic ticketing in all 44 countries it serves.
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For Microsoft, 1997 is filled with big moves as the Company announces the immediate availability of Office 97, we sign an agreement to acquire WebTV Networks for approximately $425 million in stock and cash and Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0 is released to critical acclaim and enormous customer demand.
Previous Episodes:1975,1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996
1997
1997 Revenue/Headcount
The 1997 fiscal year-end sales total $11,360,000,000. The 1997 fiscal Year employee headcount totals 22,232 people.
Official Subsidiaries Launched: Microsoft Dominicana, S.A., Microsoft Egypt, Limited Liability Company
January 16, 1997
Microsoft announces the immediate availability of Office 97, the new version of the world's best-selling productivity suite, which integrates the ease of intelligent applications with the power of the Web.February 7, 1997
Microsoft unveils its ActiMates™ early learning system. The system is a combination of products that work with the personal computer or the VCR. Microsoft, through a licensing agreement with The Lyons Group, presents Barney® as the first ActiMates interactive character.February 24, 1997
DreamWorks SKG is using Softimage® 3D, Softimage Eddie and Mental Ray to create its new film project "Shrek." Driven by DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, "Shrek" will be a milestone production in content creation and the first full-length computer-generated film to use motion capture as its primary tool for character animation.
March 18, 1997
Leading software vendors and content providers, including Borland International Inc., The Carsey-Werner Company, Macromedia Inc., the Powersoft division of Sybase Inc., Time Warner Inc., Wired Digital and ZDNet announced their intent to support Microsoft®Dynamic HTML in future products and Web Sites. Microsoft Corp.'s implementation of Dynamic HTML, developed in collaboration with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), builds on standard HTML through an open, language-independent object model.
April 3, 1997
The Seattle Sidewalk city guide is now available free on the World Wide Web and as a featured offering on MSN.
April 6, 1997
Microsoft signs an agreement to acquire WebTV Networks for approximately $425 million in stock and cash. WebTV Networks offers a complete system that provides consumers access to the Internet via television.
June 9, 1997
Microsoft invests $1 billion in Comcast, the nation's fourth-largest cable television operator and diversified telecommunications company. The $1 billion cash investment will enhance Comcast's deployment of high-speed data and video services via its cable delivery network.
June 16, 1997
The Internet Gaming Zone hit several milestones in May: a record 275,000 members have signed up to play over its free gaming site, and more than 1 million games sessions were initiated during May. These figures make the site the one of the largest gaming communities on the Internet
July 7, 1997
Microsoft Corp. today announced the immediate availability of Microsoft® Site Server, a comprehensive Web site environment for enhancing, deploying and managing rich intranet and Internet Web sites. Site Server is available through standard Microsoft channels in two editions: Microsoft Site Server and Microsoft Site Server, Enterprise Edition.
August 6, 1997Steve Jobs and Bill Gates lay out a broad product and technology development agreement between Apple and Microsoft. The agreement includes the production of future versions of Office, Internet Explorer, and other Microsoft tools for the Macintosh, the bundling of Internet Explorer with the Mac OS, a broad patent cross-licensing agreement for leading-edge Mac technologies, and a $150 million investment in Apple by Microsoft.
September 30, 1997
Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0 is released to critical acclaim and enormous customer demand.
October 21, 1997
Brad Chase writes a letter to Microsoft customers explaining the Justice Department’s allegations. He expresses Microsoft’s wish to provide customers with innovative products that make the Internet more accessible.
November 25, 1997
Pollsters Hart and Teeter find that Microsoft is the most admired company in one of the most admired industries in America. When the public was asked to volunteer, without being prompted, the names of one or two companies they respect and admire, Microsoft was named 25 percent of the time. IBM and General Motors were next, at 16 percent, followed by AT&T and Wal-Mart at 15 percent.
December 31, 1997
Microsoft Corp. today announced it has acquired Hotmail, the award-winning free Web-based e-mail service. Hotmail will become an important component of The Microsoft Network of online communication and information services that Microsoft offers free to all Internet users
Other Products Released in 1997: FrontPage v 1.00 for Macintosh, Microsoft Office for the Macintosh, version 4.2.1, Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.0 software for Macintosh, Home Essentials 97, Software Development Kit (SDK) for Java™ version 1.5, Visual C++ development system version 5.0, Professional Edition, Plus! for Kids, Visual J++ development tool version 1.1, Professional Edition, Visual Basic 5.0, Control Creation Edition, Exchange Server version 5.0,, Microsoft® Commercial Internet System (MCIS), Office 97, Small Business Edition, Sidewinder 3D Pro for the Macintosh, Internet Explorer version 3.01 for Windows version 3.1 and Windows NT version 3.51, Visual C++ for Windows CE, Softimage SDK version 1.7, Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores the Rainforest, Mastering Web Site Development Using Visual InterDev, Mastering Visual Basic 5 Fundamentals, Internet Explorer version 3.01 for Macintosh is available, Microsoft Office 60 Minute Intranet Kit, Bookshelf 98, DirectX 5.0, NetShow 2.0, Smart Card Software Developer Kit (SDK), Expedia™ Streets 98, Picture It! version 2.0, Microsoft® Agent, Microsoft Internet Finance Server (MIFS) toolkit, My Personal Tutor: Preschool-First Grade, Windows CE 2.0, Flight Simulator 98, Microsoft Side Winder Force Feedback Pro joystick, Internet Explorer 4.0 for Windows 95 and Windows NT, Proxy Server 2.0, MSN 2.5, Encarta Reference Suite 98, Greetings Workshop Deluxe, Home Essentials 98, Works 4.5, BackOffice Small Business Server 4.0, Microsoft Age of Empires, Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far, SideWinder Precision Pro joystick, Money 98 Financial Suite, Visual C++ Development System, NetMeeting 2.1, SOFTIMAGE DS, Encarta 98 DVD Reference Suite, Exchange Server 5.5, Encarta Virtual Globe 1998, SNA Server 4.0, DirectX Media 5.1 SDK, CART Precision Racing game, Mastering Web Site Fundamentals, BackOffice Server 4.0, Fighter Ace
Notable New Hires: Charles Thacker - Manager Microsoft Research Cambridge, Roger Needham-director Cambridge Lab.
In the World:
· Again under the leadership of Steve Jobs, Apple restructures and enters an alliance with Microsoft.
· Intel maintains its position as the world's top chip supplier, and Andy Grove, Intel's CEO, earns "TIME" magazine's Man of the Year title.
· NASA's Pathfinder craft touches down on Martian soil.
§ Death: Diana, Princess of Wales is killed in a car crash in Paris, along with companion Dodi Al-Fayed and driver Henri Paul, while trying to evade paparazzi. Her funeral at Westminster Abbey is watched on TV by over 1 billion people worldwide.
§ Business: Boeing merges with McDonnell Douglas.
§ Internet: The term “weblog” is coined by blogger Jorn Barger.
§ China: The United Kingdom hands over sovereignty of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China.
§ Stock Market: The stock market sees a year of frenzied activity as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 7,000 for the first time, then closes above 8,000 only five months later. Most of the gain is lost when markets crash around the world on October 27, only to gain much of it back the next day, in the New York Stock Exchange’s first one-billion-share trading day.
§ TV: Seinfeld, Frasier, and Friends are among the top U.S. television programs.Ally McBeal, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and South Park premiere.Hillsborough, a made-for-TV documentary about the violent deaths of 92 British soccer fans in 1989, wins top prize at the Banff World Television Festival.
§ Comet: 39 members of cult “Heaven’s Gate” commit suicide, expecting to be transported to an alien spacecraft hiding in the tail of Comet Hale-Bopp.
§ Chess: IBM’s Deep Blue defeats world chess champion Gary Kasparov 3.5 to 2.5 in a six-game match, the first time a computer defeated a world champion in match play.
§ Publishing: The first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, is published, launching a worldwide phenomenon.
§ Internet: The domain Google.com is registered.
§ Music: Katrina and the Waves win the Eurovision Song Contest with Love Shine a Light. Elton John (Candle in the Wind 1997) and Jewel (You Were Meant for Me) top the Singles charts in the U.S.
§ Cars: The Toyota Prius, the first hybrid vehicle to go into full production, is launched in Japan.
§ Blair: Britain’s Labour Party ends 18 years of Conservative rule, as Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister.
§ Video: The first DVDs go on sale in the U.S, following their release in Japan the previous year.
§ Internet: AltaVista introduces its Babel Fish online translator service.
§ Games: Rockstar Games releases Grand Theft Auto.
§ Movies: Top grossing movies of the year include Men in Black,Liar Liar, and The Full Monty. Titanic tops the list and nets the Oscar for Best Movie whileTa'm e guilass (Taste of Cherry) and Unagi (The Eel) share the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
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For Microsoft, 1996 is all about partnerships. The Interactive Media Division is created consisting of MSN, the MSN online service games and kids' titles and the information businesses formerly residing in the now-dissolved Consumer Division. Microsoft Internet Explorer version 2.0 for Windows 95 is available in 22 languages, bringing Microsoft's Web browser to the largest international audience of any Internet client software and Microsoft and America Online (AOL) form a partnership.
Previous Episodes:1975,1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995
19961996 Revenue/Headcount
The 1996 fiscal year-end sales total $8,671,000,000. The 1996 fiscal Year employee headcount totals 20,561 people.
Official Subsidiaries Launched: Microsoft Kenya , Microsoft Ivory Coast, Microsoft Romania, Microsoft Croatia
Sales Offices Established: Microsoft Vietnam (Representative Office), Microsoft Corporation (Representative Office) Egypt
January 16, 1996
Microsoft acquires Vermeer Technologies. Vermeer's flagship software application, FrontPage, is a tool for easily creating and managing rich Web documents without programming. FrontPage will become a key component of Microsoft's strategy to provide a full range of tools for both Internet and intranet publishing.
February 6, 1996
Microsoft names Mattel USA President and Chief Operating Officer Jill E. Barad on its Board of Directors. Barad is the first woman named to the Microsoft Board of Directors since Portia Isaacson served in 1986 and 1987.
February 15, 1996
The Interactive Media Division is created consisting of MSN, the MSN online service games and kids' titles and the information businesses formerly residing in the now-dissolved Consumer Division. The new division will focus on creating and marketing worldwide, interactive entertainment and information products across a variety of media, including the Internet.
February 20, 1996
The Platforms Group is aligned to more closely coordinate the Microsoft Windows family strategy and to concentrate on developing complementary products and technologies for the Internet.
March 4, 1996
Microsoft, along with 3Com Corporation, Ascend Communications, ECI Telematics, and U.S. Robotics, announces point-to-point tunneling protocol (PPTP), a new networking technology that supports multiprotocol virtual private networks, enabling remote users to access corporate networks securely across the internet.March 6, 1996
Microsoft Internet Explorer version 2.0 for Windows 95 is available in 22 languages, bringing Microsoft's Web browser to the largest international audience of any Internet client software. The 22 available languages are as follows: Chinese Traditional (Taiwan), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese (AT and NEC 098), Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese (Iberian), Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.March 12, 1996
Microsoft and America Online (AOL) form a partnership. AOL integrates Internet Explorer into its client software for Windows 95, Windows 3.1, and Macintosh. Microsoft gives users of the Windows 95 easy access to the America Online service via a folder on the Windows 95 desktop.March 25, 1996
MSN enrolls more than one million members in more than 190 countries, in its first seven months of service, making MSN the fastest-starting Internet online service in history.April 2, 1996
Exchange Server is available. Exchange Server is the first integrated messaging and groupware server designed to provide users and system administrators with native open and secure access to the Internet.April 5, 1996
Cartoonist Garry Trudeau drops the Microsoft® Encarta name in a Doonesbury strip providing free publicity for the product while at the same time signaling success for Encarta in becoming the first name that comes to mind when people think of an online encyclopedia.April 8, 1996
Microsoft signs a definitive agreement to acquire aha! software corporation of Mountain View, California, a leading developer of electronic-ink note-taking and editing software for mobile computers and communicators.April 15, 1996
As part of this year's National Library Week, Bill Gates will host an online chat on MSN, The Microsoft Network online news service, at 10 a.m., Wednesday, April 17, 1996, to celebrate the "cyberlaunch" of Libraries Online! *this is interesting as it eventually morphs into one of the cornerstone programs of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.April 26, 1996
In a press release, Bill Gates describes the enormous business opportunity involved with using an intranet. He encourages customers to use the full capability of the Microsoft tools they have already purchased.June 11, 1996
Microsoft acquires eShop, a leader in Internet commerce software technology based in San Mateo, California. Known for its Internet shopping mall, eShop Plaza, the company is also the developer of eShop Technology, the leading merchandising and shopping system that merchants use to build online commerce operations. eShop's technologies will be integrated into the Merchant product--a comprehensive solution for Internet retailing.June 16, 1996
Microsoft acquires Electric Gravity, creator of the Internet Gaming Zone (IGZ), a spot for playing games using the Internet. IGZ features classic games such as bridge, chess, spades, checkers, Reversi, go, and hearts, with log-ins currently registering at more than 30,000 each week. IGZ was created by Electric Gravity co-founders Kevin Binkley and Hoon Im. Electric Gravity employees will relocate to Microsoft's Redmond campus.June 24, 1996
Slate, an interactive magazine of politics, culture, and public policy edited by Michael Kinsley, goes live on the Internet.
July 15, 1996
Microsoft launches MSNBC, the 24-hour news, talk and information network from NBC News and Microsoft.
