Microsoft
47°38′23″N 122°7′42″W / 47.63972°N 122.12833°W
![]() | |
![]() Front lobby entrance of building 17, one of the largest buildings on Microsoft's main campus, Redmond | |
Company type | Public |
---|---|
Industry | Computer software, Computer hardware |
Founded | Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. (April 4, 1975 ) |
Founder | Bill Gates, Paul Allen |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
|
Products | |
Revenue | ![]() |
![]() | |
![]() | |
Total assets | ![]() |
Total equity | ![]() |
Number of employees | 100,932 (December 2013)[2] |
Subsidiaries | List of Microsoft subsidiaries |
Website | Microsoft.com |
Footnotes / references [3] |
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells computer software, consumer electronics and personal computers and services. Its best known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, Microsoft Office office suite, and Internet Explorer web browser. Its flagship hardware products are Xbox game console and the Microsoft Surface series of tablets. It is the world's largest software maker measured by revenues.[4] It is also one of the world's most valuable companies.[5]
Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975 to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for Altair 8800. It rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by the Microsoft Windows. The company's 1986 initial public offering, and subsequent rise in its share price, created an estimated three billionaires and 12,000 millionaires from Microsoft employees. It is considered the third most successful startup company of all time by market capitalization, revenue, growth and cultural impact.[6] Since the 1990s, it has increasingly diversified from the operating system market and has made a number of corporate acquisitions. In May 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion in its largest acquisition to date.[7]
As of 2013, Microsoft is market dominant in both the IBM PC-compatible operating system and office software suite markets (the latter with Microsoft Office). The company also produces a wide range of other software for desktops and servers, and is active in areas including internet search (with Bing), the video game industry (with the Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One consoles), the digital services market (through MSN), and mobile phones (via the Windows Phone OS). In June 2012, Microsoft entered the personal computer production market for the first time, with the launch of the Microsoft Surface, a line of tablet computers.
History
1972–83: Founding and company beginnings
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4f/1981BillPaul.jpg/220px-1981BillPaul.jpg)
Paul Allen and Bill Gates, childhood friends with a passion in computer programming, were seeking to make a successful business utilizing their shared skills. In 1972 they founded their first company named Traf-O-Data, which offered a rudimentary computer that tracked and analyzed automobile traffic data. Allen went on to pursue a degree in computer science at the University of Washington, later dropping out of school to work at Honeywell. Gates began studies at Harvard.[10] The January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics featured Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems's (MITS) Altair 8800 microcomputer. Allen noticed that they could program a BASIC interpreter for the device; after a call from Gates claiming to have a working interpreter, MITS requested a demonstration. Since they didn't actually have one, Allen worked on a simulator for the Altair while Gates developed the interpreter. Although they developed the interpreter on a simulator and not the actual device, the interpreter worked flawlessly when they demonstrated the interpreter to MITS in Albuquerque, New Mexico in March 1975; MITS agreed to distribute it, marketing it as Altair BASIC.[8]: 108, 112–114 They officially established Microsoft on April 4, 1975, with Gates as the CEO.[11] Allen came up with the original name of "Micro-Soft," the combination of the words microcomputer and software, as recounted in a 1995 Fortune magazine article. In August 1977 the company formed an agreement with ASCII Magazine in Japan, resulting in its first international office, "ASCII Microsoft".[12] The company moved to a new home in Bellevue, Washington in January 1979.[11]
Microsoft entered the OS business in 1980 with its own version of Unix, called Xenix.[13] However, it was MS-DOS that solidified the company's dominance. After negotiations with Digital Research failed, IBM awarded a contract to Microsoft in November 1980 to provide a version of the CP/M OS, which was set to be used in the upcoming IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC).[14] For this deal, Microsoft purchased a CP/M clone called 86-DOS from Seattle Computer Products, branding it as MS-DOS, which IBM rebranded to PC DOS. Following the release of the IBM PC in August 1981, Microsoft retained ownership of MS-DOS. Since IBM copyrighted the IBM PC BIOS, other companies had to reverse engineer it in order for non-IBM hardware to run as IBM PC compatibles, but no such restriction applied to the operating systems. Due to various factors, such as MS-DOS's available software selection, Microsoft eventually became the leading PC operating systems vendor.[9][15]: 210 The company expanded into new markets with the release of the Microsoft Mouse in 1983, as well as a publishing division named Microsoft Press.[8]: 232 Paul Allen resigned from Microsoft in February after developing Hodgkin's disease.[8]: 231
1984–94: Windows and Office
While jointly developing a new OS with IBM in 1984, OS/2, Microsoft released Microsoft Windows, a graphical extension for MS-DOS, on November 20, 1985.[8]: 242–243, 246 Microsoft moved its headquarters to Redmond on February 26, 1986, and on March 13 the company went public;[16] the ensuing rise in the stock would make an estimated four billionaires and 12,000 millionaires from Microsoft employees.[17] Due to the partnership with IBM, in 1990 the Federal Trade Commission set its eye on Microsoft for possible collusion; it marked the beginning of over a decade of legal clashes with the U.S. Government.[18] Microsoft announced the release of its version of OS/2 to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) on April 2, 1987;[8]: 243–244 meanwhile, the company was at work on a 32-bit OS, Microsoft Windows NT, using ideas from OS/2; it shipped on July 21, 1993, with a new modular kernel and the Win32 application programming interface (API), making porting from 16-bit (MS-DOS-based) Windows easier. Once Microsoft informed IBM of NT, the OS/2 partnership deteriorated.[19]
In 1990, Microsoft introduced its office suite, Microsoft Office. The software bundled separate office productivity applications, such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.[8]: 301 On May 22 Microsoft launched Windows 3.0 with a streamlined user interface graphics and improved protected mode capability for the Intel 386 processor.[20] Both Office and Windows became dominant in their respective areas.[21][22] Novell, a Word competitor from 1984–1986, filed a lawsuit years later claiming that Microsoft left part of its APIs undocumented in order to gain a competitive advantage.[23]
