10 Lesser Known, Amazing Facts About Microsoft

We all know the success story of Microsoft andBill Gates. How he quit college to start his own company with his childhood friend Paul Allen. Microsoft is now a leading multinational technology company. Microsoft operating system Windows is used globally today.

Let’s do a quick recap
Microsoft was founded in 1975. Bill Gates and Paul Allen first noticed the opportunity to build a BASIC interpreter for Altair 8800 microcomputer without actually owning an Altair and successfully started a business partnership. Microsoft created its first operating system Xenix in 1980. But it cemented its dominance with MS-DOS.

Microsoft Windows was later released in 1985 and thereby began its long reign over all things software. There were many ups and downs in these 42 years and Microsoft masterminded many inventions like Windows XP and X-Box gaming console. It recently launched ‘Intune for Education,’ a new cloud-based education technology.

But there are some facts that aren’t so well known. We’ve unearthed some facts about this global firm like the fact that it was actually founded in New Mexico before moving to Redmond, Washington.

1. The name ‘Micro-Soft’ comes from the blend of microcomputers and software, which in essence is what the company is about.

2. The first logo for Microsoft was designed by the co-founders in a day.

3. The Windows 95 startup sound was written by producer and musician Brian Eno, which was later dubbed as the “Microsoft Sound”

4. Microsoft also holds puzzle hunts for its employees where the employees follow clues and find prizes hidden on the Richmond campus.

5. Before finalizing Windows XP, Microsoft considered Oxygen as a possible name for the new operating system. Windows O2 was supposed to be a pun.

6. It is a tradition for all employees to bring and share M&M’s on their yearly employment anniversaries. It is customary to bring 1 pound of M&M’s for every year they have worked at Microsoft.

7. Microsoft was the first company to come out with a smartphone, seven years before the iPhone was released in 2000. Clearly, it wasn’t one of their successful products.

8. Permanent Microsoft employees are called ‘Softies’ while contractors and temps are called ‘dash trash’ because of the dash before @ symbol in their email address.

9. Datalink 150 was a smartwatch designed and created by Microsoft with Timex in 1994, 12 years before Apple.

10. Microsoft owns more than 48,000 patents while more than 3,000 patents are filed every year.

Bonus fact: Rivals Microsoft and Apple have worked together on the software for the first Macintosh computer and Microsoft has saved Apple from bankruptcy in 1997.