Microsoft: 10 Surprising and Interesting Facts

This week is the 20^th anniversary of the release of Microsoft Windows 95 and they have had an interesting history which stretches all the way back to 1975! While there are many aspects of the Microsoft story which are well known by many, here are 10 interesting and surprising facts about the company which you probably didn’t know…

FACT 1 – Microsoft was founded in New Mexico

Even though Microsoft currently has their headquarters in and around Redmond, Washington, the company was actually founded in New Mexico in April 1975. They only moved the company to Redmond in 1986.

FACT 2 – The XP background could be the most viewed photo in history

Everyone has seen it, the Windows XP background. The photo was taken in 1996 and Microsoft paid a pretty penny for the rights to the photo which became the Windows XP background. It has since been said that the photo may very well be the most viewed photo in the history of the world.

FACT 3 – Microsoft spent millions advertising Windows 95

With an advertising budget that some say was as high as 300 million Dollars, the Microsoft 95 launch itself featured Jay Leno, a Rolling Stone theme song and all sorts of other extravagant things. Even though the launch was a bit over the top the payoff was huge.

FACT 4 – Brian Eno made the Windows 95 startup sound

With Microsoft going all out for Windows 95, it only made sense that they would contract out the startup tune to a music legend – Brian Eno. Before coming up with the winning sound, Eno has to choose from 84 different pieces.

FACT 5 – Microsoft beat Apple to the smartphone market

Yes, the iPhone has made the smartphone market what it is today, however it wasn’t the first company to come out with a smartphone. Microsoft was busy putting Windows mobile on PDAs and smartphones as early as 2000.

FACT 6 – Windows 1.0 was meant to be named Interface Manager

The computer world may look a lot different than it does today if Bill Gates followed his gut and called Windows 1.0 “Interface Manager.” As the story goes, Gates had the good sense to abandon his preferred name and instead go with Windows.

FACT 7 – The Microsoft Mouse was the first piece of Microsoft hardware

The company’s first ever hardware products, the Microsoft Mouse, dates all the way back to the year 1983. In what would become a defining feature of Windows mouse devices, the Microsoft Mouse featured two hardware buttons; this wasn’t exactly a design masterpiece.

FACT 8 – Microsoft almost purchased Sega

Before the Xbox, Microsoft was very close to purchasing Sega in an effort to take on Sony’s PlayStation. In the end, Bill Gates didn’t ultimately believe that Sega had what it took to take on the popular Sony.

FACT 9 – There was once a strange Windows 1.0 commercial starring Steve Ballmer

Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was involved with Microsoft from almost the very beginning. He attended Harvard just like Bill Gates and got a degree in math, which is why the bizarre salesman video is surprising.

FACT 10 – Microsoft’s favourite food is pizza

Apparently the top two drinks of choice for Microsoft staff are milk and orange juice, but as far as food goes, Microsoft has around 35 cafeterias and pizza tops the list as the most popular meal.

With such a vast presence, much has already been written about Microsoft, but for those itching to know more, these facts might not have been heard before.

At The Computer Guyz we can provide you with a variety of services, from general IT support, ADSL bandwidth and network solutions to graphic design and website hosting. Visit our offices in Cape Town and Centurion today!