July 15, 1996
Microsoft and Kao Infosystems Company have reached an agreement in which Microsoft will award Kao a three-year contract to produce the majority of its packaged products for the North American market. As part of the agreement, Kao will purchase and operate Microsoft's Canyon Park production facility in Bothell, Washington, and offer employment to all of the facility's 400-plus manufacturing employees. Both companies believe the contract represents the software manufacturing industry's single largest turnkey services contract.*This meant that Microsoft no longer operated a manufacturing location in the U.S.July 22, 1996
Microsoft promotes Jeff Raikes to group vice president, Sales and Marketing. In his new position, Raikes becomes a member of Bill Gates’ Office of the President.
July 31, 1996
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 is released to manufacturing. Windows NT Workstation 4.0 combines the ease of use of the Windows 95 operating system with the reliability and security of Windows NT.
August 7, 1996
Microsoft Corp. and VeriSign Inc. today announced that the first technology to allow secure downloading of software over the Internet is now available.
September 16, 1996
Microsoft presents Windows CE, an open, scalable Windows operating system platform for a broad range of communications, entertainment, and mobile computing devices. It was formerly known by the code name "Pegasus."October 10, 1996
New Web-based version of The Microsoft Network debuts.
October 22, 1996
Microsoft ® Expedia, a free, comprehensive, user-friendly travel service, debuted today on the World Wide Web. Expedia marks the entry of Microsoft Corp. as the first major technology player in the online travel services arena.
October 29, 1996
Patty Stonesifer resigns from her position as senior vice president of the Interactive Media Division. Stonesifer is credited with building Microsoft’s position as the world’s leading consumer and interactive media company.
November 7, 1996
Microsoft Flight Simulator for Windows 95 releases, marking the first time in its 14-year history that the product is available on the Windows platform.
November 12, 1996
Microsoft's Board of Directors approves a 2-for-1 stock split. Shareholders will receive one additional share for every share held on the record date of November 22, 1996.
December 3, 1996
The Executive Committee replaces the Office of the President as the most senior management team at the company. Senior Vice President Jim Allchin and Senior Vice President Brad Silverberg will join Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates, Bob Herbold, Pete Higgins, Paul Maritz, Nathan Myhrvold, and Jeff Raikes on the new Executive Committee.
December 3, 1996
Microsoft announces SQL Server sales have increased by over 100 percent compared to last year, bringing the total number of users to more than 2 million.
Other Products Released in 1991: Direct 3D API, Scholastic’s The Magic School Bus® Explores Inside the Earth, ActiveMovie API, Microsoft® Music Sampler For Windows® 95: An Enhanced CD, Microsoft® ActiveX™ Development Kit, Mastering Visual C++, Mastering Microsoft Access, ActivePoint for PowerPoint® for Windows® 95, Microsoft Bookshelf 1996-97 Edition, ActiveX Animation Player for PowerPoint, Internet Assistants for Access and Schedule+, SQL Server 6.5, Internet Starter Kit, Internet Explorer 3.0, FrontPage version 1.1, Deadly Tide, Monster Truck Madness, Hellbender, NBA Full Court Press , Close Combat, Microsoft NetMeeting,Microsoft®Internet Explorer Administration Kit, Visual FoxPro™ v 5.0, Internet Assistant for Word for Macintosh, The Microsoft® Empowerment Pack for the Mac, Creative Writer 2, Beyond the Limit™: Ultimate Climb, Microsoft Visual C++ version 4.2 development system and tools, MSN Investor 1.0, Microsoft CarPoint, Mungo Park online travel magazine, IntelliMouse, Visual FoxPro 3.0 for Power Mac, Picture It! 1.0, SideWinder game pad, SoftImage 3D V 3.5 for Windows NT,Systems Management Server 1.2, OLE DB SDK, Encarta 97, Cinemania 97, Automap Streets Plus, Automap Streets Plus Deluxe Edition, Automap Trip Planner, DirectX 3.0, NetMeeting SDK, Money 97, Visual J++, Visual SourceSafe 5.0, Personal Web Server for Windows 95, Proxy Server 1.0, ODBC v 3.0 SDK, Transaction Server 1.0, Internet Information Server 3.0, SNA Server 3.0
Notable New Hires: Alexey Pajitnov, creator of Tetris, joins the Games group
In the World:
· Designed to create small programs that travel over computer networks as the user needs them, Sun Microsystems's Java programming language is licensed to every major hardware and software company.
· A new generation of faster, sleeker hand-held PCs hits stores, many featuring Microsoft's streamlined operating system, Windows CE.
· President Clinton beats Bob Dole to continue onto his second term in office.
· Air Disasters: A nervous year for air travelers, as ValuJet Flight 592 crashes in the Florida Everglades and TWA Flight 800 explodes off Long Island. There were no survivors from either flight.
· Internet: eBay is founded.
· Winter: Major blizzards and record low temperatures strike the East and Midwest, leaving over 100 dead.
· Stock Market: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 6,000 for the first time, then closes above 6,500 barely a month later, leading Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan to condemn the “irrational exuberance” of the market.
· TV: Seinfeld, E.R., and Friends are among the top television programs.Spin City, Everybody Loves Raymond, and 3rd Rock from the Sun premiere.
· Arrest: “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski is arrested at his Montana cabin.
· Chess: IBM’s Deep Blue defeats world champion Gary Kasparov in the first game of a six-game playoff. Kasparov goes on to win the series, scoring 4-2.
· Olympics: The Summer Olympics in Atlanta are struck by tragedy when a bomb explodes in Centennial Olympic Park, killing two and injuring over a hundred. Right-wing extremist Eric Robert Rudolph is later convicted for the attack.
· Computers: Palm launches the first successful PDA, the Palm Pilot.
· Science: Dolly the sheep is born, becoming the first successful clone of a mammal from an adult cell.
· Crime: Six-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey is found murdered in Boulder, Colorado. No one was ever arrested for the crime.
· Internet: The Onion launches its online satire site.
· Divorce: Charles and Diana, the Prince and Princess of Wales, are formally divorced.
· Games: id Software releases first-person shooter Quake.
· Movies: Top grossing movies of the year include Independence Day, Jerry Maguire, Twister, andMission: Impossible. The English Patient won the Best Picture Oscar, while Geoffrey Rush won Best Actor forShine and Frances McDormand won Best Actress for Fargo.
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For Microsoft, 1995 was filled with Windows. On January 7, 1995, during his first keynote at the consumer electronics show in Vegas, Bill Gates announces Microsoft "Bob" for Windows. Microsoft and Dreamworks SKG announce that they have signed a joint-venture agreement to form a new software company and we announce internet explorer 1.0 for Windows 95.
Previous Episodes:1975,1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
1995 Revenue/Headcount
The 1995 fiscal year-end sales total $5,940,000,000. The 1995 fiscal Year employee headcount totals 17,801 people.
Official Subsidiaries Launched: Microsoft d.o.o., Ljubljana (Slovenia), Microsoft Hungary,Microsoft Philippines, Inc., Microsoft Slovakia s.r.o. (Slovak Republic),Microsoft De Panama, S.A., Microsoft De Guatemala, S.A, Microsoft Corporation (The People’s Republic of China) ,Microsoft Uruguay S.A. ,PT Microsoft Indonesia
In the World:· The Internet and World Wide Web explode in popularity and content, sparking heated debate of issues such as accessibility, censorship, privacy, and regulation.
· IBM pays $3.5 billion for Lotus Development Corporation.
· After tabulating 100 million votes, Mars, Inc., announces that blue is the overwhelming color of choice for the new M&M, winning over purple and pink.
· Cal Ripkin of the Baltimore Orioles sets a new record in baseball history by playing 2,131 consecutive games. (p.s. that’s the one time I’ve ever seen my husband cry watching TV)
· Oklahoma City: The Oklahoma City federal building is destroyed by a bomb blast, killing 168. Far-right militia member Timothy McVeigh is quickly arrested and convicted of the crime.
· Reeve: Actor Christopher Reeve is paralyzed from the neck down in a horse-riding accident.
· Internet: Amazon.com makes its online debut.
· Earthquake: A 7.2 magnitude earthquake hits Kobe, Japan, killing over 5,000 and causing $200 billion worth of damage.
· OJ: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend after a controversial 10-month trial.
· Comics: The last new Calvin and Hobbes comic strip is published.
· TV: “E.R.,” “Seinfeld,” and “Friends” are among the top television programs. “The Drew Carey Show” and “JAG” premiere.
· Balkans: The Dayton Accords end the three-year war in the former Yugoslavia and establish the independent nation of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
· Israel: Prime minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated by a right-wing Israeli extremist.
· Ebola: An outbreak of Ebola virus kills 244 in Zaire.
· Computing: Sun unveils the Java programming language.
· New Networks: The UPN and WB networks go on the air.
· Trade: The World Trade Organization (WTO) is established, superseding GATT.
· Terrorism: Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo releases Sarin nerve gas in the Tokyo subway, killing 12 and sickening over 5,000.
· March: Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakahn promotes a Million Man March of African-Americans in Washington, D.C.
· Movies: Top grossing movies of the year include Apollo 13,Babe, Toy Story, and Twelve Monkeys. Braveheart nets Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director (Mel Gibson), while Susan Sarandon wins Best Actress forDead Man Walking, and Nicolas Cage takes Best Actor for Leaving Las Vegas.
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For Microsoft, 1994 was an ambitious year as we introduce the architecture for its new software solution, code-named "Tiger," for delivering continuous media such as audio and video. We sign a definitive agreement to acquire Softimage, Inc. of Montreal, Quebec, a leading developer of high-performance 2-D and 3-D computer animation. And Microsoft Plus, a support program designed to increase users’ satisfaction with Microsoft and its products, is announced.
Previous Episodes:1975,1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993
1994 Revenue/Headcount
The 1994 fiscal year-end sales total $4,649,000,000. The 1994 fiscal Year employee headcount totals 15,257 people.
Official Subsidiaries Launched: Microsoft De Centroamerica S.A. (Costa Rica),Microsoft Peru, S.A.
Sales Offices Established:
January 31, 1994Microsoft Plus, a support program designed to increase users’ satisfaction with Microsoft and its products, is announced.
February 14, 1994
Microsoft signs a definitive agreement to acquire Softimage, Inc. of Montreal, Quebec, a leading developer of high-performance 2-D and 3-D computer animation and visualization software. The stock transaction, which has an approximate value of $130 million U.S., has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies.
May 17, 1994
Microsoft introduces the architecture for its new software solution, code-named "Tiger," for delivering continuous media such as audio and video. The Tiger technology, based on Microsoft® Windows NT™ Advanced Server, is a fully scaleable media file-server solution, providing media-on-demand for personal, corporate, and citywide deployment. Compaq and Intel are the first hardware manufacturers to demonstrate continuous media servers based on this technology.Other Products Released in 1994: Encarta, 1994 Edition on CD-ROM for Mac, Cinemania 1994 on CD-ROM for Mac, and Bookshelf 1994 on CD-ROM for Mac and Windows, Microsoft Multimedia Schubert: The “Trout” Quintet, Excel 5.0, Windows Sound System 2.0, , Cinemania 1994, Office Developer’s Kit, PowerPoint 4.0 for Windows, Office 4.2 for Windows, Money 3.0 for Windows, The Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack, FoxPro 2.6 for Windows and MS-DOS, Microsoft Golf Championship Courses, Dangerous Creatures, Microsoft Multimedia Strauss: Three Tone Poems, Complete Baseball, Isaac Asimov’s The Ultimate Robot, Ancient Lands, Project version 4.0 for Windows, FoxPro version 2.5 for the Macintosh, Access Developer's Toolkit for Windows 2.0, SQL Server version 4.21, Access Solutions Pack for Windows 1.0, Microsoft Mail and Schedule+ Extensions for Microsoft Windows for Workgroups, MS-DOS 6.21, Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) Software Developers Kit (SDK) 2.0, Office Assistant
Notable New Hires:
In the World:
· Novell acquires WordPerfect for $1.14 billion and buys Borland's Quattro Pro for $145 million.
· Compaq ranks number one in worldwide PC shipments, surpassing IBM for the first time.
· Following South Africa's first open elections, Nelson Mandela becomes the country's first black president.
The baseball season ends in a strike. For the first time in 90 years, there is no World Series.Earthquake: The 6.7 magnitude Northridge earthquake hit the Los Angeles area, killing 57 and causing $15 billion worth of damage.· Soccer: For the first time ever, the US hosted the World Cup playoffs. Brazil defeated Italy in the final.
· End of Apartheid: Following South Africa’s first open elections, Nelson Mandela became the country’s first black president.
· Chechnya: Russian troops were sent to the breakaway territory of Chechnya, beginning the first of two wars against Chechen guerillas.
· TV: Top-rated shows included “Home Improvement,” “Seinfeld,” and “Frasier.” "Friends" and "ER" premiered.
· Genocide in Africa: Ethnic tensions in Rwanda between Hutus and Tutsis exploded into mass violence, as 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the space of 100 days.
· Software Merger: In a transaction estimated to be worth $525 million, Aldus and Adobe agreed to merge.
· Kurt Cobain: Kurt Cobain, leader of the popular Northwest grunge band Nirvana, committed suicide at age 27.
· Skater Attacked: Figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was injured by a masked man wielding a crowbar, but went on to win a silver medal at the Lillehammer Winter Olympics. Rival skater Tonya Harding was later implicated in the attack and banned from amateur skating.
· Chunnel: The Channel Tunnel connecting Britain and France opened.
· Nixon: Former president Richard Nixon died at age 81.
· J.: Millions watched as O.J. Simpson fled police in a white Ford Bronco.
· Reagan: Former president Ronald Reagan revealed that he had Alzheimer’s.
· Codex Leicester: Bill Gates bought Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester at a Christie’s auction for a record $30.8 million.
· Korea: North Korean dictator Kim Il Sung died. He was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-Il.
· Information superhighway: Vice President Al Gore held the first electronic news conference from the White House, responding online to questions submitted via email.
