The company was founded to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. Microsoft rose to dominate the home computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by the Windows line of operating systems.
•Who owns the site??
MSN (a collection of internet services) is owned by Microsoft.
William (Bill) H. Gates is chairman of Microsoft Corporation, the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
•Do they also own any traditional media businesses?
No
•What other internet sites do they own?
Microsoft currently own sites such as: Hotmail, XBox franchise and Windows live, but thy are going to merge with 'Yahoo' as part their future plans for Microsoft's expansion in the field.
•What is its revenue?
Microsoft has a yearly income of an estimated $60million. http://www.microsoft.com/msft/download/Yearly%20Income%20Statements.xls
•What is its overall worth?
Microsoft is worth approximately $90billion
• 5 Key facts about the institution:
•Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services, and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
•The US-based company Microsoft has become one of the world's top companies and the uncontested global leader in software due to its two star products: the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office.
•Microsoft has long been considered a champion of innovation since it was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates, who left the company this year in June.
•The software major currently faces steep competition from Internet giant Google which has mounted a massive challenge to Microsoft's dominance by launching a series of free Internet software products last year.
•The company has locations in 104 countries and employs 80,000 people, 60 percent of whom work in the United States.
•Key Quotes:
* "a computer on every desk and in every home, running Microsoft software."- Microsoft
* "It's Microsoft versus mankind, with Microsoft having only a slight lead. "- Larry Ellison
*Microsoft is not about greed. It's about innovation and fairness- Bill Gates
Summary of two articles:
History of Microsoft:
* Bill Gates contacted Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems to demonstrate basic programming for their new micro computer.
*The comapany agreed to distributed Bill Gates new softwate computer and Bill Gates moved near to MIT in New Jersey and microsoft was founded there.
*On January 1, 1979, the company moved from Albuquerque to a new home in Bellevue, Washington. Steve Ballmer joined the company on June 11, 1980, and later succeeded Bill Gates as CEO.
*On August 12, 1981, after negotiations with Digital Research failed, IBM awarded a contract to Microsoft to provide a version of the CP/M operating system, which was set to be used in the upcoming IBM Personal Computer.
*The company expanded into new markets with the release of the Microsoft Mouse in 1983, as well as a publishing division named Microsoft Press.
1995-2005 internet and legal issues:
•In 1995, Microsoft released Windows 95, a new version of the company's flagship operating system which featured a completely new user interface.
•On, May 26, 1995, following Bill Gates's internal "Internet Tidal Wave memo", Microsoft began to expand its product line into computer networking and the World Wide Web.
•On August 24, 1995, it launched a major online services, MSN (Microsoft Network), as a direct competitor to AOL. MSN became an umbrella service for Microsoft's online services.
•The year 1998 was significant in Microsoft's history, with Bill Gates appointing Steve Ballmer as president of Microsoft but remaining as Chair and CEO himself. The company released Windows 98, an update to Windows 95 that incorporated a number of Internet-focused features and support for new types of devices
•Microsoft encountered turmoil in March 2004 when antitrust legal action was brought against it by the European Union for abusing its current dominance with the Windows operating system
Key Information...
As a company, and as individuals, Microsoft value integrity, honesty, openness, personal excellence, constructive self-criticism, continual self-improvement, and mutual respect. They are committed to their customers and partners and have a passion for technology. They take on big challenges, and pride themselves on seeing them through. They hold themselves accountable to their customers, shareholders, partners, and employees by honoring their commitments, providing results, and striving for the highest quality.
