45 Facts About Microsoft Corporation

1.

Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation which produces computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washington, United States.

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2.

Microsoft Corporation produces a wide range of other consumer and enterprise software for desktops, laptops, tabs, gadgets, and servers, including Internet search, the digital services market, mixed reality, cloud computing, and software development .

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3.

Microsoft Corporation has been criticized for its monopolistic practices and the company's software has been criticized for problems with ease of use, robustness, and security.

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4.

Microsoft Corporation moved its headquarters to Bellevue, Washington, in January 1979.

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5.

Microsoft Corporation entered the operating system business in 1980 with its own version of Unix called Xenix, but it was MS-DOS that solidified the company's dominance.

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6.

Microsoft Corporation retained ownership of MS-DOS following the release of the IBM PC in August 1981.

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7.

Microsoft Corporation expanded into new markets with the release of the Microsoft Mouse in 1983, as well as with a publishing division named Microsoft Press.

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8.

In October 1997, the Justice Department filed a motion in the Federal District Court, stating that Microsoft Corporation violated an agreement signed in 1994 and asked the court to stop the bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows.

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9.

Various companies including Microsoft Corporation formed the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance in October 1999 to increase security and protect intellectual property through identifying changes in hardware and software.

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10.

Microsoft Corporation released the Xbox later that year, entering the video game console market dominated by Sony and Nintendo.

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11.

Microsoft Corporation Office 2007, released at the same time, featured a "Ribbon" user interface which was a significant departure from its predecessors.

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12.

Microsoft Corporation stated that it was in compliance and that "these fines are about the past issues that have been resolved".

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13.

Microsoft Corporation implemented a new strategy for the software industry, providing a consistent user experience across all smartphones using the Windows Phone OS.

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14.

Microsoft Corporation unveiled Windows 8, an operating system designed to power both personal computers and tablet computers, in Taipei in June 2011.

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15.

Kinect, a motion-sensing input device made by Microsoft Corporation and designed as a video game controller, first introduced in November 2010, was upgraded for the 2013 release of the Xbox One video game console.

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16.

In line with the maturing PC business, in July 2013, Microsoft Corporation announced that it would reorganize the business into four new business divisions, namely Operating System, Apps, Cloud, and Devices.

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17.

In June 2016, Microsoft Corporation announced a project named Microsoft Corporation Azure Information Protection.

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18.

In November 2016, Microsoft Corporation joined the Linux Foundation as a Platinum member during Microsoft Corporation's Connect; developer event in New York.

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19.

Microsoft Corporation planned to launch a preview of Intune for Education "in the coming weeks", with general availability scheduled for spring 2017, priced at $30 per device, or through volume licensing agreements.

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20.

In January 2018, Microsoft Corporation patched Windows 10 to account for CPU problems related to Intel's Meltdown security breach.

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21.

In February 2018, Microsoft Corporation killed notification support for their Windows Phone devices which effectively ended firmware updates for the discontinued devices.

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22.

In March 2018, Microsoft Corporation recalled Windows 10 S to change it to a mode for the Windows operating system rather than a separate and unique operating system.

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23.

In May 2018, Microsoft Corporation partnered with 17 American intelligence agencies to develop cloud computing products.

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24.

In December 2018, Microsoft Corporation announced Project Mu, an open source release of the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface core used in Microsoft Corporation Surface and Hyper-V products.

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25.

The announcement came with confusion after Microsoft Corporation announced Windows 10 would be the last version of the operating system; set to be released in the third quarter of 2021.

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26.

In October 2021, Microsoft Corporation announced that it began rolling out end-to-end encryption support for Microsoft Corporation Teams calls in order to secure business communication while using video conferencing software.

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27.

Microsoft Corporation has not released statements regarding Activision's recent legal controversies regarding employee abuse, but reports have alleged that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, a major target of the controversy, will leave the company after the acquisition is finalized.

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28.

When Microsoft Corporation went public and launched its initial public offering in 1986, the opening stock price was $21; after the trading day, the price closed at $27.

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29.

In 2012, Microsoft Corporation hired a political pollster named Mark Penn, whom The New York Times called "famous for bulldozing" his political opponents as Executive Vice-president, Advertising and Strategy.

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30.

Microsoft Corporation provides information about reported bugs in their software to intelligence agencies of the United States government, prior to the public release of the fix.

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31.

Microsoft Corporation argued that it was unconstitutional for the government to indefinitely ban Microsoft Corporation from informing its users that the government was requesting their emails and other documents, and that the Fourth Amendment made it so people or businesses had the right to know if the government searches or seizes their property.

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32.

In 2015, Microsoft Corporation established its own parental leave policy to allow 12 weeks off for parental leave with an additional 8 weeks for the parent who gave birth.

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33.

Microsoft Corporation is ranked on the 17th place in Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics that ranks 18 electronics manufacturers according to their policies on toxic chemicals, recycling and climate change.

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34.

In February 2010 Microsoft Corporation took a stance against adding additional public transport and high-occupancy vehicle lanes to the State Route 520 and its floating bridge connecting Redmond to Seattle; the company did not want to delay the construction any further.

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35.

Microsoft Corporation was ranked number 1 in the list of the World's Best Multinational Workplaces by the Great Place to Work Institute in 2011.

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36.

Microsoft Corporation is planning to upgrade its Mountain View, California, campus on a grand scale.

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37.

Microsoft Corporation operates an East Coast headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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38.

Microsoft Corporation adopted the so-called "Pac-Man Logo, " designed by Scott Baker, in 1987.

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39.

In June 2022, Microsoft Corporation published the report on Russian cyber attacks, and concluded that state-backed Russian hackers "have engaged in "strategic espionage" against governments, think tanks, businesses and aid groups" in 42 countries supporting Kyiv.

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40.

Criticism of Microsoft Corporation has followed various aspects of its products and business practices.

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41.

Microsoft Corporation is often referred to as a "Velvet Sweatshop", a term which originated in a 1989 Seattle Times article, and later became used to describe the company by some of Microsoft's own employees.

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42.

Microsoft Corporation is frequently accused of using anticompetitive tactics and abusing its monopolistic power.

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43.

Microsoft Corporation was the first company to participate in the PRISM surveillance program, according to leaked NSA documents obtained by The Guardian and The Washington Post in June 2013, and acknowledged by government officials following the leak.

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44.

In 2015, he praised Microsoft Corporation for appointing two women to its board of directors.

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45.

The?Microsoft Corporation Services Provider License Agreement, or SPLA, is a mechanism by which service providers and independent software vendors, who license Microsoft Corporation products on a monthly basis, are able to provide software services and hosting services to end-users.

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