On July 27, 1994, the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division filed a Competitive Impact Statement that said, in part: "Beginning in 1988, and continuing until July 15, 1994, Microsoft induced many OEMs to execute anti-competitive "per processor" licenses. Under a per processor license, an OEM pays Microsoft a royalty for each computer it sells containing a particular microprocessor, whether the OEM sells the computer with a Microsoft operating system or a non-Microsoft operating system. In effect, the royalty payment to Microsoft when no Microsoft product is being used acts as a penalty, or tax, on the OEM's use of a competing PC operating system. Since 1988, Microsoft's use of per processor licenses has increased."[24]
1995–2005: Internet and the 32-bit era
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Bill_Gates_-_United_States_v._Microsoft.jpg/220px-Bill_Gates_-_United_States_v._Microsoft.jpg)
Following Bill Gates's internal "Internet Tidal Wave memo" on May 26, 1995, Microsoft began to redefine its offerings and expand its product line into computer networking and the World Wide Web.[25] The company released Windows 95 on August 24, 1995, featuring pre-emptive multitasking, a completely new user interface with a novel start button, and 32-bit compatibility; similar to NT, it provided the Win32 API.[26][27]: 20 Windows 95 came bundled with the online service MSN, and for OEMs Internet Explorer, a web browser. Internet Explorer was not bundled with the retail Windows 95 boxes because the boxes were printed before the team finished the web browser, and instead was included in the Windows 95 Plus! pack.[28] Branching out into new markets in 1996, Microsoft and NBC Universal created a new 24/7 cable news station, MSNBC.[29] Microsoft created Windows CE 1.0, a new OS designed for devices with low memory and other constraints, such as personal digital assistants.[30] In October 1997, the Justice Department filed a motion in the Federal District Court, stating that Microsoft violated an agreement signed in 1994 and asked the court to stop the bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows.[8]: 323–324
Bill Gates handed over the CEO position on January 13, 2000, to Steve Ballmer, an old college friend of Gates and employee of the company since 1980, creating a new position for himself as Chief Software Architect.[8]: 111, 228 [11] Various companies including Microsoft formed the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance in October 1999 to, among other things, increase security and protect intellectual property through identifying changes in hardware and software. Critics decry the alliance as a way to enforce indiscriminate restrictions over how consumers use software, and over how computers behave, a form of digital rights management; for example the scenario where a computer is not only secured for its owner, but also secured against its owner as well.[31][32] On April 3, 2000, a judgment was handed down in the case of United States v. Microsoft,[33] calling the company an "abusive monopoly";[34] it settled with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2004.[16] On October 25, 2001, Microsoft released Windows XP, unifying the mainstream and NT lines under the NT codebase.[35] The company released the Xbox later that year, entering the game console market dominated by Sony and Nintendo.[36] In March 2004 the European Union brought antitrust legal action against the company, citing it abused its dominance with the Windows OS, resulting in a judgment of €497 million ($613 million) and to produce new versions of Windows XP without Windows Media Player, Windows XP Home Edition N and Windows XP Professional N.[37][38]
2006–10: Windows Vista, mobile, and Windows 7
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Steve_Ballmer_-_MIX_2008.jpg/220px-Steve_Ballmer_-_MIX_2008.jpg)
Released in January 2007, the next version of Windows, Windows Vista, focused on features, security, and a redesigned user interface dubbed Aero.[40][41] Microsoft Office 2007, released at the same time, featured a "Ribbon" user interface which was a significant departure from its predecessors. Relatively strong sales of both titles helped to produce a record profit in 2007.[42] The European Union imposed another fine of €899 million ($1.4 billion) for Microsoft's lack of compliance with the March 2004 judgment on February 27, 2008, saying that the company charged rivals unreasonable prices for key information about its workgroup and backoffice servers. Microsoft stated that it was in compliance and that "these fines are about the past issues that have been resolved".[43]
2007 also saw the creation of a multi-core unit at Microsoft, as they followed in the steps of server companies such as Sun and IBM.[44]
Bill Gates retired from his role as Chief Software Architect on June 27, 2008, while retaining other positions related to the company in addition to being an advisor for the company on key projects.[45] Azure Services Platform, the company's entry into the cloud computing market for Windows, launched on October 27, 2008.[46] On February 12, 2009, Microsoft announced its intent to open a chain of Microsoft-branded retail stores, and on October 22, 2009, the first retail Microsoft Store opened in Scottsdale, Arizona; the same day the first store opened, Windows 7 was officially released to the public. Windows 7's focus was on refining Vista with ease of use features and performance enhancements, rather than a large reworking of Windows.[47][48][49]
As the smartphone industry boomed beginning in 2007, Microsoft struggled to keep up with its rivals Apple and Google in providing a modern smartphone operating system. As a result, in 2010, Microsoft revamped their aging flagship mobile operating system, Windows Mobile, replacing it with the new Windows Phone OS; along with a new strategy in the smartphone industry that has Microsoft working more closely with smartphone manufacturers, such as Nokia, and to provide a consistent user experience across all smartphones using Microsoft's Windows Phone OS. It used a new user interface design language, codenamed "Metro", which prominently used simple shapes, typography and iconography, and the concept of minimalism.
Microsoft is a founding member of the Open Networking Foundation started on March 23, 2011. Other founding companies include Google, HP Networking, Yahoo, Verizon, Deutsche Telekom and 17 other companies. The nonprofit organization is focused on providing support for a new cloud computing initiative called Software-Defined Networking.[50] The initiative is meant to speed innovation through simple software changes in telecommunications networks, wireless networks, data centers and other networking areas.[51]
2011–present: Rebranding, Windows 8, and Surface
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Windows_8_Start_UI.svg/220px-Windows_8_Start_UI.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Microsoft_Surface_%28black%29.jpg/220px-Microsoft_Surface_%28black%29.jpg)
Following the release of Windows Phone, Microsoft underwent a gradual rebranding of its product range throughout 2011 and 2012—the corporation's logos, products, services, and websites adopted the principles and concepts of the Metro design language.[52] Microsoft previewed Windows 8, an operating system designed to power both personal computers and tablet computers, in Taipei in June 2011.[53] A developer preview was released on September 13, and was replaced by a consumer preview on February 29, 2012.[54] On May 31, 2012, the preview version was released.
