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, recalling 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. "We are nearing the point where computers and robots will be able to see, move, and interact naturally, unlocking many new applications and empowering people even more. Under Satya's leadership, Microsoft is better positioned than ever to lead these advances. We have the resources to drive and solve tough problems. We are engaged in every facet of modern computing and have the deepest commitment to research in the industry," concludes Gates. "We have accomplished a lot together during our first 40 years and empowered countless businesses and people to realize their full potential. But what matters most now is what we do next. Thank you for helping make Microsoft a fantastic company now and for decades to come."
Some of us may disagree that the company is currently fabulous, but there is no doubt that it has been a force that has shaped the industry for the past forty years.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 05 2015, @03:25AM
steal his partner's portion
Gonna need a cite on that one.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1371608/Bill-Gates-tried-cut-Paul-Allen-Microsoft-fell-ill-cancer.html [dailymail.co.uk]
http://www.forbes.com/sites/frederickallen/2011/03/30/bill-gates-tried-to-screw-paul-allen-whats-the-surprise/ [forbes.com]
murders
Gonna need a cite on that one.
in two parts, 1) his charity profiting from oil companies in Niger delta:
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-gatesx07jan07-story.html [latimes.com]
http://www.thenation.com/article/181342/how-gates-foundations-investments-are-undermining-its-own-good-works [thenation.com]
2) Murders of locals for protesting those oil companies:
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/1999/02/23/oil-companies-complicit-nigerian-abuses [hrw.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 05 2015, @06:31AM
Bill-Gates-tried-cut-Paul-Allen-Microsoft-fell-ill-cancer
I somehow managed to miss that narrative up to now.
I have always given Gates full credit for being an asshole but didn't completely appreciate his aptitude for assholery to his business partner.
At first, I thought there was some confusion with a completely different dirtbag. [google.com]
.
oil-companies-complicit-nigerian-abuses
Yeah, not defensible. Megacorporations suck--Big Carbon in particular.
When I heard "murder" WRT Gates, however, I expected a more direct link than the Nigerian gov't killing Nigerians.
-- gewg_