· Movies: Top grossing movies of the year included “Forrest Gump,” “Dumb and Dumber,” “Pulp Fiction,” and “Speed.” “Forrest Gump” also netted Oscars for Best Movie, Best Actor (Tom Hanks), and Best Director (Robert Zemeckis).
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For Microsoft, 1993 is a stellar year as we introduce Microsoft Encarta, the first multimedia encyclopedia designed for a computer. The Microsoft BallPoint Mouse is launched into Space and Microsoft reports that the number of licensed users of Microsoft Windows now totals more than 25 million, making it the most popular graphical operating system in the world.
Previous Episodes:1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992
1993 Revenue/Headcount
The 1993 fiscal year-end sales total $3,752,701,000. The 1993 fiscal Year employee headcount totals 14,430 people.
Official Subsidiaries Launched: Microsoft Colombia Inc., Microsoft Caribbean Inc. (Puerto Rico), Microsoft Corporation (Dubai Branch), United Arab Emirates, Microsoft Bilgisayar Yazilim Hizmetleri Limited Sirketi (Turkey), Microsoft Kft (Hungary), Corporacion Microsoft Del Ecuador S.A. , Microsoft Maroc S.A.R.L. (Morocco)
Sales Offices Established:
January 27, 1993
Microsoft Select, a product-support program, is introduced to make it easier for large organizations to acquire and maintain Microsoft products.
February 25, 1993
Microsoft announces that it has gained ownership of the Windows trademark through its extensive use of the mark and industry-wide recognition of its successful Windows product. Under U.S. law, trademark registration is optional and merely facilitates trademark enforcement. The recent non-final action of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in rejecting Microsoft's application to register Microsoft's Windows trademark does not affect the trademark rights Microsoft has already acquired from its use of the mark. The action does not affect Microsoft's right to use the mark "Windows" or its rights in the Windows operating system products, which are protected by copyrights as well as issued and pending patents.
March 5, 1993
An article in Telecommunications Magazine talks about how using Queue Jockeys, professional radio DJs who host the Microsoft Product Support Service telephone waiting lines, has proved successful. The QJ program was designed, beginning in 1991, to provide a more customer-friendly alternative to the taped background music many companies play for callers on hold. The QJs receive information on the number of callers waiting on each line and the length of the longest wait from a PC hooked into a huge telephone switch that can manage up to 20,000 calls at a time. The QJs play a variety of music whose goal is to soothe but not irritate the person waiting, and the QJ lets them know how long their particular wait will be after each song.
March 22, 1993
Microsoft Encarta, the first multimedia encyclopedia designed for a computer, is available.March 30, 1993
Microsoft announces the availability of the MS-DOS 6.0 Upgrade.April 6, 1993
Microsoft BallPoint Mouse Launched Into Space: A new breed of mouse will be aboard the NASA space shuttle Discovery, scheduled to launch today. The Microsoft® BallPoint® Mouse will be attached to the Payload and General Support Computer running the space shuttle's primary scientific project, called the Atmospheric Laboratory for Science and Applications (ATLAS2). This mouse is the first input device used by NASA in the actual configuration available to general consumers.April 14, 1993
Microsoft reports that the number of licensed users of Microsoft Windows now totals more than 25 million, making it the most popular graphical operating system in the world.April 23, 1993
Frank Gaudette, Executive Vice President of Operations and Chief Financial Officer, passes away after an eight-month battle against cancer. He was 57. Gaudette came to Microsoft in September 1984, and in March 1986 he was instrumental in organizing the initial public offering. In his role as Executive Vice President, Operations Group, he was responsible for overseeing Finance, Manufacturing, Human Resources, and Investor Relations groups, the Information Technology Group, and Microsoft Press. He served a pivotal role as a member of the Office of the President.April 27, 1993
Microsoft Mouse 2.0, with a sophisticated new ergonometric design, is available.May 7, 1993
Former President George Bush and his 10-person staff upgrade their computers Mail 3.2 and Windows Remote Mail, thanks to the Dallas account team. The upgrade to mail products completes a transition for Bush and his staff to Windows and Windows-based applications.May 24, 1993
Microsoft announces Windows NT and Windows NT Advanced Server 3.1 at Windows World 1993 in Atlanta, Georgia.June 2, 1993
Plug and Play ISA Specification Version 1.0 Released: The distribution of Plug and Play ISA Specification 1.0 is announced at an implementation workshop hosted by Intel and Microsoft today. The workshop was designed to assist engineers in learning how to develop hardware that makes PCs easier to configure.June 9, 1993
Microsoft unveils Microsoft At Work, a new software architecture which focuses on making the full functionality of digital devices easier to use, and on creating digital connections between all office machines (like faxes and printers) to allow information to flow freely among all device types throughout the workplace.August 24, 1993
Excel 4.0 Becomes the World's Top-Selling Spreadsheet: Worldwide shipments of Excel surpass those of any other vendor for Windows, Apple Macintosh and MS-DOS combined. Excel has shipped more than 5 million new units worldwide.September 14, 1993
Microsoft ships SQL Server for Windows NT. The shipment of SQL Server and related tools, interfaces and connectivity components for Windows NT underscores Microsoft's commitment to deliver a complete family of information management products for client-server computing.October 4, 1993
Microsoft introduces the Microsoft Home brand, a broad range of consumer software products targeted at home computer users.October 21, 1993
Release of a key specification for Plug and Play architecture is announced. ISA and driver interface specifications have already been released in final form, and the Plug and Play BIOS specification is currently available for final public comment. Plug and Play SCSI specification defines requirements for building host adapters, cables and peripherals, and integrating them into Plug and Play PCs, thereby removing low-level configuration options from end-user consideration.November 1, 1993
The Microsoft Wish system has been created to make it simple for customers to send product improvement suggestions. It is a service that acts as a repository for customer feedback by entering all product suggestions into a central database. There is now a formal process by which these suggestions can be categorized and utilized by the product groups. Suggestions can be sent to Product Support Services via the "mswish" e-mail alias, an Internet e-mail address, a fax address, a Wish phone line, and a hardcopy mail address.December 7, 1993
Microsoft announces its first software products designed especially for children: Creative Writer and Fine Artist.Other Products Released in 1993: FoxPro 2.5 for MS-DOS and Windows, Office 3.0 for Windows, Microsoft SQL Server Network Integration Kit (NIK) for Novell Networks, Windows Printing System, Microsoft Profit for Windows, Visual Control Pack for Windows, Visual C++ for Windows, Microsoft Delta, TrueType Master Set for the Mac, COBOL 5.0, FORTRAN PowerStation 1.0, Microsoft SQL Server Network Integration Kit (NIK) for Banyan VINES, SQL Server Client-server Development Kit for Windows NT, Multimedia Viewer Publishing Toolkit for Windows 2.0, Dinosaurs, Multimedia Mozart:The Dissonant Quartet, Multimedia Stravinsky:The Rite of Spring, Musical Instruments for the Macintosh, Bookshelf 1993, FoxPro 2.5 Distribution Kit for MS-DOS and Windows, FoxPro 2.5 Library Construction Kit, The Multimedia Pack for Windows 3.1, Microsoft Remote Mail for Windows, Microsoft Mail 3.2 for PC Networks, Electronic Forms Designer, Microsoft Access Distribution Kit 1.1, Office Professional Edition 3.0 for Windows (includes Access for the first time), Word for MS-DOS 6.0, Visual BASIC for Windows 3.0, FoxPro Migration Kit 2.0, Microsoft Access 1.1, Windows Sound System Driver Development Kit, Test 2.0 for Windows, Golf for Windows, Multimedia Edition, Publisher for Windows 2.0, BallPoint® mouse 2.0, Arcade for Windows, Scenes Impressionists Collection, Scenes Outer Space Collection, Scenes Sierra Club, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Visual C++ 32-bit Edition for Windows and Windows NT, Works for Windows 3.0, Publisher 2.0 CD-ROM Edition and Special Occasions Design Pack, Encarta Multimedia Encyclopedia, 1994 Edition, Art Gallery, Flight Simulator New York and Paris scenery packs, Flight Simulator 5.0, Office 4.0 for Windows and Mac, Word 6.0 for Windows, Word Assistant, MS-DOS 6.2, 32-bit FORTRAN development system for Windows NT, SNA Server for the Windows NT Advanced Server, Microsoft Mail Connection Gateway 3.2, Video for Windows 1.1, Microsoft Mail Software Development Kit (SDK) 3.2, SQL Bridge for Windows NT, Database Transfer Utility, Visual C++ for Windows 1.5,
Notable New Hires: Roger Heinen, Bob Frankston
In the World:
· IBM introduces the ThinkPad family of portable PCs.
· Intel announces the Pentium chip with 32-bit architecture and "screaming performance."
· Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization sign agreements recognizing each other and giving Palestine a degree of self-government.
· The number one and number two best-selling rock bands are Seattle-based Pearl Jam and Nirvana.
· Czech and Slovakia: Czechoslovakia separated into Czech Republic (Bohemia) and Slovakia.
· Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Martin Luther King Jr. holiday was observed in all fifty states for the first time.
· Golden Globe Awards: Scent of a Woman won the 50th Golden Globe Awards.
· Waco: Gun battle erupted at Waco Texas between FBI and Branch Davidians, leading to a 51 day siege that ended in the suicide deaths of everyone inside.
· Tommy: Peter Townshend's musical "Tommy," premiered in NYC.
· Cheers: Final "Cheers" on NBC after 274 episodes.
· Jurassic Attack: "Jurassic Park" opened, setting a then box office weekend record of $47,059,460.
· Earthquake: 7.8 earthquake hit Hokkaido Japan, 160 killed.
· Space: Mars Observer took first photo of Mars, from 5 billion km.
· Peace Treaty: Rwandan Hutu's & Tutsi's signed a peace treaty in Arusha.
· Toy Merger: Mattel & Fisher Price toys merged.
· Nolan Ryan: Nolan Ryan, 46, pitched his last game.
· Yeltsin: Supreme Soviet dismissed president Boris Yeltsin, leading Yeltsin to declare a state of emergency in Moscow and storm the Russian White House of the Parliament.
· Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico voted against becoming the 51st US state.
· NAFTA: The US House of Representatives approved NAFTA (North America Free-Trade Agreement).
· Brady Bill: The Brady bill passed, establishing a 5-day waiting period for handgun sales.
· Hubble Repair: Astronauts began repair of the Hubble telescope in space.
· European Free Trade Zone: 12 member European Economic Community sets up a vast free trade zone.
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For Microsoft, 1992 is about partnership. Intel and Microsoft introduce a new specification (in beta form) called DV MCI (the digital video command set of MCI), that expands the Media Control Interface (MCI) for the Microsoft® Windows® graphical environment to work with current and future forms of digital video. We announce the Microsoft Certified Professional Program, a rigorous series of online exams covering Windows 3.1, LAN Manager, and SQL Server. And in response to an inflammatory newspaper article in the New York Post, Microsoft announces that there are no hidden messages contained in any of the Wingdings fonts in the Microsoft® Windows® operating system and certainly no hate messages against any religious or ethnic group.
Previous Episodes:
1975
The History of Microsoft - 1976
The History of Microsoft - 1977
The History of Microsoft - 1978
The History of Microsoft - 1979
The History of Microsoft - 1980
The History of Microsoft - 1981
The History of Microsoft - 1982
The History of Microsoft - 1983
The History of Microsoft - 1984
The History of Microsoft - 1985
The History of Microsoft - 1986
The History of Microsoft - 1987
The History of Microsoft - 1988
The History of Microsoft - 1989
The History of Microsoft - 1990
The History of Microsoft - 1991
19921992 Revenue/Headcount
The 1992 fiscal year-end sales total $2,758,725,000. The 1992 fiscal Year employee headcount totals 11,542 people.