On June 18, 2012, Microsoft announced the Microsoft Surface, the first computer in the company's history to have its hardware made by Microsoft.[55][56] On June 25, Microsoft announced that it was paying US$1.2 billion to buy the social network Yammer.[57] On July 31, 2012, Microsoft launched the Outlook.com webmail service to compete with Gmail.[58] On September 4, 2012, Microsoft released Windows Server 2012.[59] On October 1, Microsoft announced its intention to launch a news operation, part of a new-look MSN, at the time of the Windows 8 launch that was later in the month.[60] On October 26, 2012, Microsoft launched Windows 8 and the Microsoft Surface.[56][61] Three days later, Windows Phone 8 was launched.[62] To cope with the potential for an increase in demand for products and services, Microsoft opened a number of "holiday stores" across the U.S. to complement the increasing number of "bricks-and-mortar" Microsoft Stores that opened in 2012.[63]
On March 29, 2013, Microsoft launched a Patent Tracker.[64] The Kinect sensor device was upgraded for the 2013 release of the eighth-generation Xbox One and its capabilities were revealed in May 2013. The new Kinect uses an ultra-wide 1080p camera, it can function in the dark due to an infrared sensor, it employs higher-end processing power and new software, it can distinguish between fine movements (such as a thumb movements), and the device can determine a user's heart rate by looking at his/her face.[65] Microsoft filed a patent application in 2011 that suggests that the corporation may use the Kinect camera system to monitor the behavior of television viewers as part of a plan to make the viewing experience more active.On July 19, 2013, Microsoft stocks suffered its biggest one-day percentage sell-off since the year 2000 after its fourth-quarter report raised concerns among the investors on the poor showings of both Windows 8 and the Surface tablet; with more than 11 percentage points declining Microsoft suffered a loss of more than USD 32billion.[66] For the 2010 fiscal year, Microsoft had five product divisions: Windows Division, Server and Tools, Online Services Division, Microsoft Business Division, and Entertainment and Devices Division.
On September 3, 2013, Microsoft agreed to buy Nokia's mobile unit for $7 billion.[67] Also in 2013, Amy Hood became the CFO of Microsoft.[68]
Microsoft's previous CEO was Steve Ballmer, who is set to retire within twelve months after August 2013.[69]
The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) was launched in October 2013 and Microsoft is part of the coalition of public and private organizations that also includes Facebook, Intel and Google. Led by Tim Berners-Lee, the A4AI seeks to make Internet access more affordable so that access is broadened in the developing world, where only 31% of people are online. Google will help to decrease internet access prices so that they fall below the UN Broadband Commission's worldwide target of 5% of monthly income.[70]
In line with the maturing PC business, in July 2013 Microsoft announced to reorganize the business into 4 new business divisions by function: Operating System, Apps, Cloud and Devices. All previous divisions will be diluted into new divisions without any workforce cut.[71]
On February 4, 2014, Satya Nadella of the server and tools division took over the role of CEO with Bill Gates stepping aside in his chairman role being replaced by John W. Thompson effective immediately.[72]
Businesses
Windows Division, Server and Tools, Online Services Division
The company's Client division produces the flagship Windows OS line such as Windows 8; it also produces the Windows Live family of products and services. Server and Tools produces the server versions of Windows, such as Windows Server 2008 R2 as well as a set of development tools called Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft Silverlight, a web application framework, and System Center Configuration Manager, a collection of tools providing remote-control abilities, patch management, software distribution and a hardware/software inventory. Other server products include: Microsoft SQL Server, a relational database management system, Microsoft Exchange Server, for certain business-oriented e-mail and scheduling features, Small Business Server, for messaging and other small business-oriented features; and Microsoft BizTalk Server, for business process management.
Microsoft provides IT consulting ("Microsoft Consulting Services") and produces a set of certification programs handled by the Server and Tools division designed to recognize individuals who have a minimal set of proficiencies in a specific role; this includes developers ("Microsoft Certified Solution Developer"), system/network analysts ("Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer"), trainers ("Microsoft Certified Trainers") and administrators ("Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator" and "Microsoft Certified Database Administrator"). Microsoft Press, which publishes books, is also managed by the division. The Online Services Business division handles the online service MSN and the search engine Bing. As of December 2009, the company also possesses an 18% ownership of the cable news channel MSNBC without any editorial control; however, the division develops the channel's website, msnbc.com, in a joint venture with the channel's co-owner, NBC Universal.[73]
Business Division
The Microsoft Business Division produces Microsoft Office including Microsoft Office 2010, the company's line of office software. The software product includes Word (a word processor), Access (a relational database program), Excel (a spreadsheet program), Outlook (Groupware, frequently used with Exchange Server), PowerPoint (presentation software), Publisher (desktop publishing software) and Sharepoint. A number of other products were added later with the release of Office 2003 including Visio, Project, MapPoint, InfoPath and OneNote. The division also develops enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for companies under the Microsoft Dynamics brand. These include: Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics GP, and Microsoft Dynamics SL. They are targeted at varying company types and countries, and limited to organizations with under 7,500 employees.[74] Also included under the Dynamics brand is the customer relationship management software Microsoft Dynamics CRM, part of the Azure Services Platform.
Entertainment and Devices Division
The Entertainment and Devices Division produces the Windows CE OS for embedded systems and Windows Phone for smartphones.[75] Microsoft initially entered the mobile market through Windows CE for handheld devices, eventually developing into the Windows Mobile OS and now, Windows Phone. Windows CE is designed for devices where the OS may not directly be visible to the end user, in particular, appliances and cars. The division also produces computer games that run on Windows PCs and other systems including titles such as Age of Empires, Halo and the Microsoft Flight Simulator series, and houses the Macintosh Business Unit which produces Mac OS software including Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac. Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division designs, markets, and manufactures consumer electronics including the Xbox 360 game console, the handheld Zune media player, and the television-based Internet appliance MSN TV. Microsoft also markets personal computer hardware including mice, keyboards, and various game controllers such as joysticks and gamepads.
