Microsoft is, today, a household name. Started in 1975 by William Horatio Gates III (better known to us as Bill Gates) and Paul Allen, Microsoft has grown from a small home computer company into one of the largest and wealthiest companies in the world. But how did they do it? They found a problem, and solved it. They produced a user-friendly operating system that even the most laymans of people could function.
Microsoft tried many different operating systems before, in 1995, creating Windows 95, an easy-to-use, fun, intuitive system. They updated the system many times, and we currently have Windows Vista, with Windows 7 on the horizon. However, Windows Vista has been severely unsuccessful due to the high number of user-complaints because of the operating system often crashing, and the system’s inability to run with older printers. However, Windows 7 is said to fix all these problems and be the “dawn of a new era for Microsoft”.
But more recently, Microsoft have delved into the further technological advancements that man has developed. Their Xbox and Xbox 360 have been gaming successes across the globe. They are currently the second best selling home console around, and have overtaken the feats of Sony’s Playstation 3. Then there’s the highly unsuccessful attempt at diving into the world of multimedia players, namely their “Zune”, which has failed miserably and is really no comparison to Apple’s iPod, or even Creative’s Zen.
But through it all, Microsoft are still rolling in the dough, so to speak. They have over 89,000 employees in over 100 different countries worldwide. Their revenue currently stands at a massive USD$60.42 billion.
Through the last 30-odd years, Microsoft have grown into a multi-national conglomerate and have (mainly) Bill Gates to thank for it, and because of Microsoft, Gates was at one point the richest man in the world.
