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KF5JRV > TODAY 04.04.25 12:05l 40 Lines 2932 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Apr 04
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Sent: 250404/0943Z 6447@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.23
On April 4, 1975, at a time when most Americans used typewriters, childhood friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen found Microsoft,
a company that makes computer software. Originally based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Microsoft relocated to Washington State in
1979 and eventually grew into a major multinational technology corporation. In 1987, the year after Microsoft went public, 31-
year-old Gates became the worldâ€Ös youngest billionaire.
Gates and Allen started Microsoftâ€öoriginally called Micro-Soft, for microprocessors and softwareâ€öin order to produce softwa
re for the Altair 8800, an early personal computer. Allen quit his job as a programmer in Boston and Gates left Harvard Univers
ity, where he was a student, to focus on their new company, which was based in Albuquerque because the city was home to electro
nics firm MITS, maker of the Altair 8800.
History Uncut: Bill Gates unveils Microsoft Excel 1987
By the end of 1978, Microsoftâ€Ös sales topped more than $1 million and in 1979 the business moved its headquarters to Bellevue
, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, where Gates and Allen grew up. The company went on to license its MS-DOS operating system to
IBM for its first personal computer, which debuted in 1981. Afterward, other computer companies started licensing MS-DOS, whic
h had no graphical interface and required users to type in commands in order to open a program. In 1983, Allen departed Microso
ft after being diagnosed with Hodgkinâ€Ös lymphoma; he was successfully treated for the disease and went on to pursue a variety
of other business ventures.
In 1985, Microsoft released a new operating system, Windows, with a graphical user interface that included drop-down menus, scr
oll bars and other features. The following year, the company moved its headquarters to Redmond, Washington, and went public at
$21 a share, raising $61 million. By the late 1980s, Microsoft had become the worldâ€Ös biggest personal-computer software comp
any, based on sales. In 1995, amidst skyrocketing purchases of personal computers for home and office use, Windows 95 made its
debut. It included such innovations as the Start menu (TV commercials for Windows 95 featured the Rolling Stones singing “Sta
rt Me Up”) and 7 million copies of the new product were sold in the first five weeks. During the second half of the 1990s, In
ternet usage took off, and Microsoft introduced its web browser, Internet Explorer, in 1995.
In 1998, the U.S. Department of Justice and 20 state attorneys general charged Microsoft with violating antitrust laws by using
its dominance to drive competitors out of business; in 2001, the company reached a settlement with the government that imposed
restrictions on its corporate practices. Also in 2001, Microsoft joined the video game market with the launch of its Xbox cons
ole.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
Email KF5JRV@gmail.com
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