Culture
Technical reference for developers and articles for various Microsoft magazines such as Microsoft Systems Journal (MSJ) are available through the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN). MSDN also offers subscriptions for companies and individuals, and the more expensive subscriptions usually offer access to pre-release beta versions of Microsoft software.[76][77] In April 2004 Microsoft launched a community site for developers and users, titled Channel9, that provides a wiki and an Internet forum.[78] Another community site that provides daily videocasts and other services, On10.net, launched on March 3, 2006.[79] Free technical support is traditionally provided through online Usenet newsgroups, and CompuServe in the past, monitored by Microsoft employees; there can be several newsgroups for a single product. Helpful people can be elected by peers or Microsoft employees for Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) status, which entitles them to a sort of special social status and possibilities for awards and other benefits.[80]
Noted for its internal lexicon, the expression "eating our own dog food" is used to describe the policy of using pre-release and beta versions of products inside Microsoft in an effort to test them in "real-world" situations.[81] This is usually shortened to just "dog food" and is used as noun, verb, and adjective. Another bit of jargon, FYIFV or FYIV ("Fuck You, I'm [Fully] Vested"), is used by an employee to indicate they are financially independent and can avoid work anytime they wish.[82] The company is also known for its hiring process, mimicked in other organizations and dubbed the "Microsoft interview", which is notorious for off-the-wall questions such as "Why is a manhole cover round?".[83]
Microsoft is an outspoken opponent of the cap on H1B visas, which allow companies in the U.S. to employ certain foreign workers. Bill Gates claims the cap on H1B visas makes it difficult to hire employees for the company, stating "I'd certainly get rid of the H1B cap" in 2005.[84] Critics of H1B visas argue that relaxing the limits would result in increased unemployment for U.S. citizens due to H1B workers working for lower salaries.[85] The Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, a report of how progressive the organization deems company policies towards LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual) employees, rated Microsoft as 87% from 2002 to 2004 and as 100% from 2005 to 2010 after they allowed gender expression.[86]
Criticism
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/VistaParty3-cropped.jpg/220px-VistaParty3-cropped.jpg)
Criticism of Microsoft has followed the company's existence because of various aspects of its products and business practices. Ease of use, stability, and security of the company's software are common targets for critics. More recently, Trojan horses and other exploits have plagued numerous users due to faults in the security of Microsoft Windows and other programs. Microsoft is also accused of locking vendors into their products, and not following and complying with existing standards in its software.[87] Total cost of ownership comparisons of Linux as well as OS X to Windows are a continuous point of debate.
The company has been in numerous lawsuits by several governments and other companies for unlawful monopolistic practices. In 2004, the European Union found Microsoft guilty in a highly publicized anti-trust case. Additionally, Microsoft's EULA for some of its programs is often criticized as being too restrictive as well as being against open source software.
Microsoft has been criticized (along with Yahoo, AOL, Google and others) for its involvement in censorship in the People's Republic of China.[88] Microsoft has also come under criticism for outsourcing jobs to China and India.[89][90][91] There were reports of poor working conditions at a factory in southern China that makes some of Microsoft's products.[92]
Corporate affairs
The company is run by a board of directors made up of mostly company outsiders, as is customary for publicly traded companies. Members of the board of directors as of June 2010 are: Steve Ballmer, Dina Dublon, Bill Gates, Raymond Gilmartin, Reed Hastings, Maria Klawe, David Marquardt, Charles Noski, and Helmut Panke.[93] Board members are elected every year at the annual shareholders' meeting using a majority vote system. There are five committees within the board which oversee more specific matters. These committees include the Audit Committee, which handles accounting issues with the company including auditing and reporting; the Compensation Committee, which approves compensation for the CEO and other employees of the company; the Finance Committee, which handles financial matters such as proposing mergers and acquisitions; the Governance and Nominating Committee, which handles various corporate matters including nomination of the board; and the Antitrust Compliance Committee, which attempts to prevent company practices from violating antitrust laws.[94]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Microsoft_5-Year_Stock_History.svg/350px-Microsoft_5-Year_Stock_History.svg.png)
When Microsoft went public and launched its initial public offering (IPO) in 1986, the opening stock price was $21; after the trading day, the price closed at $27.75. As of July 2010, with the company's nine stock splits, any IPO shares would be multiplied by 288; if one was to buy the IPO today given the splits and other factors, it would cost about 9 cents.[8]: 235–236 [96][97] The stock price peaked in 1999 at around $119 ($60.928 adjusting for splits).[98] The company began to offer a dividend on January 16, 2003, starting at eight cents per share for the fiscal year followed by a dividend of sixteen cents per share the subsequent year, switching from yearly to quarterly dividends in 2005 with eight cents a share per quarter and a special one-time payout of three dollars per share for the second quarter of the fiscal year.[98][99] Though the company had subsequent increases in dividend payouts, the price of Microsoft's stock remained steady for years.[99][100]
One of Microsoft's business tactics, described by an executive as "embrace, extend and extinguish," initially embraces a competing standard or product, then extends it to produce their own version which is then incompatible with the standard, which in time extinguishes competition that does not or cannot use Microsoft's new version.[101] Various companies and governments sue Microsoft over this set of tactics, resulting in billions of dollars in rulings against the company.[102][33][38] Microsoft claims that the original strategy is not anti-competitive, but rather an exercise of its discretion to implement features it believes customers want.[103]
Financial
Standard and Poor's and Moody's have both given a AAA rating to Microsoft, whose assets were valued at $41 billion as compared to only $8.5 billion in unsecured debt. Consequently, in February 2011 Microsoft released a corporate bond amounting to $2.25 billion with relatively low borrowing rates compared to government bonds.[104]
For the first time in 20 years Apple Inc. surpassed Microsoft in Q1 2011 quarterly profits and revenues due to a slowdown in PC sales and continuing huge losses in Microsoft's Online Services Division (which contains its search engine Bing). Microsoft profits were $5.2 billion, while Apple Inc. profits were $6 billion, on revenues of $14.5 billion and $24.7 billion respectively.[105]
Microsoft's Online Services Division has been continuously loss-making since 2006 and in Q1 2011 it lost $726 million. This follows a loss of $2.5 billion for the year 2010.[106]
On July 20, 2012, Microsoft posted its first quarterly loss ever, despite earning record revenues for the quarter and fiscal year, with a net loss of $492 million due to a writedown related to the advertising company aQuantive, which had been acquired for $6.2 billion back in 2007.[107]
