April 4 1975 Seattle natives Bill Gates, aged 19, and Paul Allen, 22, create Microsoft computer company in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the purpose of selling BASIC language interpreter for Altair 8800 computer system. Gates drops out of Harvard to start the company
January 1979 Microsoft relocates to Seattle suburb of Bellevue, Washington
June 1980 Steve Ballmer, 24, a former Harvard classmate of Gates, recruited as a business manager
1980 Microsoft releases Xenix, its first operating system, based on IBM’s Unix
1981 IBM hires Microsoft to create an operating system for its new personal computers
1981-83 Microsoft markets MS-DOS operating system to IBM clones, emerging as prominent software company
1983 Microsoft enters hardware and publishing markets
1983 Allen resigns from Microsoft to seek treatment for Hodgkin’s disease. The treatment is successful and Allen keeps board position
August 1985 Microsoft partners with IBM to create OS/2 operating system
November 1985 Microsoft releases first retail version of Microsoft Windows, an operating system based on MS-DOS
February 1986 Microsoft relocates to Redmond, Washington, the company’s present-day hometown
March 13 1986 Microsoft shares float, raising $61m
August 1989 Microsoft releases first Microsoft Office program
May 1991 Gates cancels OS/2 partnership with IBM; Windows emerges as operating system of choice for PCs
March 1992 Microsoft releases Windows 3.1, which sells 2m copies in two months
1993 Windows is world’s most popular operating system
August 1995 New Windows 95 operating system, aimed at consumers, sells 1m copies in four days. Microsoft launches MSN online portal as a competitor to America Online
July 1996 MSNBC cable channel launched with NBC
1997 Release of Microsoft Office 97 and Internet Explorer 4.0
October 1997 US Justice Department files legal motion saying bundling of Windows and Internet Explorer on Apple computers violated 1994 non-bundling agreement. Government sues Microsoft the following May for anti-competitive practices
1998 Ballmer named president of Microsoft; Gates remains chairman and CEO. Windows 98 released
January 1999 Microsoft leads FT 500 list of world’s biggest companies. Today, with a market capitalisation of $281bn, Microsoft ranks third after ExxonMobil and General Electric
January 2000 Gates transfers chief executive role to Ballmer, retaining chairmanship and taking role of chief software architect
April 2000 Decision in United States v Microsoft forces Microsoft to split into two units: one to produce operating system, the other to produce software components. Microsoft appeals decision in September 2000
January 2000 Gates founds Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
November 2000 Allen resigns board position
October 2001 Microsoft releases Windows XP operating system
November 2001 Justice Department, having decided not to pursue split-up, offers proposed settlement to force Microsoft to share information with third parties. Most of the settlement would be accepted in November 2002
November 2001 Microsoft releases Xbox gaming console
April 2002 Microsoft reorganises into seven independent business entities, later further reorganised into three divisions: Platform Products & Services; Business; and Entertainment and Devices
March 2004 European Commission finds Microsoft guilty of violating EU competition rules
July 2005 Microsoft announces launch of Windows Vista, set for release in 2007
June 15 2006 Gates announces he will end day-to-day role at Microsoft in July 2008
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006
via: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/41387adc-fcbf-11da-9599-0000779e2340,_i_nbePage=9a36c1aa-3016-11da-ba9f-00000e2511c8.html
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