Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation () is an American multinational of IT solution, founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, whose annual income reached 44,28 billion dollars in 2006 and employs 76.000 people in 102 different countries. Its principal activity consists in developing software for microcomputer and currently declines a product range varied. Its head office is located at Redmond, Washington, the United States, and its best sales are the operating system Windows and the office automation continuation Microsoft Office. The company is sometimes shortened ms or MSFT or even called “the firm of Redmond” or quite simply " Redmond" because of the influence which the head office has on the area.

The sales strategy of Microsoft enabled him to diffuse its operating system Windows on the great majority of the desktop machines. So that an observer even notes that the original mission of Microsoft to have “a computer on each desk and in each house, turning on Windows” is practically accomplished today.

Microsoft also marks its print of other branches of industry, with the cabled chain American MSNBC, the Portail Web MSN, and the multi-media encyclopedia Encarta, without forgetting the market of the computer material with the products like the mouse Microsoft, and the products of domestic entertainment like the Xbox and the Zune.

In the beginning, founded to develop and sell computer programs BASIC for the Altair 8800, Microsoft succeeded in dominating the market of the operating system of the Personal computer with MS-DOS in the middle of the Années 1980. The going public of the company, and flight of the price of the actions which followed, made four billionaires and approximately 12000 millionaires among the employees of Microsoft.

During its history, the company was the target of criticisms for many reasons, of which dominant position abuse (the firm was continued by American justice for violation of the anti-monopoly acts)

The company

Presentation

The name Microsoft is a Mot-valise resulting from the contraction of Microcomputer Software . Its Head office is located at Redmond in the State of Washington, thus Microsoft is sometimes called the firm of Redmond . This company is especially known for its Logiciel S, for example: the operating systems MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows, the office automation continuation Office, of the development tools, the video games. But also for its materials (peripheral for PC, game consoles Xbox, walkman Zune), and its services Internet (from now on gathered under the name Windows Live). (see the list of the activities for more details)

Microsoft has dominated for several years the market of the operating systems large-public. Its operating system Windows, declined in many news versions, was essential like a standard in data processing.

It is also one of most important the stock exchange capitalizations . The company employs approximately 77.000 people throughout the world, and is directed since the January 14th 2000 by Steve Ballmer.

Leaders

William Henry Spoil III, called Bill Gates: cofounder emblematic of Microsoft with Paul Allen, principal shareholder (what makes of him the man richest of the world until 2007 and 2nd since), President and Director of Software Architecture (it was chairman of 1975 with 2000) Désigné personality of the year 2005 by the weekly magazine Time Magazine at the sides of its Melinda wife and of the singer Bono of the group U2 for their participation in the humane effort in a general way and particularly this year (tidal wave Tsunami in Asia, Ouragan Katrina with the New-Orleans) (press article). There announced in June 2006 that after one two years transitional period, he will devote himself full-time to the Fondation Bill & Melinda Gates, while remaining shareholder, President and adviser of Microsoft.
Steve Ballmer : it is in the company since 1980 and since January 2000 is the Managing director, when Bill Gates decided to take retreat in the management of the company to devote itself primarily to the strategy produced.

History

The Microsoft company was born in April 1975, with Albuquerque, in the New Mexico, of the need for two American students, Bill Gates and Paul Allen, to formalize the sale of the Interpréteur of data-processing Langage BASIC: Altair BASIC that they had created starting from a freeware as regards considered as the first American Personal computer, the Altair 8800 of company MITS and the first Computer programming language for Micro-ordinateur of the history of the Informatique. The Microsoft mark (makes some, in an original manner, Microphone-Software : the - will disappear later) was deposited the November 26th 1976.

