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Microsoft is a company whose name has become synonymous with software. From Windows to Word, PowerPoint and Excel, Microsoft products are everywhere. In this blog post we will discuss the history of Microsoft and their products that have made them so successful in the world of technology. Microsoft was founded on April 25th, 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. It wasn’t until 1981 that Microsoft had their first major success with the IBM PC as they were chosen to be its operating system supplier. Their partnership with IBM continued into the 1990s where they developed OS/22 (DOS). In 1983, Steve Ballmer joined Microsoft as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing which helped them establish a strong business model for selling both hardware and software. In 1985, Windows launched onto the scene as an alternative to Unix-based systems like Digital Research GEM or Apple Macintosh System Software. Originally known only for being an office suite package made up of Word processing programs such as WordPad and Excel; this would change in 1989 when Microsoft’s Word for Windows beat Apple Macintosh and other competitors as the most popular word processor. In 1998, Bill Gates handed over CEO to his long-time friend Steve Ballmer making it one of the largest software companies in the world with a net worth of $136 billion USD. Then in 2002, they announced Office XP which brought updates such as compatibility with XML documents; new security features; improvements for PowerPoint presentations including speaker notes and changes made during slide editing allowing you to see your changes before exiting edit mode; improved spell checking capabilities across all applications also included was an updated version of OneNote called “OneNote 2003.” The next big development came shortly after on October 25th 2004 at 12, when Microsoft unveiled its new Office suite, dubbed “Office 12”. Although the software was originally planned to be released in 2001, the anticipated release date for this latest version of office has been pushed back several times and is now scheduled for early 2006. In a statement made on his blog, Gates said that he will remain with Microsoft as chairman after taking Ballmer’s position until next year when he leaves full-time work at the company. In addition to announcing changes within management positions, Gates also revealed some enhancements coming soon to Office 2007 including an improved Outlook experience; a streamlined OneNote application which includes support for handwriting input via tablet PCs or digitizers; graphics can now more easily be inserted into Word documents using on-screen drawing tools; more streamlined presentation capabilities in PowerPoint. The Office 2007 release is scheduled for early 2006. Features include a new version of Outlook with improved performance, OneNote improvements including support for input from digitizers and tablet PCs, an updated Word experience with graphical insertion capability via on screen drawing tools, better PowerPoint presentations and the ability to view open documents simultaneously when working collaboratively using Microsoft SharePoint Services or other tools that use WebDAV technology.” Expert Tip: __________ _____” “You can insert graphics into your word document by clicking Insert > Picture”•Word 2010 includes features like Touch Mode which will make it easier to edit text on a touch-sensitive display device such as Tablet
