Sunday, June 16, 2024

Microsoft History 6-16-24

Microsoft was responsible for office productivity increases from the 1980s through 2000s with software to run Personal Computers. Businesses were able to connect their PCs to Enterprise-wide Software. We are also able to access the internet through cell phones. Now AI software will likely add to the productivity. 

Bill Gates Microsoft CEO 1975-2000, Founded Microsoft in 1975. In 1981, IBM contracted Microsoft to deliver an operating system for the IBM PC. Gates delivered MS/DOS in exchange for royalties. Gates retained ownership of MS/DOS and continued its development to include Word, Excel, a Mouse, Windows 1.0 in 1985, bought PowerPoint in 1987 and became the dominant PC software company in the US.  In 1990, Windows 2.0 was introduced and in 1992 Windows 3.0 was introduced. Bill Gates navigated MS/DOS to run on the Internet in 1996. The Internet brought viruses that were disruptive, but computer chips were also more powerful and memory chips stored more data. Bill Gates retired in 2000 to run his own philanthropic foundation.

Steve Balmer Microsoft CEO 2000-2014, Joined Microsoft in 1980 as Business Mgr. The US DOJ sued Microsoft for being a monopoly in 2000 and the case was settled in 2001. Steve Balmer continued to manage Microsoft and delivered annual Windows updates. The Microsoft Cloud was introduced in the 2000s.

Cloud computing is believed to have been invented by J. C. R. Licklider in the 1960s with his work on ARPANET to connect people and data from anywhere at any time. In 1983, CompuServe offered its consumer users a small amount of disk space that could be used to store any files they chose to upload.

Satya Nadella Microsoft CEO, 2014-2024, Joined Microsoft in 1992 as an Engineer and rose to VP in 2000. He introduced Windows 10 and Windows 11. In 2022, Microsoft announced the acquisition of American video game developer and holding company Activision Blizzard in an all-cash deal worth $68.7 billion. In 2023, Microsoft announced a new multi-year, multi-billion dollar investment deal with OpenAI.

Microsoft Revenue was $212B in 2023.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Microsoft#:~:text=Revenues%20of%20the%20company%20totalled%20%2416%2C005%20by%20the%20end%20of%201976.&text=Allen%20came%20up%20with%20the,of%20State%20of%20New%20Mexico.

Fortune Magazine June-July 2024

Comments

Microsoft is committed to having a role in AI.  Microsoft engineering has always been focused on overcoming obstacles with technological advances. Automating processes allows us to increase throughput while tightening specifications. Laser reading devices are used to measure 3-D parts. A Texas Instruments engineer developed the integrated circuit to allow us to replace bulky Cathode Ray Tubes in computers and TVs with circuit boards and replace circuit boards with chips. AI will allow us to develop better robotics and connect Enterprise-wide software to pay invoices based on purchase order and receiving data.

Microsoft developed a method for self-driving cars that didn’t require sensors on the roads and innovations in robotics.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

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