This first contract of Microsoft represents the true feat of ingenuity of Bill Gates, being perhaps even more important for the company than the role than will play then MS-DOS: contrary to what was done at the time, where the manufacturers bought to the editors their software with all the rights, Bill Gates and Paul Allen ask to touch each one 3.000 dollar S for their Altair BASIC but remain owners about it and concede only one license with MITS, which must transfer 35 dollars per distributed specimen to them (as an indication the selling price of the Altair 8800 was of 397 dollars, the license of Microsoft thus accounted for 8,8% of them). Thus the BASIC of Microsoft is found in two popular microcomputers introduced in 1977: the FART of Commodore and the TRS80 of Tandy.

Before the exit of MS-DOS in 1981, Microsoft continues its development while leaving various compilers computer programming languages like FORTRAN or COBOL.

In 1980, IBM is on the point of launching the IBM PC and required its BASIC (of which a version in ROMANIAN Mémoire) at Microsoft. IBM in addition required of the company DIGITAL Research, directed by Gary Kildall to provide a version of its operating system CP/M.

The history of the contract missed by Gary Kildall is very discussed, however the version advanced by many people, of which Tim Paterson, which will be soon brought to work for Microsoft, and the least disputed affirms that Kildall and its former wife, Dorothy McEwen, would have refused to sign the approval of confidentiality. Moreover they refused to modify CP/M-86 and asked more raised royalty and especially the CP/M 86 is completely free from bug what does not authorize IBM to correct it.

IBM turns then to Microsoft, and wants to sub-contract CP/M for the IBM PC. The contract with Microsoft it not allowing, Microsoft in December 1980 expenditure 25.000$ for a nonexclusive license for a Operating system available at the experimental stage, clone of CP/M, QDOS ( Quick and Dirty Operating System , operating system quickly and badly made). In May 1981, Microsoft engages Tim Paterson to carry QDOS on the IBM PC. In July 1981, Microsoft buys all the rights on 86-DOS for 50.000 dollars. IBM sees thus saved the project of IBM PC, but at the price, which he is unaware of, of the loss of its dominant position: this agreement will make it possible to carry out clone S and especially at IBM of empocher of the royalties on the MSDOS for the contributions that it made there (debuggage). IBM had had up to 66% of the market of the Mainframe S owners; its market share of PC never exceeded a maximum of 21% reached towards 1983, then declined to place this manufacturer behind Dell and Compaq (integrated today by Hewlett-Packard (HP)), unimaginable marginal situation in 1981.

Microsoft thus sells at IBM licenses for this third operating system, 86-DOS, written by Tim Paterson of Seattle Computer Products for the Microprocesseur Intel 8086 (the Intel 8088 which equips the PC compatible is compatible with the Intel 8086, and just a little slower than this last, and has same the Machine language). The MS-DOS becomes thus one of the three OS available for the IBM PC, with CP/M 86 (Gary Kildall put vis-a-vis a competition ended up being let convince) and PC/IX, a version of UNIX not having mode of protection memory. Microsoft bought for 50.000 dollars the software which will ensure its empire, even if it had to supplement its development to answer the schedule of conditions of IBM. This one leaves under the name of IBM PC-DOS 1.0 to the introduction the IBM PC on the anglophone markets, the August 12th 1981. Lighter, and being less expensive made more available than its two competitors, it quickly becomes OS by defect of the IBM PC then later of the PC compatible.

As for the BASIC, Microsoft reserved the right to sell licenses to other manufacturers under the name of MS-DOS. With the boom of the PC compatible as of the medium of the Years 1980 (of Texas Instruments, Compaq, Seiko Epson, Thomson, Amstrad…), MS-DOS is essential quickly and becomes de facto the platform of professional reference (and a monopoly, according to the points of view). In 1987, thousands of manufacturers of PC compatible exist in the world, and all without exception have a point of required passage which is Microsoft, most powerful of all, in a vital concern for the professional world of unit and standardization and portability of all the PC compatible.