Official Subsidiaries Launched: Microsoft (S.A.) (Proprietary) Limited (South Africa), Microsoft Chile S.A., Microsoft Oy (Finland). Microsoft (Malaysia ) Sdn. Bhd., Microsoft Hellas S.A. (Greece), Microsoft s.r.o. (Czech Republic), Microsoft sp.z.o.o (Poland), Microsoft Middle East, Microsoft Columbia, Microsoft A.O. (Russia)
January 20, 1992
A Portable Computing Initiative suite of technologies is announced. As the first phase of the initiative, Microsoft will offer: Advanced Power Management (APM) to extend battery life; Microsoft® MS-DOS® ROM version 5.0; Interlink, a fast new data transfer utility; and Solid-State memory support.January 28, 1992
Scott Oki senior vice president of U.S. sales, marketing and service retires and Microsoft promotes Jeff Raikes, currently vice president of the Office Systems Group, to fill the position.February 3, 1992
Microsoft announces a new organizational structure and outlines three centers of strategic focus: worldwide product development, worldwide sales and support, and worldwide operations. The company creates a corresponding three-person Office of the President, to be filled by Michael J. Maples, Steven A. Ballmer and Francis J. Gaudette who will report directly to Bill Gates, chairman and CEO. Michael Hallman steps down as president and board member. The term BOOP will be coined shortly after this, referring to Bill Gates and the Office of the President.February 18, 1992
Microsoft announces that it will, along with Intel, R.R. Donnelley & Sons, and Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, host for the first time a three-day Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) for manufacturers of personal computer systems that will focus on how to optimize hardware for the Microsoft® Windows® graphical environment.March 10, 1992
Intel and Microsoft introduce a new specification (in beta form) called DV MCI (the digital video command set of MCI), that expands the Media Control Interface (MCI) for the Microsoft® Windows® graphical environment to work with current and future forms of digital video. The announcement is made at the International Conference and Exhibition on Multimedia and CD-ROM in San Francisco.March 17, 1992
Frank Gaudette, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Operations Group, leads dignitaries from Ireland and Seattle in Seattle's 1992 St. Patrick's Day Parade.March 20, 1992
TV ads are used for the first time to promote the Microsoft® Windows® environment to computer users who don't necessarily read computer magazines. The commercials, which will run on network and cable programs, stress how easy personal computing can be with Windows and promotes Microsoft business programs designed to work with Windows.March 23, 1992
Microsoft announces the Microsoft Certified Professional Program, a rigorous series of online exams covering Windows 3.1, LAN Manger, and SQL Server. Microsoft certification measures expertise which helps ensure quality support to end users and company personnel.March 24, 1992
Microsoft and Fox Software announce that they intend to merge. Under the terms of the final agreement, Dave Fulton and other Fox employees will join Microsoft.March 31, 1992
Microsoft is teaming up with OEMs, computer resellers, and component manufacturers to pre-install Microsoft® Windows® version 3.1 (Ready-to-Run) on a wide variety of personal computers, allowing both first-time users and large corporate installations to have Windows up and running quickly and easily. Companies are not only pre-installing Windows but are also optimizing it for the best performance on that machine, and some are adding custom features to aid customers.April 6, 1992
Microsoft ships Windows 3.1 with more than 1,000 enhancements. The new version creates unprecedented user demand, with over more than 1 million advance orders placed worldwide.April 7, 1992
The new pen operating system, Microsoft® Windows® for Pen Computing (Windows for Pens) is announced. It is the only operating system that combines full pen computing functionality and full compatibility with version 3.1 of the Microsoft Windows® operating system.. More than 220 hardware and software companies have announced support.April 15, 1992
Judge Vaughn R. Walker of the U.S. District Court of Northern California rules in favor of Microsoft in the ongoing Apple copyright infringement lawsuit, finding that all of the visual displays in dispute in Windows 2.03, and many of the disputed visual displays in Windows 3.0 are not protected under Apple's copyrights. The suit was originally filed in March of 1988.April 29, 1992
In response to an inflammatory newspaper article in the New York Post, Microsoft announces that there are no hidden messages contained in any of the Wingdings fonts in the Microsoft® Windows® operating system and certainly no hate messages against any religious or ethnic group.July 6, 1992
Early Version Of Windows NT Introduced At Largest Developers Conference Ever. Microsoft demonstrates Windows NT at the Win32 Professional Developers Conference in San Francisco, California. All conference attendees receive the Win32 API preliminary Software Developers Kit (SDK) for Windows NT, which contains an early release of Windows NT.July 29, 1992
The Microsoft Developer Network (MDN), a new customer service established to support all commercial and corporate developers writing applications for Microsoft® Windows®, is announced. The MDN will write and publish in-depth technical and strategic information on programming for Windows.August 19, 1992
Unit shipments of the Microsoft® Windows® operating system have exceeded one million per month in each of the last four months. The rate of sales of Windows constitutes a new milestone for the personal computer industry, unmatched by any other graphical operating system. Leading industry indicators demonstrate that the customer commitment to Windows is increasing dramatically, benefiting PC software and hardware companies industry-wide.October 27, 1992
Windows for Workgroups 3.1 is available worldwide.November 10, 1992
Microsot Chairman and CEO Bill Gates and President of Intel Corporation, Andrew S. Grove announce the two companies' shared vision for the next wave in personal computing, called Digital Video Computing. Microsoft announces Video for Windows, which incorporates Intel Indeo technology, that will allow users to integrate digital video information into applications that run on Microsoft Windows.November 16, 1992
At COMDEX Fall 1992 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Microsoft announces the availability of Access Database for Windows.Other Products Released in 1992: SQL Administrator for Windows, SQL Server 4.2, Office 2.0 for the Mac, Microsoft Test for Windows 1.0, C/C++ 7.0 Development System for Windows 3.1, Works for MS-DOS 3.0, Project for Windows 3.0, SQL Server Resource Kit, Professional Toolkit for Visual BASIC for Windows, Windows Driver Library 3.1, Windows Resource Kit 3.1, Excel for Windows 4.0, Excel for the Macintosh 4.0, TrueType Font Pack for Windows, Office 2.5 for Windows, PowerPoint for Windows 3.0, Windows Device Driver (DDK) 3.1, Mail Host Access 3.2 for IBM PROFS and OfficeVision, Mail Distribution Manager 3.2 for IBM PROFS and Office Vision, Macro Developer's Kit (MDK) for Word 2.0, SQL Server Starter Kit, Word & Bookshelf for Windows, Multimedia Edition, Golf for Windows 1.0, Bookshelf for Windows on CD-ROM, 1992 Edition, Mail for AppleTalk Networks 3.1, Project for the Macintosh 3.0, Works for the Macintosh 3.0, Schedule+ for Windows, Mail for PC Networks 3.0, Cinemania on CD-ROM 1.0, Office 3.0 for Windows, Entertainment Pack for Windows, Volume 4., Money for Windows 2.0, Windows Sound System, Publisher Design Pack, Publisher CD-ROM Edition 1.0, SoundBits sound clip collections, Microsoft Musical Instruments, Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) Software Development Kit 1.0, Microsoft SQL Server Network Integration Kit, Word 5.1 for the Macintosh, PowerPoint 3.0 for the Macintosh, LAN Manager version 2.1a for UNIX® Systems, Visual BASIC for Windows 2.0, Microsoft/Hewlett-Packard Font Set, TrueType Font Pack 2, Video for Windows 1.0, Macro Assembler Professional Development System (MASM) 6.1,
Notable New Hires: Craig Mundie
In the World:
· Apple's John Sculley coins the term "personal digital assistant" and promises a $3.5 trillion consumer digital-electronics market by the close of the decade.
· The Michelangelo virus infects PCs worldwide on March 8. Consumer awareness keeps damage minimal.
· Election: Bill Clinton is elected president of the United States, defeating incumbent George H.W. Bush and businessman Ross Perot.
· Balkans: The breakup of Yugoslavia continues as the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina declares independence. Bosnian Serbs then declare the independence of their own Republika Srpska. War breaks out between the forces of the two republics and Sarajevo is besieged.
· TV: Johnny Carson retires from the Tonight Show after 30 years, replaced by Jay Leno.Home Improvement, Roseanne, and Full House are among the top television programs.Mad About You, Dateline NBC, and Barney & Friends premiere. Prime Suspect, starring Helen Mirren, wins the Banff Television Festival Grand Prize for its premiere episode.
· Mafia: Italian anti-Mafia magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino are killed in bomb attacks sanctioned by Corleonesi Family head Salvatore Riina.
· United Nations: Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
· Hurricane: Hurricane Andrew strikes the Florida coast, killing 23, leaving 250,000 homeless, and causing $26 billion in damage – the most destructive hurricane in U.S. history before Katrina.
· Europe: The European Community becomes the European Union following the signing of the Maastricht Treaty.
· Oil: The Greek oil tanker Aegean Sea runs aground in a storm near La Coruña, Spain,spilling more than 70,000 tons of crude oil and contaminating over 300 km. of shoreline.
· Riots: Four LAPD officers are acquitted of assault in the video-taped beating of Rodney King, sparking race riots in Los Angeles and other parts of the U.S.
· Internet: The MIME Internet mail standard is approved.
· Split: The Czechoslovak Federal Assembly votes to dissolve the nation into separate Czech and Slovak republics, in the so-called Velvet Divorce.
· Impeachment: Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello resigns after being impeached on corruption charges.
· Music: Garth Brooks’ Ropin’ the Wind is the #1 album in the U.S. and Linda Martin from Ireland wins the Eurovision Song Contest withWhy Me?.
· Somalia: U.S. forces land in Somalia in an attempt to restore order and provide humanitarian aid in the midst of a civil war.
· Shopping: America’s largest shopping mall, the Mall of America, opens in Bloomington, Minnesota.
· Disaster: El Al Flight 1862 crashes in the Bijlmer neighborhood of Amsterdam shortly after takeoff, killing 43.
· Sports: The Toronto Blue Jays defeat the Atlanta Braves in the World Series, 4 games to 2 – the first non-U.S. team to win baseball’s Fall Classic. The 1992 Summer Olympics are held in Barcelona, Spain, with 172 countries represented. For the last time, the Winter Olympics are held the same year, in Albertville, France, with 64 nations participating.
· Movies: Top grossing movies of the year include Aladdin, Wayne’s World, Basic Instinct, and A Few Good Men.Unforgiven nets Oscars for Best Movie and Best Director (Clint Eastwood) and Swedish filmDen goda viljan (The Best Intentions) wins the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
· Bill Gates, the first PC software industry person to do so, receives the National Medal of Technology from President George Bush.
· U.S. voters elect a Democratic presidential team, Bill Clinton and Al Gore, who enthusiastically support high technology.
DC Comics' Superman meets his match and dies at the hands of a maniac known as Doomsday -
For Microsoft, 1991 brings a new toll-free Piracy Hotline Number for consumer reports or inquires about pirated Microsoft® products: 1-800-NOCOPYN. We announce the BallPoint Mouse, designed especially for use with laptop computers and sales of software applications written for Windows 3.0 skyrocket.
Previous Episodes:
The History of Microsoft - 1975
The History of Microsoft - 1976
The History of Microsoft - 1977
The History of Microsoft - 1978
The History of Microsoft - 1979
The History of Microsoft - 1980
The History of Microsoft - 1981
The History of Microsoft - 1982
The History of Microsoft - 1983
The History of Microsoft - 1984
The History of Microsoft - 1985
The History of Microsoft - 1986
The History of Microsoft - 1987
The History of Microsoft - 1988
The History of Microsoft - 1989
19911991 Revenue/Headcount
The 1991 fiscal year-end sales total $1,843,432,000. The 1991 fiscal Year employee headcount totals 8,226 people.
Official Subsidiaries Launched: Corporation MS 90 de Venezuela S.A. Microsoft Hong Kong Limited,Microsoft New Zealand Limited, Microsoft Mexico, S.A. de C.V. , Microsoft Gesellschaft m.b.H (Austria) , Microsoft de Argentina S.A., Microsoft (Thailand) Limited
Sales Offices Established:
February 1, 1991
The redesign of product packaging to include the new Windows Flag logo begins in February 1991. The first product packages to display the Windows Flag are: Microsoft® Money for Windows (announced 9/1/1991); Microsoft Publisher for Windows (announced 9/16/1991); Microsoft Works for Windows version 2.0 (announced 9/16/1991); Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows, Volume 1.00b (RTM 12/19/1991); Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows, Volume 2 (ships 9/30/1991); and Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows, Volume 3 (ships 9/30/1991). It will also be featured on Microsoft® Windows® version 3.1 (RTM 3/18/1992). This is NOT the 4-colored flag, but the first “Windows –compatible” mark.February 25, 1991
Microsoft announces that twenty-one computer manufacturers have announced their intentions to build pen-based computers that will support the Microsoft Windows for Pen Computing (Windows for Pens). This announcement came last week at the Pen Windows Developer Conference held February 21-22, 1991 in Seattle. Microsoft distributed beta copies of Windows for Pens at the conference.March 6, 1991
Microsoft reports an agreement to acquire the assets of Consumers Software, Inc. (CSI). Assets are: The Network Courier product line for PC local area networks, including server software and client software for the MS-DOS, Macintosh, OS/2 Presentation Manager.March 8, 1991
A toll-free Piracy Hotline Number is established for consumer reports or inquires about pirated Microsoft® products: 1-800-NOCOPYN.March 11, 1991
Microsoft announces the BallPoint Mouse, designed especially for use with laptop computers.March 18, 1991
Microsoft announces the Microsoft Bookshelf for Windows on CD-ROM, a core set of reference materials for the home, office or school that is run on a personal computer. It includes an encyclopedia, a speaking dictionary, a thesaurus, two references for quotes, an atlas, and an almanac.March 18, 1991
Microsoft purchases a 26 percent share of Dorling Kindersley, Ltd., a London-based book publisher and international packager. As part of the agreement, the Microsoft Multimedia Publishing Group gains rights to license content from Dorling Kindersley for use in future multimedia software titles.March 18, 1991
Microsoft announces that, along with 11 other companies, it plans to use a special MPC trademark to indicate to customers that hardware products and systems software bearing the mark are compatible with the previously announced Multimedia PC (MPC) specification. The trademark will be transferred from its current owner, Microsoft, to an appropriate industry organization before general availability of products bearing the MPC mark.March 25, 1991
Sales of software applications written for Windows 3.0 skyrocket. Newly released Software Publishers Association (SPA) data for the year-end of 1990 shows a 157 percent increase in sales of Windows applications in the U.S. and Canada.May 10, 1991
There's a new slogan for an aggressive anti-piracy campaign being launched this summer: "Work With The Original." Logos, artwork and posters, marketing materials and brochures, and marketing programs and events will all emphasize the advantages of working with legitimate software both domestically and internationally.May 20, 1991
Microsoft announces Visual BASIC for Windows at Windows World 1991 in Atlanta, GeorgiaJune 11, 1991
Microsoft announces the immediate availability of Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0.June 14, 1991
Microsoft is connected to the nationwide TCP/IP-based Internet. The Internet is a wide-area network that connects computers at a large number of universities, research institutions, and commercial concerns around the world.July 8, 1991
A Product Support Services site is planned to be opened in Dallas, Texas in October 1991. The new Dallas site will be headed by Glenn Young, Central Region Manager, who will report to Patty Stonesifer.August 5, 1991
Microsoft® Wizards will allow Microsoft applications to anticipate what a user will want to do next or suggest a better way to accomplish the task. The technology would enable the program to follow a user's movements as she or he works and draw conclusions as to what the user is apt to do next. They are expected to be included in Microsoft Publisher for Windows.August 9, 1991
More than 1,800 software developers will convene in Seattle, August 11, 1991 for a Microsoft Windows Software Developers Conference. This number exceeds projections by 300 percent, the conference is at capacity, and hotels in the heart of Seattle are full. To manage the movement of the large number of attendees between locations, the city has issued a parade permit. Also, Mayor Norman Rice will proclaim the week of August 11th "Software Developers Week," in recognition of the contribution of software development to the Seattle metropolitan area's economy.August 26, 1991
Excel 3.0 for Windows is generating significant gains in market share and a groundswell of support from software developers and corporate customers. Microsoft ships 1.5 million units of Excel worldwide and 40 percent of the increased market share of Excel comes from users who are switching competitive spreadsheet packages.September 16, 1991
Microsoft releases the Solution Series, a collection of stand-alone, task-oriented applications designed for the personal and small-business computer user. The applications, Works for Windows, Money, and Publisher, run under Windows 3.0 and are designed for people who are new to personal computing and those who don't want to spend a lot of extra time playing around with their computers.November 1, 1991
The new Microsoft® Windows® logo, a colorful window with trailing rectangular tails in the shape of a fluttering flag, is announced at Fall/COMDEX '91. It is intended to be displayed on products that are compatible with versions 3.0 and 3.1 of Windows. There are three versions: Microsoft Windows, which is for internal use by employees only; Microsoft Windows Compatible, which is for use by authorized third-party companies; and Microsoft Windows Ready-to-Run, which is used by OEMs who pre-install Windows on their products.November 8, 1991
For the first time, employees contribute more than $1 million to the United Way campaign. With Microsoft's dollar-for-dollar corporate match, the 1991 donation comes to more than $2 million.November 14, 1991
Microsoft announces Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) that allows applications to communicate easily with both relational and non-relational management systems. It is based on the SQL Access Group's Call Level Interface specification (CLI), which uses SQL to access database environments.Other Products Released in 1991: Excel 3.0 for Windows, Microsoft Windows Libraries for the OS/2 Development Kit 0.9, Microsoft CodeView® for Windows debugger, Multimedia Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony, Microsoft SQL Server for COBOL Developer's Kit, Microsoft Mail for PC Networks 2.1, Excel for the Macintosh 3.0, Microsoft Windows Resource Kit, Microsoft Macro Assembler Professional Development System 6.0, Microsoft Schedule+ for the Apple Macintosh, Microsoft Bookshelf for DOS 2.0, FORTRAN 5.1 Professional Development System for Windows, Office 1.5 for the Apple Macintosh, Office 1.6 for Windows, Source Profiler 1.0, MS-DOS Quick Basic Interpreter, Learning Microsoft DOS, Excel 3.0 for OS/2 Presentation Manager, Microsoft Project 1.1 for the Mac, SQL Server for PC Networks 1.11, Visual BASIC Library for Microsoft SQL Server Software Development Kit (SDK), Windows 3.0 Debugging version 1.0, Flight Simulator for the Apple Macintosh 4.0, COBOL Professional Development System version 4.5, Microsoft Windows with Multimedia Extensions 1.0, Entertainment Pack for Windows, Volumes 2 and 3, Multimedia Development Kit (MDK) 1.0, LAN Manager 2.1, LAN Manager Service for Macintosh, Word for the Macintosh 5.0, Microsoft Mail for PC Networks 3.0, Multimedia Edition of Works for Windows 2.0
Notable New Hires: Rick Rashid
In the World:
· IBM and Apple Computer form two jointly-owned, independent companies, Taligent and Kaleida, to create a new object-oriented operating system and multimedia technologies, respectively.
