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Microsoft Celebrates 40th Anniversary
HughPickens.com writes Alyssa Newcomb reports at ABC News that the software company started by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975 is 40 and fabulous and highlights products and moments that helped define Microsoft's first four decades including: Microsoft's first product — software for the Altair 8800; Getting a deal to provide a DOS Operating System for IBM's computers in 1980; Shipping Windows 1.0 in 1985; Microsoft Office for Mac released in 1989; Windows 3.0 ships in 1990, ushering in the era of graphics on computers; Windows 95 launches in 1995, selling an astounding 7 million copies in the first five weeks, and the first time the start menu, task bar, minimize, maximize and close buttons are introduced on each window.
For his part, Bill Gates sent a letter to employees celebrating Microsoft's anniversary, and how far computing has come since he and Paul Allen set the goal of a computer on every desk and in every home, and predicting that computing will evolve faster in the next 10 years than it ever has before.
For his part, Bill Gates sent a letter to employees celebrating Microsoft's anniversary, and how far computing has come since he and Paul Allen set the goal of a computer on every desk and in every home, and predicting that computing will evolve faster in the next 10 years than it ever has before.
I did. Microsoft was the big dog in the world of BASIC. My second personal computer, an Apple II Plus, came with Applesoft BASIC in ROM, a Microsoft product, of which I have fond memories. Happy birthday Microsoft!
BASIC.
Beginners All purpose Symbolic Instruction Code.
Beginners.
That's what was up. Besides, you really could do quite a bit with BASIC on those machines by linking to Assembly code. Although many of us had to unlearn twisted spaghetti code in order to progress anywhere, I do wonder what horrible PTSD cases we would have created if high school kids in the 1970's had to start out with C. Talk about a dystopian future.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Windows won using abusive monopolist tactics.....
Ehm, technically you can't really use "abusive monopolist tactics" until after you've "won."
Android will put all the nails in the coffin of Microsoft. Around the world people do not have the disposable income we have in the USA. The poor will get computers and the 3rd world counties will for many. In the developing lands we want something that works like an iPad and if we don't have the ability to buy one for each family member we will use android. All the developers that don't have their head in the sand or their ass have seen this and are writing android apps for the billion devices out there already.
There are a smaller group that have more disposable income and have purchased several Mac computers, iPads and iPhones. Not the norm but a big number.
The dying breed are the ones stuck to the Windows PC for gaming, for enterprise apps and old fashioned MS Office. Any PC user with a brain would have ditched MS Office some time ago for the open source office packages and been quite happy. Windows 10 for $x per month, that will create a thermo nuclear war. Just because you build a huge cloud with your spare cash your sitting on does not mean you will attract customers. You leave a $250 steak at your kids lemonade stand it will not sell no matter how many you buy, how many you cook or how many you have on display. Give that steak enough time and you got yourself some smelly food that is attracting flies and other undesirable animals. Your moving product but not in a sustainable way.
Good luck MS, I am ready for a change. I am sure there were longtime IBMers that we ready for IBM/Mainframers to shoot themselves in the foot when MS was the underdog.
Your Average Joe