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First company founded
Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded their first company named Traf-O-Data, which tracked and analyzed automobile traffic data. -
Altair BASIC
Started distributing Altair BASIC, which was an interpreter for the BASIC programming language. -
Microsoft established
Microsoft is officially established as a company. -
ASCII Microsoft
The company formed an agreement with ASCII Magazine in Japan, resulting in its first international office. -
Relocation
The company moved to Bellevue, Washington -
Operating System
Microsoft enters the OS business with their own version of Unix, called Xenix -
MS-DOS
Microsoft pushes out MS-DOS, the OS that would make Microsoft popular -
Resignation of Paul Allen
Paul Allen resigns from Microsoft in February after developing Hodgkin's Disease. -
Windows
Microsoft releases Microsoft Windows, an extension for MS-DOS. -
Relocation
Microsoft relocates to Redmond. -
Public
Microsoft goes public (allows investors). -
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office is introduced. -
Microsoft Windows NT
Microsoft released its newest 32-bit OS. -
Windows 95
Microsoft Windows 95 is released. -
Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer came bundled with Windows 95. -
MSNBC
Microsoft and NBC made a 24/7 cable news station called MSNBC. -
Microsoft In Court
Microsoft is taken to court by the Justice Department for violating an agreement signed in 1994 and attempted to stop the bundling of Internet Explorer and Windows. -
Bill Gates Steps Down
Bill Gates hands over the CEO position to Steve Ballmer, making himself Chief Software Architect. -
Windows XP
Windows XP is released. -
Xbox
Microsoft releases the Xbox -
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is released -
Bill Gates Retires
Bill Gates retires as Chief Software Architect. -
Windows 7
Windows 7 is released on the same day the first Microsoft retail store is opened. -
Windows 8
Windows 8 is officially released. -
Xbox One
The Xbox One is released. -
Ballmer Steps Down
Satya Nadella takes Ballmer's place as CEO of Microsoft