· Novell purchases Digital Research and braces for a battle with Microsoft over control of the desktop.
· Coalition forces from 39 countries, led by the United States and the United Nations, begin Operation Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation.
· The U.S. Supreme Court approves an end to school busing.
· Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins on January 17 and ends six weeks later with Kuwait liberated by Allied forces.
· Linux: The first version of the Linux kernel is released to the Internet.
· USSR: The Soviet Union is dissolved following a failed coup by hardline extremists, replaced by the Commonwealth of Independent States. Boris Yeltsin becomes the first democratically-elected president of Russia.
· Stock Market: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 3,000 for the first time.
· King: An amateur video brings the arrest and beating of Rodney King by LA police to television screens nationwide. Four police officers are indicted and later acquitted, sparking racial riots.
· TV: Murphy Brown, Roseanne, and Cheers are among the top television programs.Home Improvement, Ren & Stimpy, and The Jerry Springer Show premiere.
· Magic: Los Angeles Lakers star “Magic” Johnson announces he is HIV+.
· Business: Pan Am closes down after 64 years as one of the world’s leading airlines.
· Music: “Grunge” enters the music vocabulary as Nirvana’s albumNevermind hits the charts and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” becomes the anthem of a generation.
· Balkans: Yugoslavia disintegrates as Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia declare independence and fighting breaks out between Serbian, Croatian, and Slovenian forces.
· Computers: Apple launches Mac System 7.
· Scandal: The 35th Annual Tailhook Symposium on naval aviation is marred by accusations of sexual harassment and assault.
· Marriage: Actress Jane Fonda marries TV magnate Ted Turner.
· Football: The New York Giants win Super Bowl XXV, defeating the Buffalo Bills in a 20-19 nail-biter.
· Electronics: Sony launches MAVICA, the first digital still camera.
· Court: Clarence Thomas is confirmed as Supreme Court Justice, despite accusations of sexual harassment made by Anita Hill.
· Movies: Top grossing movies of the year include Terminator 2,Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, City Slickers, and Fried Green Tomatoes.Silence of the Lambs sweeps the Oscars, winning the awards for Best Picture, Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster), and Best Director (Jonathan Demme).
-
For Microsoft, 1990 is about communication as we announce the integration of voice messaging capabilities into Microsoft Mail for AppleTalk Networks. WinMail, a Windows version 3.0-based mail front end is available for internal use and Russian MS-DOS 4.01 is the first Microsoft product localized for the Soviet market.
Previous Episodes:
The History of Microsoft - 1975
The History of Microsoft - 1976
The History of Microsoft - 1977
The History of Microsoft - 1978
The History of Microsoft - 1979
The History of Microsoft - 1980
The History of Microsoft - 1981
The History of Microsoft - 1982
The History of Microsoft - 1983
The History of Microsoft - 1984
The History of Microsoft - 1985
The History of Microsoft - 1986
The History of Microsoft - 1987
The History of Microsoft - 1988
The History of Microsoft - 1989
1990 Revenue/HeadcountThe 1990 fiscal year-end sales total $1,183,446,000, over the $1 billion mark for the first time. The 1990 fiscal Year employee headcount totals 5,635 people.
Official Subsidiaries Launched: Microsoft Norge AS (Norway), Microsfot Danmark ApS (Denmark), MSFT-Software Para Microcomputadores, LDA (Portugal), Microsoft Manufacturing B.V (Netherlands)
Sales Offices Established: Singapore,
January 8, 1990
Microsoft announces the retail availability of Word for Windows also shipping in international versions to the United Kingdom (U.K.), Canada, and Australia.February 13, 1990
Microsoft and Micro Decisionware announce the Database Gateway, which integrates SQL Server and mainframe environments so that users can obtain data transparently from either or both, with standard PC applications.February 20, 1990
Microsoft License Paks for large corporate accounts are announced. Available for each of the major applications products, Microsoft License Paks will be a new Microsoft packaged product and will be distributed through dealers. This will be a worldwide program.March 5, 1990
Microsoft will provide TrueType outline font technology in Microsoft Windows and in OS/2 Presentation Manager 2.00. Microsoft also reports that Microsoft TrueImage will be the name for its page description language.March 9, 1990
Microsoft Press announces the acquisition of the publication rights to the entire line of computer books from The Cobb Group, Inc. The deal includes six titles already in print and three forthcoming titles. This acquisition of Cobb's book line brings the number of Microsoft Press titles in print to more than 100.March 12, 1990
Nathan Myhrvold is appointed Vice President of Advanced Technology and Business Development. Myhrvold will be responsible for assessing future systems software technology and identifying new business development opportunities and will coordinate various internal and third-party research and development projects. He will report to Steve Ballmer, Vice President of Systems Software. He has been with Microsoft since 1986.March 18, 1990
East Germany holds its first democratic elections since 1932, and Excel for OS/2, installed on IBM Model 80s, keeps track of and charts the results in the Press Center, Volkskammer (Parliament), and the Palast der Republik, home of TV studios and the central election point.March 26, 1990
Microsoft announces the integration of voice messaging capabilities into Microsoft Mail for AppleTalk Networks. Mail is the first business application to incorporate sound recording, compression, and playback technology, developed with Farallon Computing, Inc.March 30, 1990
WinMail, a Windows version 3.0-based mail front end, is available for internal use. WinMail allows the users to manage e-mail on a local PC with the Windows 3.0 graphical user interface. Previously, Microsoft employees were using Xenix e-mail.April 2, 1990
Microsoft appoints Michael R. Hallman as president and chief operating officer, to succeed upon Jon Shirley’s retirement.April 9, 1990
Russian MS-DOS 4.01 is the first Microsoft product localized for the Soviet market.April 30, 1990
Technical support will be offered to the more than 25 million users of Microsoft® MS-DOS® in the U.S. The support applies to all OEM versions of MS-DOS. Because Microsoft licenses the MS-DOS system only to OEMs rather than end users, product support has previously been the responsibility of the individual OEM. Now Microsoft will provide supplementary support.May 4, 1990
Microsoft will donate $100,000 to the Smithsonian Institution for a new exhibit to be called "The Information Age: People, Information, and Technology." This exhibit will explore the way information technology has changed society over the past 150 years. A special section will be devoted to the evolution of personal computers into current information technology.May 17, 1990
The first "Bike to Work Day" is held. More than 170 enthusiasts pedal their way to work. The "Lead by Example" Award for the highest corporate officer to ride in goes to new President Mike Hallman.May 22, 1990
Microsoft announces the availability of Windows 3.0 at the City Center Theater in New York, New York. Breakthroughs in computer memory management would help this version be the one that finally got momentum in third party applications being built for the Windows environment.June 15, 1990
The Microsoft Road Show '90, "Seeing is Believing," is on the road. For the third year, products and expertise are taken to selected cities around the country and seminars are offered to end users and resellers. This show is almost entirely devoted to Microsoft® Windows® products and the graphical user interface.July 2, 1990
The Microsoft Company Store opens. It will provide Microsoft® Press books, Microsoft software, and Microsoft Mark logo items.July 11, 1990
Plans to open an East Coast Product Support Services site this fall are announced. The new site will be located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte was selected because of its competitive real estate market, large student population, state-funded training program, and high quality of life.July 24, 1990
Kicking off its 15th-anniversary celebration, Microsoft becomes the first personal computer software company to exceed 1 billion dollars in sales in a single year, with revenues of 1.18 billion dollars.August 30, 1990
Microsoft forms the Microsoft Consulting Services Group, aimed at helping large corporate customers better use Microsoft products to build complex information systems.September 16, 1990
Microsoft launches the Microsoft Windows Computing Marketing Program, the largest single marketing campaign in the company's history to date. The total cost of the marketing campaign is more than $7 million.September 19, 1990
IBM reaffirms its relationship with Microsoft and extends its licensing arrangements for the Microsoft® MS-DOS®, Microsoft Windows®, and OS/2® products. Highlighted are a series of steps that have been taken to improve the efficiency and productivity of development efforts for MS-DOS and OS/2.October 1, 1990
Office for Windows which includes: Excel, Word, and PowerPoint is available.October 8, 1990
Microsoft announces the availability of Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows. It includes: Tetris, Taipei, MineSweeper, TicTactics, Golf, Cruel, and Pegged; plus the IdleWild screen saver.October 22, 1990
The Microsoft Consultant Relations Program, a new program designed to support third-party consultants who develop systems based on Microsoft® products for their customers, is announced. The program provides a variety of services to qualified consultants including technical information, product information, product discounts, and customer referrals.November 12, 1990
Microsoft® Corp. and Interface Group announce the joining of forces to launch Windows World™ Conference and Exposition. The annual industry event will address the needs of the rapidly growing number of companies offering Windows® productsNovember 12, 1990
Bill Gates delivers his Information At Your Fingertips speech at Fall/COMDEX Las Vegas, Nevada.November 27, 1990
At the Microsoft Multimedia Developers Conference in San Jose, specifications of PC-based multimedia are announced. The Microsoft® Multimedia Development Kit is announced. Tandy announces plans to deliver integrated Microsoft Windows®-based Multimedia PCs (MPCs) and upgrade kits. Microsoft and IBM announce publication of a specification for common multimedia API and data formats.Other Products Released in 1990:
OS/2 Presentation Manager Toolkit 1.20, Microsoft LAN Manager/X for UNIX SystemV/386, Multiplan 4.2, Gateway for AppleLink (MS Mail), the Software Development Kit for HyperCard (MS Mail), X.400 Gateway (MS Mail), FAXGATE (MS Mail), Gateway Software Development Kit (MS Mail), Microsoft Quick C Compiler 2.5, Microsoft Quick C with Quick Assembler 2.5, C Professional Development System version 6.0, Windows to OS/2 Software Migration Kit, Project for Windows 1.0, Windows Software Development Kit 3.0, PowerPoint 2.0 for Windows, Microsoft BASIC Professional Development System 7.1, Microsoft LAN Manager for UNIX 1.1, OS/2 Presentation Manager 1.21, Windows 3.0 Device Development Kit (DDK), Word for Windows 1.1, Microsoft LAN Manager 2.0, Microsoft SQL Server 1.1, Programmer's Library on CD-ROM 1.2, DCA/Microsoft Communications Server 1.0, TrueImage 1.0, Windows Supplemental Driver Library (SDL), Microsoft Productivity Pack for Windows, Microsoft Game Shop, Microsoft Flight Simulator Aircraft & Scenery Designer, COBOL Professional Development System 4.0, Microsoft Professional Advisor Library; Microsoft C Developers Toolkit, Microsoft MS-DOS ROM Developer's Kit, Word for DOS 5.5,
Notable New Hires: Gary Gigot, Ray Emery, Brad Silverberg, Elton Welke, Bob McDowell, Jim AllchinIn the World:
· USSR: The Soviet Union unravels as it agrees to pull its troops out of Hungary and Czechoslovakia, the Communist Party drops its monopoly on power, private property and religious freedom are legalized, Lithuania, Estonia, and Armenia declare independence, Boris Yeltsin is elected president of Russia, and the first McDonalds opens in Moscow.