It is then thanks to Windows, of which the concept were " empruntés" in Xerox, that Microsoft is essential like the main actor of the sector micro-computing. However, Bill Gates was often shown to have stolen the concept of Windows with Apple, which had left a little earlier the first Macintosh, having to him also an graphical interface similar to that of Windows. Initially simple graphical interface for MS-DOS, it became much later a Operating system to whole share, after some intermediate versions. Some strokes of genius Marketing are not foreign with this success, like the addition of three keys “Windows” on the PC in order to mark this one in the spirit of the consumer like “being made for Windows” and to thus marginalize the potential competitor OS/2 developed by IBM and initially Co-developed by Microsoft and IBM until the official divorce between the two companies in September 1991. According to Microsoft, a particular care was also taken to the questions of Ergonomie, and in particular to the question of the typographical font faces, as of versions 3.0 (Standard Adobe Manager) and 3.1 (TrueType) of Windows.

Many years later, Microsoft will affirm to consider its ergonomic advance as the asset which will make it possible Windows to survive vis-a-vis the free competition of Linux and of KDE/GNOME. In fact, Microsoft devotes a very significant part of its budget to the ergonomic questions: a service observes in clean room all the hesitations of users beginners to make the menus clearer, tiresome step which impassions less the hacker S pure and hard.

Windows then became the microprocessing standard de facto and it is from now on too late so that possible competitors can propose a viable alternative commercially fact in particular of the thousands of software and peripherals material which required billion days/men of development specific to Windows.

Some will be risked there: Go Software, with a powerful product, fast, and very rich in functionalities, but whereas many applications are already carried or in the course of bearing under Windows (Go will be reconverted into the interfaces of mobile phones), or BeOS with an operating system based on Unix created by Jean-Louis Gassée, former owner of the R & D of Apple. The development of a product able to compete with Windows would imply to have like Microsoft of regular incomes during the years necessary to the development such a system. However, time that this one is developed, Microsoft would have already taken lead, and possibly modified the standards. The setting with died of OS/2 by Microsoft (against any waiting), with the assent of IBM since Windows 95 thus contains parts of OS/2 generates royalties at IBM, constitutes a warning which discourages any inclination to try to compete with Windows. The company Be proposes BeOS all the same, directed from the start in the management of the video, and quite as ergonomic as Windows: this OS will never take off really out of a circle of impassioned. And besides Be will bring an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft for dominant position abuse, which will be completed by a financial agreement by amicable agreement between the two companies.

Curiously, however, Microsoft was not the first to propose an graphical interface for the PC. It is once more the company DIGITAL Research which had developed a product very comparable with the interface of the Macintosh, the GEM (Graphical environment to manage). However, a lawsuit brought by Apple had resulted in a judgment of this company at which it judgment had forced to remove all the characteristics resembling the Mac OS of Apple in its graphical interface, returning it thus economically little joke. Version 1.0 of Windows, rudimentary - the windows cannot even overlap there -, seriously does not worry Apple, which does not react. Version 2.0 is a more serious competition, and Apple brings a new lawsuit, this time at Microsoft. This last uses of all the legal means to make trail the lawsuit in length. Apple défitivement loses its lawsuit against Microsoft in call in 1994. Apple, in delicate financial position, threat then of réattaquer Microsoft, which leads to a payment by amicable agreement in 1997 at the time of the return of Steve Jobs to the head of Apple to replace Gil Amelio.

This agreement included/understood an acquisition of a holding temporary of Microsoft in the capital of Apple (in height of 150 million dollars of the capital of the apple is 6%), and the obligation for Microsoft to develop Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office for Mac OS at least until in 2002. In exchange, Apple gave up its continuations.

A big factor of the generalized adoption of Windows was its role of interface not only graphic, but also of driver S . Under MS-DOS, each Logiciel was individually to develop the management of all the panel of the thousands of peripherals existing PC compatible and to come. Colossal task that the software does not have to manage any more under Windows insofar as the Operating system Microsoft Windows is given the responsability to manage itself out of standard all the driver S of peripheral S of the universe PC compatible.

See History of Microsoft Windows.

