Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company, which was founded on April 4, 1975, by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. It is headquartered in Redmond, Washington. It is one of the world's largest and most influential technology companies, known for its software products and services.

In 1981, Microsoft got the rights to a basic operating system called 86-DOS, made by Tim Paterson from Seattle Computer Products. Changing its name to MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System), the company allowed International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) to use it for its new personal computer the IBM PC.

In 1985, Microsoft launched its first user-friendly computer system with pictures and icons, called Microsoft Windows. At first, it worked together with MS-DOS and allowed users to do many things at once. Over time, Windows improved and got better versions, like Windows 3.0 in 1990, which became very popular and helped Microsoft grow a lot.

In 1995, Windows 95 marked a computing milestone with the Start Menu and taskbar, strengthening Microsoft's Operating System dominance.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Microsoft was under scrutiny in the US and other countries regarding concerns about unfair business practices. This issue was later settled with the U.S. Department of Justice.

In 2015, Microsoft released Windows 10, which represented a major shift towards the "Windows as a Service" model. According to Microsoft.com’s acquisition list, it has made numerous acquisitions over the years, including Skype, LinkedIn, GitHub, Hotmail, and many more.