Microsoft was 50 years old

Micro-Soft 50 Years of Success: An Empirical Account of Microsoft’s First Year at the Surface Book, Copilot Plus PC, Surface Pro 4, and Surface Studio

Microsoft is celebrating its 50-year anniversary today during a special event at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington. We are hoping to see familiar faces from the past and present when Microsoft commemorates its 50th anniversary.

The first event I attended after the flu was the launch of Microsoft’s version of Bing. The launch of a new era at Microsoft felt very much like the emergence of a new era, and over the past two years the company has focused on artificial intelligence and cloud connected features. Last year, it launched Copilot Plus PCs at a special event, with a transition to Windows on Arm that has been years in the making.

The Windows 10 launch period also set the stage for a whirlwind of trips and launches, including a trio of new Surface devices in the form of the Surface Book, Surface Pro 4, and Surface Studio. I remember being genuinely shocked at the surprise unveiling of the Surface Book.

Microsoft was founded in 1974 and had an agreement with IBM to make software for its first PC in 1980. This was the beginning of the foundation of the software program that dominated IBM- compatible PCs during the ’80s. The first version of Windows happened in 1985 because of Microsoft’s early success in developing software for PCs.

That early Windows GUI on top of MS-DOS quickly progressed into an even more capable operating system with the launch of Windows 95. Fans lined up at stores around the world to get their hands on a copy of the new version of Windows at midnight. The familiar desktop, file explorer, and Recycle Bin are parts of Windows 95 that are still used today.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen formed Micro-Soft fifty years ago. As the name implies, Microsoft was originally focused on microprocessors and software, and Gates and Allen created the company to develop software for the Altair 8800, an early personal computer.

I broke stories about the problems of Windows Vista during its development, and the many leaks about its features. I was able to get access to some of the unfinished builds thanks to the tips that Microsoft employees gave me in my inbox. The day I found out that Microsoft was trying to shut me up, it sent its lawyers at me to try to stop me. My boss at a big investment bank had to tell me that Microsoft might want to see our machines to make sure there was no Longhorn left behind, as I was only a hobby at the time. He thought it was a joke but he was worried.

A year later, Microsoft invited me to speak at its Windows Hardware Engineering Community (WinHEC) conference to discuss the importance of online communities. It was a surreal opportunity, but I continued to write about early versions of Windows and secret features that Microsoft wasn’t ready to talk about.

While Windows rarely impressed my friends, my passion for unreleased Microsoft software really kicked up a gear with Windows XP. It was a big departure from Windows 2000 and Windows ME and there was a lot to play around with during the early builds.

Microsoft made public builds of Windows 8 in late 2000, but the real interesting parts were left out in the daily builds. I wanted to get access to as many of these as possible, so I started to download and install leaked builds of Windows XP. My curiosity in how Windows was being developed led me to join internet forums like Neowin, where many of Microsoft’s leaks were being discussed.

Things went a step further in 2003 when Microsoft’s legal reps decided to go directly to Neowin’s hosting provider to take the site offline, after a forum poster leaked a software development kit. The backlash forced Microsoft to understand the emergence of online communities, and it also made the company look at their products a little differently.

Despite this legal scare, I persisted with my blogging as a hobby and even managed to break a story that was big enough to get the attention of the BBC. I walked into work the next day and everyone, who had watched my early morning appearance on BBC Breakfast, cheered and clapped like I was some kind of rockstar for discovering thousands of Hotmail passwords had been posted online.

Windows Phone 10: What Happened When Microsoft partnered with The Verge: Windows Phone, Windows Phone Teams, Windows HoloLens and Windows Phone 7

By 2010, I was traveling to Barcelona to cover Windows Phone 7 and take a break from my day job to write about it. Microsoft had taken over entire hotels to market Windows Phone 7, and it invited the world’s media to see its response to the iPhone. The buzz around Windows Phone and hype about Windows 8 seemed like the perfect opportunity to break off and do my own thing.

I sat in my hotel room and shot an iPad versus Windows 8 video, which somehow managed to get more than a million views despite being filmed on the ugliest carpet known to man.

My constant coverage of Windows Phone and Microsoft products caught the attention of The Verge, which was founded by many former Engadget editors who I had competed with for Microsoft stories. I joined The Verge when it was just a couple of months old after leaving the corporate IT world to make a big bet on my career.

The excitement around Windows 8 faded quickly. Windows fans weren’t happy with the Start menu, the new full-screen apps, and the lack of a Start button. The company tried to fix things with Windows 8.1, but they didn’t fix the problems with Windows 10.

I covered the Windows 10 announcement on my own. Microsoft didn’t stream the event, so I had to shoot photos and live blog about features almost simultaneously. It was stressful, but my years of covering the company as a side job meant I could pull it off.

Microsoft’s big hardware bet on HoloLens was also unveiled at the same time as Windows 10. I was impressed by the augmented reality version ofMinecraft and the ability to use video calls and send text messages to friends on the Headset, when I first tried it.

Then the covid-19 pandemic happened. Microsoft changed their minds about dual-screen computing to a new reality of working from home. The launch of the company’s Xbox Series S / X consoles quickly moved the focus to Microsoft Teams. I wasn’t able to attend events so Microsoft shipped me the X series months before it was released. It was a memorable moment, because I suddenly had a long time to review an important new product, instead of just a week.

Next week, check back to Notepad to see what happens when Bill Gates jumps over a chair to celebrate his 50 years at Microsoft, what Steve Ballmer says about Microsoft’s future, and how Satya Nadella compares Microsoft’s current situation to that of Netscape.

If you want to discuss anything other than the comment, you can always reach me at [email protected]. If you’ve heard about any of Microsoft’s secret projects, you can reach me via email at [email protected] or speak to me confidentially on the Signal messaging app, where I’m tomwarren.01. I can also be reached on Telegram, if you want to talk. Thanks for supporting Notepad.