· Internet: Tim Berners-Lee writes the initial prototype for the World Wide Web.
· Middle East: The Gulf War begins as Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait.
· Business: Time Inc. and Warner Communications merge to form TimeWarner.
· South Africa: Nelson Mandela is freed from prison after 27 years.
· TV: Murphy Brown, Cheers, and The Cosby Show are among the top television programs.Law and Order, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and In Living Color premiere.
· Space: NASA announces that the $1.5 billion Hubble Space Telescope is defective. Astronauts are later able to make repairs.
· Cars: New brands introduced include Lexus, Saturn, and Infiniti.
· Reunification: East and West Germany are united as one country for the first time since World War II.
· Banks: The Savings & Loan scandal rocks the banking industry, causing closure of many S&Ls and eventually costing taxpayers billions.
· Muppets: Jim Henson dies of pneumonia at age 53.
· Recall: Perrier is pulled from the world market when traces of benzene are found in US samples.
· Poland: Solidarity's Lech Walesa is elected Poland's president.
· Electronics: Intel announces the 80586 chip, later renamed the Pentium.
· England: Margaret Thatcher steps down after 11 years as Prime Minister, succeeded by John Major.
· Movies: Top grossing movies of the year include Home Alone,Ghost, Pretty Woman, and Dances with Wolves. Dances with Wolves also netted Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director (Kevin Costner), while Kathy Bates won Best Actress forMisery, and Jeremy Irons took Best Actor for Reversal of Fortune.
· Microsoft, IBM, Tandy, AT&T, and others announce hardware and software specifications for multimedia.
· Asymetrix releases ToolBook, one of the first programs to exploit the graphical capabilities of Microsoft Windows 3.0.
McDonald's opens its first franchise in the Soviet Union. -
For Microsoft, 1989 brings the availability of Office for the Macintosh, Steve Ballmer is promoted to Senior Vice President and we announce the availability of Microsoft Flash File System, a file system for Intel's flash memory technology.
Previous Episodes:
The History of Microsoft - 1975
The History of Microsoft - 1976
The History of Microsoft - 1977
The History of Microsoft - 1978
The History of Microsoft - 1979
The History of Microsoft - 1980
The History of Microsoft - 1981
The History of Microsoft - 1982
The History of Microsoft - 1983
The History of Microsoft - 1984
The History of Microsoft - 1985
The History of Microsoft - 1986
The History of Microsoft - 1987
The History of Microsoft - 1988
1989 Revenue/HeadcountThe 1989 fiscal year-end sales total $804,530,000. The 1989 fiscal Year employee headcount totals 4,037people.
Official Subsidiaries Launched:
Microsoft Informatica Limitada (Brazil), Microsoft Israel, Ltd., Microsoft AG (Switzerland), Microsoft N.V. (Belgium), Microsoft Taiwan Corporation, Microsoft Puerto Rico, Inc.
Sales Office established: Microsoft Hong Kong, Israel (Tel Aviv)
January 20, 1989
The Microsoft Road Show opens in Seattle, Washington, the first of 10 stops around the country. Dealers and corporate executives have a chance to try nine different applications, get a peek at three unreleased products and attend specialty seminars on Excel and Word. *I think there is a video*January 25, 1989
Microsoft unveils the promotional campaign for Excel for Windows, targeting users who are considering purchasing or upgrading to future releases of Lotus 1-2-3. The campaign includes an exchange offer for 1-2-3 users, free evaluation copies, and nationwide Excel seminars.February 15, 1989
Microsoft and The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. announce that Microsoft will make a minority investment of less than 20 percent in SCO, the world's leading developer and publisher of UNIX System software. Since 1981 the two companies have worked together to develop and market XENIX, the first commercial version of the UNIX operating system.March 27, 1989
Microsoft hosts the Fourth International Conference on CD-ROM, "Seeing Is Believing," in Anaheim, California. Among the innovations this year are an on-site electronic mail system; simultaneous translation of all sessions into Japanese via a wireless headset system; and a CD-ROM Industry Yearbook.May 3, 1989
Microsoft and Ashton-Tate announce the shipment of the Microsoft SQL Server 1.0. The product is the result of a joint development effort of Ashton-Tate, Microsoft, and Sybase. SQL Server is a powerful, relational database server for PC-based Local Area Networks (LANs).May 3, 1989
Steve Ballmer is promoted to Senior Vice President. He had been Vice President of Systems Software since 1984. He will report to Jon Shirley, President.June 5, 1989
Microsoft forms the Multimedia Division, dedicated to the development and marketing of multimedia systems software and consumer products.June 19, 1989
Office for the Macintosh is available. Macintosh applications include: Word 4.00, Excel 2.20, PowerPoint 2.01, and Mail 1.37. The four applications provide the tools to perform essential business tasks of most business professionals. *this is first version of Office*June 26, 1989
Microsoft Mouse sales surpass two million units, twice the number sold less than one year ago. It took Microsoft five years to ship the first million units, but it has taken only one year to ship the second million. In August, Microsoft introduced a re-designed product that has accounted for 1.5 million of the total units.July 18, 1989
The Usability Group opens its new in-house testing facilities with an open house to demonstrate usability procedures and showcase a range of new data-collection equipment. The usability group tests interfaces, documentation, and instructional materials.July 25, 1989
The first Financial Analyst Meeting is hosted at the Corporate Campus. Speakers include: Jon Shirley, Bill Gates, Frank Gaudette, Mike Maples, Jeremy Butler, and Scott Oki.August 1, 1989
Microsoft announces OnLine Plus, a comprehensive software support service that gives corporations priority access to senior technical support staff. The service includes unlimited telephone access through a private phone number and electronic access to high-level support personnel and an extensive database of product information.August 18, 1989
The Microsoft Velvet Sweatshop logo sweatshirts are created in response to a Seattle Times cover article intended to reveal the true working environment at Microsoft. The article alleges that employees are working long and dedicated hours that preclude any personal life.August 31, 1989
A complete Chinese MS-DOS® version 3.21 will be provided to licensed OEMs and shipped in the future by representatives in Taiwan. As a service to users in Taiwan, a retail version of the Chinese MS-DOS operating system will be made available to end users on a temporary basis. This will be the first time a retail version of MS-DOS had been made available directly to customers.September, 1989
Building 11, which will house all of MIS and Corporate Systems, will be finished and occupied during the first two weeks of September 1989. This 83,000-square-foot. structure will feature state-of-the-art equipment, including an uninterruptable power system for those systems housed within it. *First DATA CENTER*
October 3, 1989
Microsoft announces the availability of Microsoft Flash File System, a file system for Intel's flash memory technology. This system allows MS-DOS to support new memory storage devices as well as traditional storage media. It allows the MS-DOS end-user to use flash memory in exactly the same way as a conventional disk drive. Microsoft will license the Flash File System in binary form to OEMs.December 27, 1989
Microsoft announces that Jon Shirley will retire as president and chief operating officer on June 30, 1990. Shirley, president since August of 1983, will continue to play a role in the management of the company as a member of the Board of Directors and as a consultant for strategic projects.Other Products Released in 1989:
Quick C Compiler 2.0, OS/2 LAN Manager 1.21, Programmer’s Library 1.10, Word 4.0 for Mac, QuickC Compiler with QuickAssembler 2.01, Quick PASCAL Compiler 1.0, FORTRAN Optimizing Compiler 5.0, Word 5.0 for MS-DOS & OS/2, OS/2 Presentation Manager Toolkit 1.0, Excel Mac 2.2, Microsoft Mail 2.0, Software Development Kit for Gateways (MS Mail), Software Development Kit for Applications (MS Mail), Software Development Kit for HyperCard (MS Mail), Works 2.0 for PC, MS-DOS ROM 2.0, Flight Simulator 4.0 for PC, Excel 1.0 for OS/2, Microsoft BASIC Professional Development System 1.0, OS/2 Presentation Manager SDK 2.0.
Notable New Hires: Mike Brown
In the World:· End of the Cold War: The New York Times declared the Cold War over as the Berlin Wall came down, East and West Germany discussed reunification, Poland and Czechoslovakia installed non-Communist governments, Lithuania nullified its annexation to the Soviet Union, and the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was killed in a violent uprising.
· Bush: George H.W. Bush sworn in as the 41st president of the United States.
· Milli Vanilli: Milli Vanilli won the 1989 Grammy for Best New Artist. The award was later revoked when it was discovered that their entire album was lip-synched.
· Tiananmen: China imposed martial law as pro-democracy demonstrators occupied Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
· New chip: Intel introduced the 80486 microprocessor.
· Earthquake: The 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake hit the Bay Area, setting the Marina district of San Francisco ablaze, collapsing double-deck roadways on I-880 and the Oakland-Bay Bridge, and delaying Game 3 of the Oakland-San Francisco World Series.
· Panama: American troops invaded Panama and ousted dictator Manuel Noriega.
· Afghanistan: The Soviet Union withdrew its last troops from Afghanistan, after a nine-year attempt to impose a Communist government.
· Today at Microsoft: The Today Show taped in Seattle and featured Microsoft. Bill Gates discussed the role of CD-ROMs and graphics in personal computers.
· Exxon Valdez: The tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, causing the largest oil spill in North American history. 11 million gallons of crude oil contaminated over 1,200 miles of shoreline.
· Steroids: Canadian Ben Johnson, gold medal sprinter at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, admitted that he had used steroids and was stripped of his medal.
· Hirohito: Emperor Hirohito of Japan died at age 87. He was succeeded by his son, Akihito.
· Rushdie Condemned: Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini declared Salman Rushdie’s novel “The Satanic Verses” blasphemous and offered a $1 million bounty for his death. Rushdie went into hiding in England.
· Hurricane Hugo hits Carolinas: With winds up to 160 MPH and a 20 foot storm surge, Hugo killed 82 and was one of the costliest hurricanes in US history.
· Peace: The Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace prize.
· Movies: Top grossing movies of the year included “Batman,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” “Look Who's Talking,” and “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.” “Rain Man” netted Oscars for Best Movie, Best Actor (Dustin Hoffman), and Best Director (Barry Levinson).
· The COMPAQ LTE family of personal computers are the first notebook-sized portables to offer full functionality.
"Wheel of Fortune" is the top syndicated TV show
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For Microsoft, 1988 announces Microsoft OnLine a two-way electronic support service, offering a complete package of technical support and service solutions. Microsoft Mouse sales top the one million mark, less than one year after hitting the ½ million mark and the "Making It All Make Sense" advertising campaign is launched.
Previous Episodes:
The History of Microsoft - 1975
The History of Microsoft - 1976
The History of Microsoft - 1977
The History of Microsoft - 1978
The History of Microsoft - 1979
The History of Microsoft - 1980
The History of Microsoft - 1981
The History of Microsoft - 1982
The History of Microsoft - 1983
The History of Microsoft - 1984
The History of Microsoft - 1985
The History of Microsoft - 1986The History of Microsoft - 1987
1988 Revenue/Headcount
The 1988 fiscal year-end sales total $590,827,000. The 1988 fiscal Year employee headcount totals 2,793people.
Official Subsidiaries Launched: Microsoft CH (Korea, sales office was established in 1983)
January 13, 1988
Microsoft and Ashton-Tate announce Microsoft SQL Server, a relational database server software product for Local Area Networks (LANs) based on a relational database management system licensed from Sybase.
April 8, 1988
Manufacturing and Distribution move to the new Canyon Park industrial complex, a 245,000-square foot facility in Bothell, Washington.
June 14, 1988
Microsoft hires Mike Maples, previously with IBM, as vice president of the Applications Software Division.
June 15, 1988
Microsoft announces Microsoft OnLine, a two-way electronic support service, offering a complete package of technical support and service solutions. Users can send questions or requests for service directly to Microsoft support engineers, take part in discussions, and access a special Microsoft database that contains answers to previously solved problems.June 20, 1988
Microsoft Mouse sales top the one million mark, less than one year after hitting the ½ million mark.
August 19, 1988
A new Out-Of-Office notification feature for XENIX e-mail is offered to Microsoft employees. Anyone who sends e-mail will receive an automatic message that the employee is out of the office, plus any instructions the employee may wish to include in the message.September 1, 1988
Microsoft restructures the Applications Division into five business units, designed to streamline product development and prepare the Applications Division for its expected growth into the next five years. Each business unit will have an assigned product mission, with responsibility for its products from conception and development through introduction and on-going marketing.
October 11, 1988
Microsoft and five other major software companies announce the formation of the Business Software Association to combat international software piracy, promote strong intellectual property protection, and reduce international trade barriers.October 25, 1988
An extensive new education program is announced to cover every level of the education market: K-12, colleges and universities, educators, and education software dealers. This major new partnership includes a cooperative hardware/software packaging promotion with IBM; special-priced, academic versions of selected Microsoft software and a new dealer program.October 31, 1988
Microsoft and IBM release the jointly developed OS/2 1.1 with Presentation Manager.