As of January 2014, Microsoft's market capitalization stands at $314B,[108] making it the 8th largest company in the world by market capitalization.[109]
Environment
In 2011, Greenpeace released a report rating the top ten big brands in cloud computing on their sources of electricity for their data centers. At the time, data centers consumed up to 2% of all global electricity and this amount was projected to increase. Phil Radford of Greenpeace said "we are concerned that this new explosion in electricity use could lock us into old, polluting energy sources instead of the clean energy available today,"[110] and called on "Amazon, Microsoft and other leaders of the information-technology industry must embrace clean energy to power their cloud-based data centers."[111] In 2013, Microsoft agreed to buy power generated by a Texas wind project to power one of its data centers.[112]
Microsoft is ranked on the 17th place in Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics (16th Edition) that ranks 18 electronics manufacturers according to their policies on toxic chemicals, recycling and climate change.[113] Microsoft's timeline for phasing out BFRs and phthalates in all products is 2012 but its commitment to phasing out PVC is not clear. As yet (January 2011) it has no products that are completely free from PVC and BFRs.[114]
Microsoft's main U.S. campus received a silver certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program in 2008, and it installed over 2,000 solar panels on top of its buildings in its Silicon Valley campus, generating approximately 15 percent of the total energy needed by the facilities in April 2005.[115]
Microsoft makes use of alternative forms of transit. It created one of the worlds largest private bus systems, the "Connector", to transport people from outside the company; for on-campus transportation, the "Shuttle Connect" uses a large fleet of hybrid cars to save fuel. The company also subsidises regional public transport as an incentive.[115][116] In February 2010 however, Microsoft took a stance against adding additional public transport and high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to a bridge connecting Redmond to Seattle; the company did not want to delay the construction any further.[117]
Microsoft was ranked number 1 in the list of the World's Best Multinational Workplaces by the Great Place to Work Institute in 2011.[118]
Marketing
In 2004, Microsoft commissioned research firms to do independent studies comparing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of Windows Server 2003 to Linux; the firms concluded that companies found Windows easier to administrate than Linux, thus those using Windows would administrate faster resulting in lower costs for their company (i.e. lower TCO).[119] This spurred a wave of related studies; a study by the Yankee Group concluded that upgrading from one version of Windows Server to another costs a fraction of the switching costs from Windows Server to Linux, although companies surveyed noted the increased security and reliability of Linux servers and concern about being locked into using Microsoft products.[120] Another study, released by the Open Source Development Labs, claimed that the Microsoft studies were "simply outdated and one-sided" and their survey concluded that the TCO of Linux was lower due to Linux administrators managing more servers on average and other reasons.[121]
As part of the "Get the Facts" campaign, Microsoft highlighted the .NET trading platform that it had developed in partnership with Accenture for the London Stock Exchange, claiming that it provided "five nines" reliability. After suffering extended downtime and unreliability[122][123] the LSE announced in 2009 that it was planning to drop its Microsoft solution and switch to a Linux based one in 2010.[124][125]
In 2012, Microsoft hired a political pollster named Mark Penn, whom the New York Times called "famous for bulldozing" his political opponents [126] as Executive Vice-President, Advertising and Strategy. Penn created a series of negative ads targeting one of Microsoft's chief competitors, Google. The ads, called "Scroogled", attempt to make the case the Google is "screwing" consumers with search results rigged to favor Google's paid advertisers, that GMail violates the privacy of its users to place ad results related to the content of their emails and shopping results which favor Google products. Tech publications like Tech Crunch have been highly critical of the ad campaign,[127] while Google employees have embraced it.[128]
Cooperation with the United States Government
Microsoft provides information about reported bugs in their software to intelligence agencies of the United States government, prior to the public release of the fix. A Microsoft spokesperson has stated that the corporation runs several programs that facilitate the sharing of such information with the U.S. government.[129]
Following media reports about PRISM, NSA's massive electronic surveillance program, in May 2013, several technology companies were identified as participants, including Microsoft.[130] However, in June 2013, an official statement from Microsoft read:
We provide customer data only when we receive a legally binding order or subpoena to do so, and never on a voluntary basis. In addition we only ever comply with orders for requests about specific accounts or identifiers. If the government has a broader voluntary national security program to gather customer data, we don't participate in it.[131]
Logo
Microsoft adopted the so-called "Pac-Man Logo", designed by Scott Baker, in 1987. Baker stated "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."[132] Dave Norris ran an internal joke campaign to save the old logo, which was green, in all uppercase, and featured a fanciful letter O, nicknamed the blibbet, but it was discarded.[133] Microsoft's logo with the "Your potential. Our passion." tagline below the main corporate name, is based on a slogan Microsoft used in 2008. In 2002, the company started using the logo in the United States and eventually started a TV campaign with the slogan, changed from the previous tagline of "Where do you want to go today?".[134][135][136] During the private MGX (Microsoft Global Exchange) conference in 2010, Microsoft unveiled the company's next tagline, "Be What's Next.".[137]
On August 23, 2012, Microsoft unveiled a new corporate logo at the opening of its 23rd Microsoft store in Boston indicating the company's shift of focus from the classic style to the tile-centric modern interface which it uses/will use on the Windows Phone platform, Xbox 360, Windows 8 and the upcoming Office Suites.[138] The new logo also includes four squares with the colors of the then-current Windows logo.[139] However this logo is not completely new - it was featured in Windows 95 commercials from the mid-1990s.[140][141]
- 1987 - Microsoft "Pac-Man" logo, designed by Scott Baker and used from 1987 to 2012 with the 1994–2002 slogan "Where do you want to go today?".[134][135]
- 2006–2011 - Microsoft logo as of 2006–2011, with the slogan "Your potential. Our passion."[135]
- 2011–2012 - Logo by Microsoft with the slogan "Be what's next."[137]
- 2012–present - Introduced on August 23, 2012, to symbolize the "world of digital motion" and Microsoft's "diverse portfolio of products".[142]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e "Earnings Release FY13 Q4". Microsoft. July 18, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
- ^ "Facts About Microsoft". Microsoft. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
- ^ "2011 Form 10-K, Microsoft Corporation". United States Securities and Exchange Commission. July 28, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
- ^ "Global Software Top 100 - Edition 2011". Softwaretop100.Org. August 23, 2011.
