Love it or hate it, Microsoft has had a profound impact on the lives of many generations through its products and services. Perhaps the most influential of these is the Windows operating system and personal computers.
Microsoft remains a monument in the global technology industry
The Beginning of an Era with MS-DOS
For younger readers, MS-DOS may be an unfamiliar concept. Released in the 1980s, MS-DOS was Microsoft's first operating system, before operating systems with graphical user interfaces became popular.
Short for Microsoft Disk Operating System, MS-DOS required users to enter commands to launch the software. In fact, Microsoft bought the operating system from Tim Paterson for $50,000 in 1981 to serve as the IBM personal computer.
When Windows 3.0 was released in 1990, many people began to forget about MS-DOS. However, this operating system continued to play an important role in starting Windows until the release of Windows 95.
A Leap Forward in Graphics and Features with Windows 95
Windows 95 is considered the most influential product in Microsoft's history. With an improved graphical interface and new features, Windows 95 introduced Internet Explorer and the Start menu, marking a shift in the user experience.
Windows 95 marked a turning point in user experience.
This operating system required an Intel 386DS CPU, 4 MB of RAM, and over 50 MB of hard drive space to function properly. This operating system introduced the trash can, where users could throw anything they didn't like. There weren't many applications included with Windows 95, but users had the basics like Calculator, Paint, and Notepad. However, the best part was Windows Media Player.
Microsoft Office Breakthrough Office Suite
Microsoft Office, which includes Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, was first released in October 1990. However, the most influential version was MS Office 97, which featured significant improvements such as the command bar and grammar checking.
Nvidia surpasses Microsoft to become the world's most valuable company
After years of development, Office evolved into Microsoft 365 Copilot, which continues to be an important part of Microsoft's product suite.
Breakthrough in cloud computing with Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure is now one of Microsoft's main revenue drivers. First introduced in 2008 under the code name Project Red Dog, Azure has become the leading cloud platform for businesses and governments worldwide.
According to the latest report from Statista, Azure accounts for 20% of the cloud computing market in Q4/2024, second only to Amazon Web Services.
Platform for DirectX graphics games
Launched in 1995, DirectX became the foundation for advanced graphics gaming. Microsoft partnered with Doom creator John Carmack to port games to DirectX and usher in a new era for the gaming industry.
DirectX 12 is the latest version of DirectX
In fact, DirectX really got its start in 2002 with the release of DirectX 9, which included support for complex shaders like pixel and vertex shaders 2.0. Today, DirectX 12 and DirectX 12 Ultimate remain mainstays of game development.
There are also some other notable products in the past 50 years of Microsoft, such as Windows XP, Solitaire, WordPad, Windows Live, Microsoft Copilot. After all, the company's 50-year journey is not only a story of technology but also an indispensable part of the history of the development of the computer and software industry.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/5-san-pham-co-tac-dong-lon-nhat-trong-lich-su-50-nam-cua-microsoft-185250314101921253.htm
Comment (0)