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Microsoft. Inc.
producer of software for personal computers
[est. April 1975]
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short history |
“640K ought to be enough [memory] for anybody.” — Bill Gates, in 1981
B I O
t e x t
h e r e
Founded in April 1975 in Albuquerque, New Mexico by Bill Gates & Paul G. Allen
Microsoft official website
Microsoft entry at Wikipedia
'history of Microsoft' entry at Wikipedia
Microsoft Corporation Common Stock Quote & Summary Data at NASDAQ
Primary Divisions
Microsoft Store [est. 10/2009] brick & mortar locations
There are currently two Flagship stores (New York City and Sydney, Australia) and over 70 stores in U.S.A., Canada, Puerto Rico, and Finland.
Subsidiaries
MSN.com network online divisions include MSN autos & MSN money & MSN entertainment & MSN sports & MSN travel
Announced 6/2016: Microsoft is buying LinkedIn for $26.2B, which is a huge price to pay for a social network; the acquisition tops the charts as
Microsoft's biggest ever. While many are surprised at the cash figure, the question on everyone's lips is, why does Microsoft want LinkedIn?
Other Services & Products
Microsoft bought Skype in May 2011 for $8.5 billion
Announced 9/2012: A new Microsoft Entertainment & Digital Media production studio in Los Angeles will be headed by former C.B.S. Television Entertainment
Group president [1998-2010] Nancy Tellem; the company will develop interactive & linear content for Microsoft’s Xbox gaming console and other devices,
with the intention of "helping turn Xbox into a destination where consumers can enjoy all their entertainment in one place".
Announced 7/2013: Nancy Tellem’s Microsoft Team at Xbox Entertainment Studios hired Albert Page, formerly SVP at Mandeville Films
Microsoft Surface Studio computer with 1TB or 2TB harddrive, Intel Core i5 chip [DUE 15 Dec 2016] 
3 sizes: 1TB/8GB RAM at $3,000 or 1TB/16GB RAM at $3,500 or 2TB/32GB RAM at $4,200
Works About Microsoft
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"Pirates of Silicon Valley" [Haft/T.N.T. June 1999] Semi-humorous TV docudrama about the origins of Microsoft and of Apple, Inc. Written & directed by Martyn Burke, based on a book by Paul Freiberger & Michael Swaine; starring Noah Wyle {as Steve Jobs}, Anthony Michael Hall {as Bill Gates}, Joey Slotnick {as Steve Wozniak}, John Di Maggio {as Steve Ballmer} & Josh Hopkins {as Paul Allen}; won ACE Award, nominated for DGA Award, PGA Award, and 7 Emmy Awards Turner Home Ent. color VHS [5/2000] for $14.44 full credits at IMDb • official movie site "Fire In The Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer" [1984] by Paul Freiberger & Michael Swaine McGraw-Hill 2nd edition 9x7¼ pb [11/2000] out of print/many used McGraw-Hill 9¾x7½ hardcover with CD-ROM [12/99] out of print/used |
"World War 3.0: Microsoft and Its Enemies" [1/2001] by Ken Auletta /0375503668/
"Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft Plans To Stay Relevant In The Post-Gates Era" [5/2008] by Mary Jo Foley /B001O0EH5Y/
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"A Microsoft Life" [2010] by Stephen Toulouse, Edited by Joanne Starer Stephen 'Stepto' Toulouse worked at Microsoft for 15 years. Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [1/2011] for $6.99 LULU.com 9x6 pb [4/2011] for $15.99 |
Microsoft Executives
Microsoft co-founder William Henry 'Bill' Gates III
Bill Gates was born 28 October 1955 in Seattle, Washington; he and Paul Allen founded Microsoft on 4 April 1975 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He married Melinda French in Hawaii in January 1994; they have three children: Jennifer Katharine (born 1996), Rory John (born 1999), and Phoebe Adele (born 2002). The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was formed in 2000 by merging three family charity foundations. Bill announced in June 2006 that he would transition out of day-to-day responsibilities at Microsoft in two years.
Bill Gates entry at Wikipedia
browse books by/about Bill Gates at Amazon
Bill Gates was listed #54 on The Atlantic Monthly's Top 100 Most Influential Figures in American History [Dec 2006]
and also listed #1 on Atlantic Monthly's "Top 30 Influential Living Americans" (12/2006)
 | "Hard Drive: Bill Gates and The Making of The Microsoft Empire" [1992] by James Wallace & Jim Erickson HarperBusiness 8x5¼ pb [6/93] out of print/70+ used Wiley & Sons 9¼x6¼ hardcover [4/92] out of print/50+ used Wiley & Sons 9¼x6¼ hardcover [4/92] out of print/many used |
 | "Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented An Industry - and Made Himself The Richest Man In America" [1992] by Stephen Manes & Paul Andrews
Kindle Edition from Cadwallader & Stern [4/2013] for $9.99 Touchstone 9¼x6 pb [1/94] for $26.82 Doubleday 9½x6½ hardcover [12/92] out of print/100+ used |
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen
Paul Allen entry at Wikipedia
"The Accidental Zillionaire: Demystifying Paul Allen" [12/2002] by Laura Rich /0471234915/
 | "Idea Man: A Memoir By The Cofounder of Microsoft" [2011] by Paul Allen Portfolio 9x6½ hardcover [4/2011] for $15.37 |
Microsoft CEO Steve_Ballmer
Steve Ballmer entry at Wikipedia
Announced 8/2013: Longtime Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will retire within the next year. (Microsoft stock jumped 7 percent,
and the value of Ballmer's $10.7B in stock shares increased by $769 million in that 24-hour period.)
"Bad Boy Ballmer: The Man Who Rules Microsoft" [11/2003] by Fredric Alan Maxwell /0060935413/
Image Gallery
L i n k s
Microsoft official website
Microsoft entry at Wikipedia
'history of Microsoft' entry at Wikipedia
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