November 1, 1988
The "Making It All Make Sense" advertising campaign is launched. It will stress: vision, technical brilliance, business practicality, and commitment to customers.December 6, 1988
A new Microsoft Product Support Center opens in Bellevue, Washington. The 49,000-square-foot facility, located at Lincoln Plaza in Bellevue, incorporates the latest technology and design features. The new facility is completely dedicated to and houses 250 staff members of the Product Support Services Division of Microsoft.December 6, 1988
Microsoft to Package Software Specially for Education.
Microsoft announces plans to release Academic Editions of Works, Word, Excel and PowerPoint for the Macintosh that will sell at a reduced rate through the Authorized Education Dealer Program.December 9, 1988
Mike Maples and Steve Ballmer swim "Lake Bill" as a result of a challenge Mike issued to Steve during the 1988 United Way campaign to see whose group could raise the most money. The competition between the Applications and Systems divisions raised $152,506 for United Way. Applications won the contest on the basis of the highest percentage of participation, but Systems was the big money winner of the two, so both were required to swim. Ballmer jumped into the lake wearing swim trunks, while Maples jumped into the lake in his suit and tie, which covered a wet suit.Other Product Released in 1988: Learning DOS 2.0, Microsoft Stat Pack on CD-ROM, MS-DOS 4.01, Small Business Consultant 1.0 on CD-ROM, SQL Server Network Developers Kit 1.0, Excel for OS/2, Word 5.0 for PC, Quick Basic 4.5, Excel for Windows 2.1, OS/2 Software Development kit 1.2, Microsoft Programmer’s Library on CD-ROM, Quick Basic 1.0 for Mac, MS-DOS CD-ROM Extensions 2.0, COBOL Optimizing Compiler 3.0, Flight Simulator 3.0 for PC, PowerPoint 2.01 for Mac, Learning DOS 2.0, Stat Pack 1.0
Notable New Hires: David Cutler
In the World:
· Voyager: The experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, completes the first nonstop, round-the-world flight without landing for refueling.
· Gorbachev: Mikhail Gorbachev introduces his domestic policy called glasnost, allowing greater freedoms of information and speech in the Soviet Union.
· "Phantom of the Opera" opened at the Majestic Theater in New York City for more than 4,000 performances.
· Whales: Two grey whales freed from frozen Arctic in Barrow, Alaska, thanks to the efforts of a US-Soviet rescue team.
· Israel: PLO proclaims State of Palestine and recognized Israeli existence.
· Cease Fire: Cease fire between Iran and Iraq takes effect after 8 years of war.
· Peace: United Nations peacekeeping forces win the Nobel Peace prize.
· Ted Turner: Ted Turner starts Turner Network Television (TNT) and buys MGM's film library.
· CDs: Compact discs outsell vinyl records for the first time.
· Election: George Bush beats Michael Dukakis in the US presidential election, sweeping 40 states in the Electoral College.
· Olympics: The Summer Olympic Games are held in Seoul, South Korea.
· Undersea Tunnel: The longest traffic tunnel in the world opens between Aomori on the Honshu Island and Hakidate in Hokkaido, Japan. The railroad tunnel, called "Seikan," is 33.44 miles long and is as deep as 787 feet below water at one point.
· Aloha Flight 243: On a flight between Hilo and Honolulu, Hawaii, an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 loses several yards of its upper fuselage. The craft lands with only one fatality.
· World Expo ‘88: World Expo ’88 opens in Brisbane Queensland, Australia. The exhibition runs for 6 months, hosting pavilions from over 70 countries.
· Baseball: The LA Dodgers defeat the Oakland A’s, 4-1, in the World Series.
· Sonny Bono: Former pop singer Sonny Bono is elected mayor of Palm Springs, California.
· Free-Trade Agreement: Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and President Reagan signed the Canada-US free trade agreement.
· Academy Awards: “The Last Emperor,” directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, wins nine Oscars, including awards for Best Picture and Best Director
· The Business Software Association (BSA) is founded to combat software piracy through education and legislation.
· A computer virus developed by a 23-year-old attacks more than 6,000 computers on the Internet Network.
· The "Bill Cosby Show" is America’s favorite TV program.
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For Microsoft, 1987 brings the announcement of Excel for Windows, we ship our first CD-ROM application and Microsoft announces the "New Mouse" which is nicknamed the "Dove Soap Bar".
Previous Episodes:
The History of Microsoft - 1975
The History of Microsoft - 1976
The History of Microsoft - 1977
The History of Microsoft - 1978
The History of Microsoft - 1979
The History of Microsoft - 1980
The History of Microsoft - 1981
The History of Microsoft - 1982
The History of Microsoft - 1983
The History of Microsoft - 1984
The History of Microsoft - 1985
The History of Microsoft - 19861987 Revenue/Headcount
The 1987 fiscal year-end sales total $345,890,000. The 1987 fiscal Year employee headcount totals 1,816 people.
Official Subsidiary Launched: Microsoft MS Iberica S.R.L. (Spain)
February 26, 1987
A total redesign of corporate materials is introduced. Spearheading the new corporate identity is a new logo, "Pacman Logo," earmarked by its simplicity, and a clean, uncluttered design. Says designer Scott Baker, "The former logo ( the 'Blibbet' ( was more in keeping with how we saw our company five years ago." The new logo, in Helvetica italic typeface, has a slash between the "o" and "s" to emphasize the "soft" part of the name and convey motion and speed.
April 2, 1987
Microsoft and IBM announce OS/2. This is the first product to be announced as a result of the Joint Development Agreement between Microsoft and IBM in August 1985.
May 1, 1987
Bill Gates throws the first pitch to start the Seattle Mariners baseball game.
June 26, 1987
In honor of the birthday of Buck Ferguson, Director of Investor Relations, a 300-lb., 16-foot duck appears in "Lake Bill." This is part of a running gag about Buck's concern over too many ducks in the pond.July 30, 1987
Microsoft acquires Forethought, the developer of PowerPoint, a leading desktop presentation application.
August 31, 1987
Microsoft announces the “New Mouse”, 1.0, a plug-compatible mouse. The design of the mouse is nicknamed the “Dove Soap Bar”.
September 8, 1987
Microsoft ships its first CD-ROM application, Microsoft Bookshelf, a collection of 10 of the most popular and useful reference works on a single CD-ROM disk.
September 14, 1987
Microsoft unveils Works for DOS, a breakthrough productivity software package for Home/Small Business workers.
October 6, 1987
Microsoft announces Excel for Windows offering unprecedented functionality, presentation capabilities, and customizability to spreadsheet users. It ships November 19.
October 13, 1987
Microsoft acquires InterMail, an electronic mail program for Apple Macintosh systems developed by Interactive Network Technologies Inc. It will ship one month later as Microsoft Mail 1.0 for the Mac.
December 9, 1987
Windows 2.0 and Windows/386 ships to dealers and distributors.
Other Products Shipped in 1987: PageView, Quick C 1.0, Microsoft C Optimizing Compiler, Quick Basic 4.0, XENIX System V/286 2.23, Word 4.0 for DOS, Word 3.0 for XENIX, Macro Assembler 5.0, Chart 3.0, Project 4.0, Word 3.01 for the Mac, OS/2 Software Development Kit, MS-DOS Manager 1.0, BASIC and PASCAL compilers for XENIX System V/286, MS-DOS v 3.3, Quick Basic 3.0, MS-DOS CD-ROM Extensions 1.0, Fortran Optimizing Compiler 4.0, Windows Software Development Kit 1.03, Multiplan 3.0
Notable new hires: Mike Appe, Melinda French (Gates), Jonathan Lazarus, Peter Neupert
In the World:
§ Treaty: Soviet Secretary Gorbachev and U.S. President Reagan sign the INF Treaty, reducing nuclear stockpiles.
§ Stock Market: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 2,000, then 2,500, for the first time, before plummeting back to 1738 barely three months later on Black Monday – the second largest one-day percentage decline in stock market history.
§ People: The world population reaches 5 billion.
§ Flight: 19-year-old West German Mathias Rust lands a private plane in Red Square, Moscow. He is arrested and serves 432 days in jail.
§ Music: Guns N’ Roses’ debut album Appetite for Destruction is the #1 album in the U.S. and Johnny Logan from Ireland wins the Eurovision Song Contest withHold Me Now.
§ Typhoon: Category 5 Typhoon Nina pounds the Philippines with 165 MPH winds and a devastating storm surge, killing 1,036 and causing an estimated $40 million worth of damage.
§ Court: The U.S. Senate rejects the controversial nomination of Robert Bork for Supreme Court Justice.
§ Transfer: Portugal agrees to return sovereignty over Macau to China in 1999.
§ TV: The Cosby Show, Night Court, and ALF are among the top U.S. television programs.Full House, thirtysomething, and A Different World premiere.
§ Middle East: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict erupts into the First Intifada in the West Bank and Gaza.
§ Computers: IBM introduces the PS/2, popularizing the 3.5” floppy and bringing 256-color displays to home PCs for the first time through the introduction of the VGA standard.
§ Iran-Contra: Oliver North, John Poindexter and Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger testify before Congress about the Iran-Contra Affair.
§ New Age: The Harmonic Convergence is observed around the world.
§ Games: Final Fantasy premieres on the Nintendo videogame system.
§ PTL: Americans are mesmerized by scandals surrounding televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and their PTL Club.
§ Earthquake: The magnitude 5.9 Whittier earthquake strikes the Los Angeles area, leaving 100 injured and eight dead.
§ Drugs: The FDA approves anti-AIDS drug AZT and antidepressant Prozac for sale in the U.S. market.
§ Nazi: Former Gestapo leader Klaus Barbie is convicted of war crimes in Lyon, France.
§ Chips: Sun introduces the SPARC processor.
§ Yachting: The America’s Cup returns to the U.S. as San Diego Yacht Club challengerStars & Stripes ’87 defeats Australian defender Kookaburra III.
§ Movies: Top grossing movies of the year include Three Men and a Baby, Fatal Attraction, The Untouchables, andLethal Weapon. The Last Emperor nets Oscars for Best Movie and Best Director (Bernardo Bertolucci).Sous le soleil de Satan (Under the Sun of Satan) wins the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
§ The first FAX boards, which let people send and receive faxes on a PC, are shown at COMDEX.
§ Sun Microsystems debuts its first RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) workstation.
Paul Simon wins the best-album Grammy for "Graceland."
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For Microsoft, 1986 brings a slice or royalty as Prince Charles of Great Britain pays a visit to the Microsoft Showroom at the Infomart in Dallas, we move to a new Corporate Campus and our stock goes public at $21 per share.
Previous Episodes:
The History of Microsoft - 1975
The History of Microsoft - 1976
The History of Microsoft - 1977
The History of Microsoft - 1978
The History of Microsoft - 1979
The History of Microsoft - 1980
The History of Microsoft - 1981
The History of Microsoft - 1982
The History of Microsoft - 1983
The History of Microsoft - 1984
The History of Microsoft - 1985
1986 Revenue/HeadcountThe 1986 fiscal year-end sales total $197,514,000. The 1986 fiscal Year employee headcount totals 1,153 people.
Official Subsidiaries Launched: Microsoft Corporation, Limited (Japan), Microsoft International, B.V. (Holland)
Sales Office Opened: Microsoft de Mexico
January 17, 1986
A survey of lunchroom consumption figures for July through October 1985 reveals that Diet Coke topped the employee popularity list.
January 30, 1986Microsoft and Santa Cruz Operation announce new agreements and joint marketing plans concerning Microsoft Networks for XENIX. SCO will be the prime distributor of XENIX System V to the VAR (Value Added Retailer) and VAD (Value added Dealer) channels, and will also distribute all of Microsoft's language products for XENIX including BASIC, PASCAL, FORTRAN, and COBOL.
February 18, 1986
His Royal Highness Prince Charles of Great Britain visits the Microsoft Showroom at the Infomart in Dallas. He compliments Jerry Ruttenbur, Vice President of Retail, and Shelley Jones on the color and graphics of the Microsoft® Windows® demonstration given to him by Jan Josephs.
February 26, 1986Microsoft moves to its new Corporate Campus, buildings 1 through 4, in Redmond, Washington.
March 13, 1986Microsoft stock goes public at $21 per share, rising to $28 per share by the end of the first trading day. The initial public offering raises $61 million.
April 22, 1986Direct shipment of software to the Republic of South Africa is stopped, and the relationship with the local distributor has been terminated due to the South African government's policy of apartheid. Previously, support for anti-apartheid activities had been demonstrated by the donation of all profits earned from South Africa software sales to the American Friends Service Committee.
May 9, 1986Microsoft® Press releases "Windows: The Official Guide to Microsoft's Operating Environment," by Nancy Andrews. This is the first book available on this operating environment and is a complete introduction to the basic operations of the Microsoft Windows® environment, the seven Windows desktop applications, and using Windows Write and Windows Paint.
July 3, 1986IBM has recently announced the PC Convertible, which uses 3.5-inch disks. Consequently, all applications software that runs on Microsoft® MS-DOS®, programming languages, hardware, and Microsoft Windows® products will be made available on 3.5-inch disks. The disks will be provided free to dealers, distributors, and customers who request them.
July 9, 1986
Microsoft announces Microsoft MACH 10, an add-on board which makes Microsoft Windows run up to 2-1/2 times faster on an IBM PC, PC XT, or Portable PC.
July 21, 1986
Bill Gates makes the cover of FORTUNE magazine for the first time and is featured in an eight-page article entitled "The Deal That Made Bill Gates, Age 30, $350 Million: The Inside Story of Microsoft's Stock Issue."
August 20, 1986
Microsoft begins shipping Excel, Word, File, Multiplan, and Chart for the Macintosh on 800K, double-sided disks.