- ^ "Market Cap Rankings". Ycharts. Zacks Investment Research. April 8, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
- ^ Hunckler, Matt. "Top 20 Startups of All Time". Verge Startups. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
- ^ "Microsoft buys Skype for $8.5 billion". The Search Office Space Blog. May 10, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Allan, Roy A. (2001). A History of the Personal Computer. Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-9689108-0-7. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ a b "Microsoft to Microsoft disk operating system (MS-DOS)". Smart Computing. 6 (3). Sandhills Publishing Company. March 2002. Retrieved August 18, 2008.[dead link]
- ^ "Microsoft Company HIstory".
- ^ a b c "Bill Gates: A Timeline". BBC News. BBC. July 15, 2006. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ Staples, Betsy (August 1984). "Kay Nishi bridges the cultural gap". Creative Computing. 10 (8): 192. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ Dyar, Dafydd Neal (November 4, 2002). "Under The Hood: Part 8". Computer Source. Archived from the original on September 11, 2006. Retrieved July 14, 2010.
{{cite news}}
:|archive-date=
/|archive-url=
timestamp mismatch; September 1, 2006 suggested (help) - ^ Engines that move markets. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
- ^ Blaxill, Mark; Eckardt, Ralph (March 5, 2009). "The Invisible Edge: Taking Your Strategy to the Next Level Using Intellectual Property". Portfolio Hardcover. ISBN 1-59184-237-9. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ a b "Microsoft Chronology". CBS News. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
- ^ Bick, Julie (May 29, 2005). "The Microsoft Millionaires Come of Age". The New York Times. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
- ^ a b "U.S. v. Microsoft: Timeline". Wired. November 4, 2002. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ Thurrott, Paul (January 24, 2003). "Windows Server 2003: The Road To Gold". winsupersite.com. Penton Media. Archived from the original on June 4, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ Athow, Desire (May 22, 2010). "Microsoft Windows 3.0 Is 20 Years Old Today!!!". ITProPortal. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
- ^ McCracken, Harry (September 13, 2000). "A Peek at Office Upgrade". PCWorld. Retrieved July 4, 2006.
- ^ Waner, Jim (November 12, 2004). "Novell Files WordPerfect Suit Against Microsoft". internetnews.com. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Competitive Impact Statement : U.S. v. Microsoft Corporation". Justice.gov. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
- ^ Borland, John (April 15, 2003). "Victor: Software empire pays high price". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
- ^ Cope, Jim (March 1996). "New And Improved". Smart Computing. 4 (3). Sandhills Publishing Company. Retrieved July 16, 2010.[dead link]
- ^ Pietrek, Matt (March 1996). "Windows 95 Programming Secrets" (PDF). IDG. ISBN 1-56884-318-6. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ Thurrott, Paul (May 31, 2005). "MSN: The Inside Story". winsupersite.com. Penton Media. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ "Marketplace: News Archives". Marketplace. American Public Media. July 15, 1996. Archived from the original on August 23, 2004.
- ^ Tilly, Chris. "The History of Microsoft Windows CE". HPC:Factor. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- ^ Markoff, John (June 20, 2002). "Fears of Misuse of Encryption System Are Voiced". The New York Times. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
- ^ Stajano, Frank (2003). "Security for whom? The shifting security assumptions of pervasive computing" (PDF). Software Security—Theories and Systems. Lecture notes in computer science. 2609. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg: 16–27. doi:10.1007/3-540-36532-X_2. ISBN 978-3-540-00708-1. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
- ^ a b "United States v. Microsoft". U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved August 5, 2005.
- ^ Jackson, Thomas Penfield (November 5, 1999). "U.S. vs. Microsoft findings of fact". U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- ^ Thurrott, Paul (October 26, 2001). "WinInfo Short Takes: Windows XP Launch Special Edition". Windows IT Pro. Penton Media. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
- ^ "NPD Reports Annual 2001 U.S. Interactive Entertainment Sales Shatter Industry Record". Business Wire. CBS Interactive. February 7, 2002. Retrieved March 31, 2007.
- ^ "Microsoft hit by record EU fine". CNN. March 25, 2004. Archived from the original on April 13, 2006. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
- ^ a b "Commission Decision of 24.03.2004 relating to a proceeding under Article 82 of the EC Treaty (Case COMP/C-3/37.792 Microsoft)" (PDF). Commission of the European Communities. April 21, 2004. Retrieved August 5, 2005.
- ^ Wee, Gerald (November 10, 2005). "Steve Ballmer on management style". ITWorld. IDG. CIO Asia. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ Vamosi, Robert (January 23, 2007). "Windows Vista Ultimate review". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
- ^ Ricadela, Aaron (February 14, 2006). "Gates Says Security Is Job One For Vista". InformationWeek. UBM TechWeb. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
- ^ "Vista gives Microsoft view of record profit". Edinburgh Evening News. Johnston Press. April 27, 2007. Retrieved February 1, 2009.
- ^ "AFP:EU hits Microsoft with record 899 million euro antitrust fine". Google News. Google. Agence France-Presse. February 27, 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
- ^ "Microsoft, Multi-core and the Data Center".
