79 Facts About Microsoft

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 ranked No 21 in the 2020 Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue; it was the world's largest software maker by revenue as of 2019.

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3.

Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975, to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800.

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4.

Microsoft produces a wide range of other consumer and enterprise software for desktops, laptops, tabs, gadgets, and servers, including Internet search, the digital services market (through MSN), mixed reality (HoloLens), cloud computing (Azure), and software development (Visual Studio).

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5.

Microsoft 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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6.

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

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7.

Microsoft 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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8.

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

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9.

On July 27, 1994, the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division filed a competitive impact statement which said: "Beginning in 1988 and continuing until July 15, 1994, Microsoft induced many OEMs to execute anti-competitive 'per processor' licenses.

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10.

Microsoft 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.

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11.

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.

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12.

Various companies including Microsoft 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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13.

On October 25, 2001, Microsoft released Windows XP, unifying the mainstream and NT lines of OS under the NT codebase.

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14.

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

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15.

These expanded on previous hardware commitments from Microsoft following its original Microsoft Mouse in 1983; as of 2007 the company sold the best-selling wired keyboard, mouse (IntelliMouse), and desktop webcam (LifeCam) in the United States.

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16.

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

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17.

Microsoft 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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18.

Microsoft is a founding member of the Open Networking Foundation started on March 23, 2011.

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19.

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

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20.

Kinect, a motion-sensing input device made by Microsoft 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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21.

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 interactive.

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22.

On July 19, 2013, Microsoft stocks suffered their 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.

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23.

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

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24.

On February 4, 2014, Steve Ballmer stepped down as CEO of Microsoft and was succeeded by Satya Nadella, who previously led Microsoft's Cloud and Enterprise division.

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25.

On September 15, 2014, Microsoft acquired the video game development company Mojang, best known for Minecraft, for $2.

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26.

On January 21, 2015, Microsoft announced the release of their first Interactive whiteboard, Microsoft Surface Hub.

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27.

On March 1, 2016, Microsoft announced the merger of its PC and Xbox divisions, with Phil Spencer announcing that Universal Windows Platform apps would be the focus for Microsoft's gaming in the future.

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28.

On January 24, 2017, Microsoft showcased Intune for Education at the BETT 2017 education technology conference in London.

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29.

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

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30.

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

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31.

Microsoft 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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32.

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

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33.

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

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34.

In March 2018, Microsoft 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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35.

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

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36.

On June 4, 2018, Microsoft officially announced the acquisition of GitHub for $7.

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37.

On October 10, 2018, Microsoft joined the Open Invention Network community despite holding more than 60, 000 patents.

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38.

In November 2018, Microsoft agreed to supply 100, 000 Microsoft HoloLens headsets to the United States military in order to "increase lethality by enhancing the ability to detect, decide and engage before the enemy.

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39.

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

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40.

On February 20, 2019, Microsoft Corp said it will offer its cyber security service AccountGuard to 12 new markets in Europe including Germany, France and Spain, to close security gaps and protect customers in political space from hacking.

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41.

On March 26, 2020, Microsoft announced it was acquiring Affirmed Networks for about $1.

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42.

On July 22, 2020, Microsoft announced plans to close its Mixer service, planning to move existing partners to Facebook Gaming.

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43.

On July 31, 2020, it was reported that Microsoft was in talks to acquire TikTok after the Trump administration ordered ByteDance to divest ownership of the application to the U S On August 3, 2020, after speculation on the deal, Donald Trump stated that Microsoft could buy the application, however it should be completed by September 15, 2020, and that the United States Department of the Treasury should receive a portion if it were to go through.

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44.

On September 21, 2020, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire video game company ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, for about $7.

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45.

On September 22, 2020, Microsoft announced that it had an exclusive license to use OpenAI's GPT-3 artificial intelligence language generator.

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46.

On November 10, 2020, Microsoft released the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S video game consoles.

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47.

The announcement came with confusion after Microsoft 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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48.

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

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49.

On January 18, 2022, Microsoft announced the acquisition of American video game developer and holding company Activision Blizzard in an all-cash deal worth $68.

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50.

Microsoft 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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51.

When Microsoft 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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52.

Microsoft 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.

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53.

On November 14, 2014, Microsoft overtook ExxonMobil to become the second most-valuable company by market capitalization, behind only Apple Inc Its total market value was over $410B—with the stock price hitting $50.

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54.

In 2012, Microsoft 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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55.

Microsoft employed 127, 104 people as of June 5, 2014, making this about a 14 percent reduction of its workforce as the biggest Microsoft lay off ever.

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56.

In September 2014, Microsoft laid off 2, 100 people, including 747 people in the Seattle–Redmond area, where the company is headquartered.

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57.

In October 2014, Microsoft revealed that it was almost done with the elimination of 18, 000 employees, which was its largest-ever layoff sweep.

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58.

In July 2015, Microsoft announced another 7, 800 job cuts in the next several months.

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59.

In May 2016, Microsoft announced another 1, 850 job cuts mostly in its Nokia mobile phone division.

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60.

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.

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61.

Microsoft argued that it was unconstitutional for the government to indefinitely ban Microsoft 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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62.

On October 23, 2017, Microsoft said it would drop the lawsuit as a result of a policy change by the United States Department of Justice.

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63.

Microsoft is an outspoken opponent of the cap on H-1B visas, which allow companies in the U S to employ certain foreign workers.

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64.

In 2015, Microsoft 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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65.

Microsoft 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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66.

In February 2010, however, Microsoft 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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67.

Microsoft 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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68.

Microsoft initially moved onto the grounds of the campus on February 26, 1986, weeks before the company went public on March 13.

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69.

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

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70.

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

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71.

On November 12, 2015, Microsoft opened a second flagship store, located in Sydney's Pitt Street Mall.

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72.

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

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73.

In June 2022, Microsoft 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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74.

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

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75.

Microsoft 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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76.

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

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77.

Microsoft 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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78.

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

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79.

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

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