September 5, 1986Steve Ballmer completes the first “translakebillg” swim after losing a challenge to the MS-DOS 5 team to complete their bug fixes by Sept. 1.
September 17, 1986Microsoft announces the availability of extensions to MS-DOS that support the use ofCD-ROM disk drives with personal computers. These extensions allow any computer that runs MS-DOS 3.1 or 3.2 and has a CD-ROM drive to read data from any CD-ROM disk formatted in the recently issued High Sierra CD-ROM file format. Microsoft will license these extensions directly to CD-ROM drive manufacturers and they are available only on an OEM basis.
October 2, 1986Microsoft Works for the Macintosh ships.
October 10, 1986The Microsoft Systems Journal magazine makes its debut this week. Targeted toward software developers, the magazine will carry articles on present and future versions of the Microsoft® MS-DOS® and Microsoft XENIX® operating systems, Microsoft Windows®, languages, and networking. The first issue is devoted exclusively to Windows.
October 22, 1986
Aldus, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft form a desktop publishing alliance to market their products as a complete desktop publishing solution. Microsoft will provide Windows and Word. Together, the companies plan to spend more than $2 million on marketing activities aimed at promoting the cooperative solution.
Notable New Hires: Nathan Myhrvold, David Vaskevitch, Darryl Rubin, Richard Fade, William H. Neukom
Other Products shipped in 1986: Microsoft BASIC Interpreter v3.0 and BASIC Compiler for the Macintosh, FORTRAN Compiler 2.20 for the Mac, Excel 1.03 for the Mac, Mouse 6.0, Microsoft Word 3.10, Word for Networks 3.0, Microsoft Project 3.0, Windows 1.03, Microsoft Learning DOS (interactive CBT), XENIX V/386 OS and Toolkit, C Compiler 4.0, QuickBasic 2.0, Microsoft File 1.02, GW-Basic 3.2, Flight Simulator 1.0 for Mac, Microsoft Access 1.01 (this is not the database product, this was a business communications product), LISP 5.01, Microsoft Networks for XENIX System V/286, Word 3.0 for Mac, Multiplan 3.0, Project 2.0, Multiplan 1.1 for Mac,
In the world:§ Shuttle: The Space Shuttle Challenger explodes on take-off, killing all seven crew members.
§ King: Martin Luther King Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
§ Electronics: Sony introduces the CD-ROM.
§ Meltdown: The Chernobyl nuclear plant suffers a catastrophic explosion, fire and meltdown, contaminating large areas of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, and spreading a plume of radioactive particles across much of Northern Europe.
§ Philippines: President Ferdinand Marcos is ousted after 20 years, replaced by Carazon Aquino.
§ TV: The Cosby Show, Family Ties, and Murder She Wrote are among the top television programs.Designing Women, L.A. Law, and ALF premiere.
§ Centennial: The Statue of Liberty celebrates its 100th anniversary, reopening to the public after extensive renovations.
§ Games: The Legend of Zelda premieres on the Nintendo videogame system.
§ Iran-Contra: The Iran-Contra scandal breaks as it is revealed that the Reagan Administration has been illegally selling arms to Iran and funneling the profits to anti-Communist Contras fighting the left-wing Sandinista government of Nicaragua.
§ Comet: Halley’s Comet returns for another near-Earth appearance.
§ Libya: US planes bomb Tripoli and Benghazi in response to the bombing of a Berlin disco frequented by US soldiers.
§ Marriage: Prince Andrew, Duke of York marries Sarah Ferguson.
§ Austria: Former UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim is elected president of Austria, despite allegations that he was involved in Nazi atrocities during World War II.
§ Expo: The Expo ’86 World’s Fair is held in Vancouver, B.C.
§ Clint: Clint Eastwood is elected mayor of Carmel, California.
§ Baseball: The New York Mets defeat the Boston Red Sox in the World Series 4-3, thanks in part to Bill Buckner’s error on a ground ball to first.
§ Movies: Top grossing movies of the year include Top Gun, Crocodile Dundee, Aliens, andStar Trek IV. Platoon nets Oscars for Best Movie and Best Director (Oliver Stone). Best Actor is Paul Newman in The Color of Money and Best Actress is Marlee Matlin inChildren of a Lesser God.
§ Compaq Computer Corp. makes the Fortune 500 faster than any company ever and introduces the DESKPRO 386.
§ Apple Computer introduces the Macintosh Plus and LaserWriter Plus.
§ Teddy Ruxpin, a talking bear with a built-in microchip, brings computer technology to preschool.
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For Microsoft, 1985 brings the announcement of the release of Microsoft MacEnhancer expansion system, the Microsoft Mouse is quarantined in Canada and Microsoft celebrates its 10th Anniversary. There's some great footage of the 1985 Roast in this episode.
Previous Episodes:
The History of Microsoft - 1975
The History of Microsoft - 1976
The History of Microsoft - 1977
The History of Microsoft - 1978
The History of Microsoft - 1979
The History of Microsoft - 1980
The History of Microsoft - 1981
The History of Microsoft - 1982
The History of Microsoft - 1983
The History of Microsoft - 1984January 23, 1985
Microsoft announces the release of Microsoft MacEnhancer expansion system, a new hardware product designed to open up the Apple Macintosh computer to a wide range of IBM compatible peripherals.
February 1, 1985
Ida Cole is named the new Vice President of Applications, responsible for planning, development, and marketing for the application software product line. She will report to Jon Shirley, President. She was previously with Apple Computer, Inc..
May 3, 1985Microsoft Mouse Quarantined in Canada
Rich MacIntosh, General Manager of Microsoft Canada, Inc., was recently called to the Canadian Department of Agriculture to retrieve his Microsoft "Mouse" after four weeks of quarantine.
August 9, 1985
Microsoft announces that Wright Runstad & Company breaks ground today on a new Microsoft World Headquarters in Redmond scheduled for completion by mid-1986. The $25 million facility will be located in the southeast quadrant of Evergreen Place Office Park, in a heavily wooded, 29-acre campus setting.
August 12, 1985Microsoft celebrates its 10th anniversary with sales figures of $140 million for the fiscal year of 1985.
August 22, 1985Microsoft signs an agreement with IBM for joint development of operating systems and other systems software products.
September 3, 1985Microsoft selects the Republic of Ireland as the site of its first production facility outside the U.S. for software products to be sold in the European market.
September 30, 1985
Microsoft announces the shipment to retail stores of Excel for the Macintosh, a powerful, full-featured microcomputer spreadsheet that combines business graphics with an on-sheet database.
November 20, 1985Microsoft ships the retail version of Windows, an operating system that extends the features of the MS-DOS.
Other products released in 1985:
MS-DOS 3.2, Chart for Macintosh, Microsoft Access 1.0 (business communication app, not database), Cobol 2.1, MacEnhancer 2.0, Basic 2.1 Interpreter for the Mac, Chart 2.0 for DOS, Word for Networks, QuickBasic Compiler, LOGO for the Mac,
Notable New Hires:
Jeremy Butler - Former Senior Vice President, International and OEM.;Tony Dirksen - Former Senior Manager, Investor Relations;Ralf Harteneck - Former Vice President, Communication and Meeting Services Group;Min S. Yee - Former Vice President and Publisher of Microsoft Press.
Other 1985:
· Gaming: Tetris is written by Russian Alexey Pazhitnov.
· Internet: The Domain Name System (DNS) is created. Symbolics.com is the first domain registered, followed shortly by cmu.edu, purdue.edu, and others.
· Storage: The CD-ROM format is created by Phillips, in collaboration with Sony.
· USSR: Mikhail Gorbachev becomes general secretary of the Communist Party on the death of Chernenko.
· Exploration: The wreck of the Titanic is discovered after 73 years.
· Music: All-star Live Aid concerts in Philadelphia and London raise almost $250 million for African famine relief.
· Drugs: Crack cocaine begins hitting the streets of New York, setting off a drug epidemic.
· TV: Top-rated shows include The Cosby Show, Family Ties, andMurder She Wrote. MacGyver, Moonlighting, and Golden Girls premiere. Economy: The US becomes a debtor nation for first time since 1914.
· The King: The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley commemorative stamp, which sells a record-breaking 500 million.
· Comics: Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes premieres in the nation’s newspapers.
· Terrorism: Palestinian terrorists hijack the Italian liner Achille Lauro, killing one hostage. US Navy jets later force down the terrorists’ getaway plane in Sicily.
· Reagan: Public outrage accompanies President Reagan on his visit to a Nazi military cemetery at Bitburg, Germany.
· Rock: Rock Hudson dies of AIDS.
· The Real Thing?: Coca-Cola introduces New Coke in one of the biggest marketing disasters of the 20th century.
· Greenpeace: French intelligence officers bomb and sink Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior in the harbor of Auckland, New Zealand. The boat was protesting French nuclear testing.
· Soccer Disaster: The main stand at Bradford City Football Ground in Northern England catches fire, killing 40 and injuring more than 170.
· Movies: Top grossing movies of the year include Out of Africa,Back to the Future, Rambo, and The Color Purple. Out of Africa also nets Oscars for Best Movie and Best Director (Sydney Pollack). Best Actor is William Hurt inKiss of the Spider Woman, Best Actress is Geraldine Page in Trip to Bountiful.
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For Microsoft, 1984 means a partnership with Apple, Microsoft Press Introduces its first two titles and we create a new Hardware and Peripherals Division dedicated to developing and marketing hardware products.
Previous Episodes:
The History of Microsoft - 1975
The History of Microsoft - 1976
The History of Microsoft - 1977
The History of Microsoft - 1978
The History of Microsoft - 1979
The History of Microsoft - 1980
The History of Microsoft - 1981
The History of Microsoft - 1982
The History of Microsoft - 19831984 Revenue/Headcount
The 1984 Fiscal year-end sales total $97,479,000. The 1984 fiscal Year employee headcount totals 860 people.
January 24, 1984
Microsoft and Apple Computer announce the new Apple Macintosh computer and Microsoft's custom-designed productivity software for the new computer. Macintosh's interface, combined with Microsoft’s software: Multiplan, Chart, Word, File, and BASIC provides a powerful and functional environment for all users.March 4, 1984
Microsoft joins forces with Spectravideo and four Japanese firms to establish a hardware/software compatibility standard based on the popular Z80® 8-bit microcomputer. The standard, called MSX, was announced on June 15, 1983 and made available a new set of standard specifications so diverse software programs would be compatible with low-cost home computers from different manufacturers. MSX was developed primarily for the Japanese market as the first unified format in Japan for software or hardware. It was never adapted for sale in the U.S.
March 22, 1984
Microsoft Press introduces its first two titles: Cary Lu's "The Apple Macintosh Book” and Peter Norton's "Exploring the IBM PCjr Home Computer."
March 29, 1984
Microsoft creates a new Hardware and Peripherals Division dedicated to developing and marketing hardware products that complement Microsoft's software product line.
August 14, 1984
IBM chooses XENIX and MS-DOS for its new generation personal computer, the IBM PC AT.
September 9, 1984
Microsoft schedules a meeting with Redmond city officials to discuss relocating the company to the Evergreen Place development in 1985.September 24, 1984
Francis J. Gaudette joins Microsoft as vice president of Finance and Administration.
Other products released in 1984: Project 1.0, Multiplan for Mac 1.0, Chart 1.01, Serial Mouse 2.5, SoftCard II, PCJr Booster w/Mouse, Pascal 3.2, Fortran 3.2, C Compiler 2.0
Notable New Hires: Charles Stevens - Corporate Vice President, Enterprise & Partner Group (EPG);Rich Macintosh - Former vice president of Sales and Support, U.S. Sales;Marty Taucher - Former senior group marketing manager for Microsoft's Consumer Division.;Joe Vetter - Former vice president of the Western U.S. and South Pacific Regions;
Other 1984:
· Winter Olympics: At the Sarajevo Olympics, twin brothers Phil and Steve Mahre took first and second place in the slalom, while Torvill & Dean earned perfect scores and a gold medal for their ice dance to Ravel’s “Bolero.”
· Bhopal: A gas leak at a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India killed over 3,000.
· Nobel: South African Bishop Desmond Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize.
· Housing: The average price of a new single-family home broke six figures.
· Beirut: The U.S. withdrew its Marines from Beirut following terrorist bombing.
· Presidential Election: Reagan defeated Mondale and won reelection by a landslide 59 percent, carrying 49 states.
· Music: Top hits included Michael Jackson's Thriller, Prince's Purple Rain, Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A, Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters,” Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” and Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose.”
· VCRs: The Supreme Court okays home TV recording in its ruling on the Sony case.
· Medicine: Baby Fae received a transplanted baboon heart.
· Summer Olympics: The Los Angeles Olympics featured record-setting performances from Americans Carl Lewis, Joan Benoit, and Mary Lou Retton and were a commercial success despite being boycotted by the Soviet Union.
· Hong Kong: Britain agreed to return Hong Kong to China in 1997.
· Nuclear protests: The Diablo Canyon nuclear reactor in California went online despite protests.
· Internet: By year-end, 1,000 hosts were on the Internet. In 2003, there were over 170 million.
· TV: Sitcoms Kate & Allie and The Cosby Show premiered, to both critical and popular acclaim. Other top shows included Dallas, Dynasty, The A-Team, and Simon & Simon.
· Tennis: McEnroe bested Connors at Wimbledon, while Navratilova topped Evert Lloyd.
· New Orleans World's Fair: Although a financial failure, the fair did result in a large riverside park which opened up access to the Mississippi.
· Oscars: Amadeus won Oscars for best picture, actor (F. Murray Abraham), and director (Milos Forman). Best actress award went to Sally Field for Places in the Heart.
- Visa fler