- ^ Conte, Natali Del (June 15, 2006). "Bill Gates Announces Resignation". PC Magazine. Ziff Davis. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ Fried, Ina (October 27, 2008). "Microsoft launches Windows Azure". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
- ^ Fried, Ina (February 12, 2009). "Microsoft follows Apple into the retail business". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ Gaynor, Tim (October 22, 2009). "Long lines as Microsoft opens retail store". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
- ^ Mintz, Jessica (October 22, 2009). "Windows 7 operating system makes its debut". NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal. Associated Press. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
- ^ Erickson, David (March 21, 2011). "Open Networking Foundation News Release". Openflow.org. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
- ^ ""Google and other titans form Open Networking Foundation." Noyes, March 23, 2011". Computerworld. IDG. March 23, 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
- ^ "Windows Phone 7 Series UI Design & Interaction Guide". March 18, 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
- ^ "Microsoft releases final test version of Windows 8". Business Line. Kasturi & Sons. June 1, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
- ^ Rosoff, Matt (January 5, 2011). "OK, So Windows 8 Is Coming To ARM Tablets...Someday (MSFT)". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
- ^ Sullivan, Mark. "Microsoft Announces New 'Surface' Tablet PC". PCWorld. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ^ a b Eichenwald, Kurt, "Microsoft's Lost Decade: How Microsoft Lost Its Mojo", Vanity Fair, August 2012
- ^ Acohido, Byron (June 25, 2012). "Microsoft buys Internet startup Yammer for $1.2 billion". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
- ^ Thurrott, Paul (July 31, 2012). "Outlook.com Mail: Microsoft Reimagines Webmail". Supersite for Windows. Penton Media. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
- ^ Microsoft Corp. (August 8, 2012). "Windows Server 2012 "Save the Date" Announcement".
- ^ "Microsoft launching news operation, new MSN". Reuters. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
- ^ "Windows 8's delivery date: October 26". ZDNet. July 18, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- ^ "Mary Jo Foley: Windows Phone 8 launch date revealed". LiveSide.net. August 30, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
- ^ "Microsoft prepping for complete brand and product line relaunch, New York store coming the 26th". wpcentral.com. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
- ^ "Microsoft launches 'Patent Tracker' to help you search its library of intellectual property". The Next Web. March 28, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- ^ David Pierce (May 21, 2013). "The all-seeing Kinect: tracking my face, arms, body, and heart on the Xbox One". The Verge. Vox Media, Inc. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
- ^ "Funky Friday: More than $32 billion in Microsoft stock value wiped out | Microsoft - CNET News". News.cnet.com. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
- ^ "Microsoft buying Nokia's phone business in a $7.2 billion bid for its mobile future".
- ^ Microsoft names insider Amy Hood as CFO
- ^ "Microsft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months".
- ^ Samuel Gibbs (October 7, 2013). "Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Google lead coalition for cheaper internet". The Guardian. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
- ^ "Microsoft's sweeping reorganization shifts focus to services, devices". July 11, 2013.
- ^ http://www.nbcnews.com/business/microsoft-names-satya-nadella-ceo-2D12054182
- ^ Carter, Bill (December 24, 2005). "Microsoft Quits MSNBC TV, but Web Partnership Remains". The New York Times. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
- ^ "Four Products Advance on Dynamics ERP Roadmap". Directions on Microsoft. April 27, 2009. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
- ^ Cha, Bonnie (September 1, 2010). "Microsoft releases Windows Phone 7 to manufacturers". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
- ^ "MSDN Subscription FAQ". Microsoft. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
- ^ "Microsoft Systems Journal Homepage". Microsoft. April 15, 2004. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- ^ Hobson, Neville (April 11, 2005). "Microsoft's Channel 9 And Cultural Rules". WebProNews. iEntry Inc. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
- ^ "On10.net homepage". Microsoft. Retrieved May 4, 2006.
- ^ Bray, Hiawatha (June 13, 2005). "Somehow, Usenet lumbers on". The Boston Globe. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
* "Microsoft MVP Frequently Asked Questions". Microsoft. Retrieved July 1, 2006. - ^ CNET News.com Staff (July 21, 2003). "Microsoft tests its own dog food". ZDNet. CNET Networks, Inc. Archived from the original on January 8, 2007. Retrieved October 9, 2005.
- ^ Heileman, John (November 2000). "The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But The Truth". Wired. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- ^ Poundstone, William (May 21, 2003). "Square Manhole Covers and Crazy Questions". G4TV.com. Retrieved July 1, 2006.
- ^ Mark, Roy (April 27, 2005). "Gates Rakes Congress on H1B Visa Cap". internetnews.com. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- ^ "Bill Gates Targets Visa Rules for Tech Workers". NPR. March 12, 2008. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
- ^ "Corporate Equality Index Archive". Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ "Writing history with Microsoft's Office lock-in".
- ^ "Corporate Complicity in Chinese Internet Censorship". Retrieved November 23, 2006.
- ^ "Who's buying Microsoft's outsourcing excuses?". InfoWorld. April 22, 2010.
- ^ "Microsoft plans to outsource more, says ex-worker". The Seattle Times. September 3, 2005.
- ^ "High-end tech jobs outsourced by Microsoft". Taipei Times. June 17, 2004.
- ^ "Microsoft Investigates 'Mass Suicide Threat'". Sky News. January 11, 2012
- ^ "Microsoft Board of Directors". PressPass (Press release). Microsoft. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
- ^ "Microsoft Corporation Corporate Governance Guidelines". Microsoft. July 1, 2009. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
- ^ "Five year history graph of (NASDAQ:MSFT) stock". ZenoBank. AlphaTrade. September 29, 2009. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
- ^ Monkman, Carol Smith (March 14, 1986). "Microsoft stock is red hot on first trading day". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Hearst Seattle Media, LLC. p. B9. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
- ^ "MSFT stock performance and split info". Morningstar, Inc. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ a b "Microsoft stock price spreadsheet from Microsoft investor relations" (xls). Microsoft. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- ^ a b "Dividend Frequently Asked Questions". Microsoft. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- ^ "Yahoo MSFT stock chart". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
* "MSN Money MSFT chart with dividend and split info". MSN Money. Microsoft. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
* Fried, Ina; Ard, Scott (June 15, 2006). "Gates stepping down from full-time Microsoft role, page 2". ZDNet. Retrieved August 18, 2008.{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Rodger, Will (November 8, 1998). "Intel exec: MS wanted to 'extend, embrace and extinguish' competition". ZDNet. Retrieved August 18, 2008.[dead link]
- ^ "Microsoft Corp. Licenses Burst.com Patents & Settles Suit" (Press release). Burst.com Inc. March 11, 2005. Retrieved August 18, 2008.[dead link]
* Orlowski, Andrew (March 5, 2004). "Eolas' web patent nullified". The Register. Situation Publishing Ltd. Retrieved May 18, 2006.
* Dennis, Tony (December 24, 2002). "Sendo & Microsoft – it all ends in tears". TheInquirer.net. Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved May 18, 2006.
* Nystedt, Dan (December 7, 2005). "Update: Microsoft fined $32M by South Korea". IDG News Service. Retrieved August 18, 2008. - ^ "U.S. v. Microsoft: We're Defending Our Right to Innovate". The Wall Street Journal. May 20, 1998. Archived from the original on November 17, 2007. Retrieved March 31, 2006.
- ^ "Microsoft sells $2.25 billion of debt at low rates". Reuters. February 4, 2011.
- ^ Charles Arthur (April 28, 2011). "Microsoft falls behind Apple for first time in 20 years | Technology". London: The Guardian. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
- ^ MG Siegler Apr 29, 2011 (April 29, 2011). "When Will Microsoft's Internet Bloodbath End?". Techcrunch.com. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ White, Martha. "Microsoft reports first quarterly loss ever". Retrieved July 20, 2012.
- ^ "Microsoft Overview". Marketwatch. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
- ^ "Global Top 100 Companies". PWC. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
- ^ "Dirty Data Report Card" (PDF). Greenpeace. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
- ^ "Amazon, Microsoft: Let's keep 'the cloud' clean", Phil Radford
- ^ "Microsoft looks to boost eco credentials with wind-powered data centre", Suzanne Goldenberg
- ^ "Guide to Greener Electronics – Greenpeace International (16th Edition)". Greenpeace International. Retrieved April 3, 2012.[dead link]
- ^ "Ranking tables October 2010 – Greenpeace International" (PDF). Greenpeace International. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
- ^ a b Mills, Elinor (June 6, 2008). "Microsoft vs. Google: Who's greener?". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
- ^ "Fostering Alternative Ways to Commute at Microsoft". Microsoft. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008.
- ^ "Seattle hires consultant to look at 520 bridge plan". King5 Television News. February 23, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
- ^ Tu, Janet I. (October 28, 2011). "Microsoft Pri0 | Microsoft named best multinational workplace". Seattle Times Newspaper. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
- ^ Bishop, Todd (January 27, 2004). "Studies on Linux help their patron: Microsoft". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Hearst Seattle Media, LLC. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
- ^ Foley, Mary Jo (March 24, 2004). "Yankee Independently Pits Windows TCO vs. Linux TCO". eWeek. Retrieved July 14, 2010.
- ^ Jaques, Robert (February 13, 2006). "Linux fans hit back at Microsoft TCO claims". vnunet.com. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- ^ Rowena Mason (September 10, 2008). "Seven-hour LSE blackout caused by double glitch". London: The Telegraph.
- ^ "London Stock Exchange trading hit by technical glitch". BBC News. November 26, 2009.
- ^ David M. Williams (October 8, 2009). "London Stock Exchange gets the facts and dumps Windows for Linux". ITWire.
- ^ "London Stock Exchange Rejects .NET For Open Source". Slashdot. October 6, 2009.
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/technology/microsoft-battles-google-by-hiring-political-brawler-mark-penn.html?_r=0
- ^ http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/10/scroogled-why-so-negative-microsoft/
- ^ http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/11/21/googlers-love-microsofts-scroogled-gear-mug-and-shirts-sell-out/
- ^ "U.S. Agencies Said to Swap Data With Thousands of Firms".
- ^ Ryan W. Neal (July 11, 2013). "Snowden Reveals Microsoft PRISM Cooperation: Helped NSA Decrypt Emails, Chats, Skype Conversations". International Business Times.
- ^ Johnson, Kevin; Martin, Scott; O'Donnell, Jayne; Winter, Michael (June 15, 2013). "Reports: NSA Siphons Data from 9 Major Net Firms". USA Today. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Computer Reseller News Magazine. March 1987.
{{cite journal}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ Osterman, Larry (July 14, 2005). "Remember the blibbet". Larry Osterman's WebLog. Microsoft. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- ^ a b "The Rise and Rise of the Redmond Empire". Wired. December 1998. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- ^ a b c Schmelzer, Randi (January 9, 2006). "McCann Thinks Local for Global Microsoft". Adweek. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- ^ Reimer, Jeremy (January 23, 2006). "Microsoft set to launch new marketing campaign". Ars Technica. Condé Nast Digital. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- ^ a b Topolsky, Joshua (July 22, 2010). "New Microsoft brand logos, company tagline revealed at MGX event? (update: no new logos, tagline is a go)". Engadget. AOL. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
- ^ Meisner, Jeffrey (August 23, 2012). "Microsoft Unveils a New Look". The Official Microsoft Blog. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
- ^ Eric, Steven H. (August 23, 2012). "NEW MICROSOFT LOGO REVEALED". Flapship.com. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
- ^ "Microsoft's new logo has ties to the past".
- ^ "Microsoft's logo is not new, it's from 1995".
- ^ "Microsoft Unveils a New Look". Microsoft. August 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
External links
- Business data for Microsoft Corporation:
- Companies in the Nasdaq-100
- Companies listed on the Nasdaq
- All articles with faulty authority control information
- 1975 establishments in the United States
- Cloud computing providers
- Companies based in Redmond, Washington
- Companies established in 1975
- Software companies of the United States
- Software companies based in Washington (state)
- Companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average
- Companies in the NASDAQ-100 Index
- Microsoft
- Multinational companies headquartered in the United States