The history of Microsoft is however not summarized with that of Windows. Other important sides of the activity of Microsoft allowed its growth:

Its application software marketed now around the continuation Office. At the beginning, it was about Multiplan, which competed with in particular LOTUS 123 and Word, which competed with Wordperfect. The passage to Windows and integration in the form of continuation of this software, supplemented of Powerpoint, and in 1997, of Outlook, made it possible at Microsoft to generate a new pole and a new predominance representing a sales turnover of the same order of magnitude as that of Windows.
Its activity of server softwares which started in 1990 at the beginning with LAN Manager, an operating system network surcouche of OS/2. Followed the version waiter of Windows NT, become Windows Server which profits on the one hand from market world higher than 65% and which signed the decline of Netware Novell which did not know to adapt, in particular on arrival of Internet. The waiters activity was supplemented by a broad product range like SQL Server (database), Exchange (mail server), Biztalk Server, Operations Manager, and other tools of administration systems. The waiter activity represented in 2006 23% of the sales turnover of Microsoft and was its independent source of growth in income and profits.
the general public activity, with software games (Flight Simulator), encyclopedias (Inserted), of the management software of personal finance (Money), an office automation continuation general public (Works), and materials (mouse, keyboards, etc). This activity experienced a significant development in 2001 with the launching of the Xbox, renewed with launching at the end of 2005 of the Xbox 360, game console intended to compete with the PlayStation Sony.
activity Internet with the gate MSN launched into 1995 which underwent several transformations since, with the " part; logicielle" MSN provided under the mark " Windows Live" since 2005. Microsoft became a major actor of this market with Hotmail (transport) and especially Messenger (instant messaging) while paining on research (Search) vis-a-vis the leader of this market, Google.

Chronology

January 1975: Development of the Altair 8800 by the Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS).
February 1975: Spoil and Allen supplement their interpreter Altair BASIC for the Altair 8800.
July 1975: Marketing of the Altair BASIC.
November 1975: Spoil proposes in Allen to use the name " Microphone-soft" to indicate their association.
November 1976: Deposit of Microsoft brand name by Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
February 1977: Microsoft markets a compiler FORTRAN.
November 1977: End of association between Microsoft and MITS after a long legal argument.
April 1978: Microsoft markets a compiler COBOL-80.
November 1978: Microsoft founds a first common sales agency overseas in Tokyo, in Japan.
December 1978: The sales turnover of the company exceeds the million dollars.
June 1979: Microsoft announces a BASIC for microprocessor 8086.
November 1979: Microsoft settles in Europe by the means of a Belgian representative: Vector Microsoft.
April 1980: Microsoft markets SoftCard Z-80, a chart plugging in an APPLE II and allowing to make turn with few modifications the thousands of existing programs conceived for the 8080 and Z-80.
June 1980: The manager Steve Ballmer (today Chairman and managing director of Microsoft) joined Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
August 1980: Microsoft announces the XENIX OS, a portable operating system for microprocessors 16 bits. XENIX is an operating system interactive, multi-user and multi-task compatible in UNIX.
August 1981: IBM introduces its PC, with IBM PC-DOS 1.0. In addition to the operating system, Microsoft provides various compilers/interpreters, such COBOL, BASIC and PASCAL.
June 1982: Microsoft changes logo. The new logo receives a name: the " Blibbet".
May 1983: Microsoft markets its first mouse. Contrary to the mouse of Apple, it has two buttons.
September 1983: First version of the Word data-processing software for MS-DOS, the ancestor of Office.
November 1983: Microsoft reveals Microsoft Windows. It is about an alternative of MS-DOS making it possible to open several programs at the same time and to pass from the one to the other by the means of windows placed in mosaic. Data can be exchanged between the applications.
November 1985: Microsoft presents the graphical interface Windows 1.0 for its MS-DOS system. Because of the little of functionalities brought it is a failure.
Mars 1986: Microsoft enters out of Stock Exchange the March 13rd. The course of the action begins to $21 and finishes the day with 28$.
Mars 1987: New logo Microsoft (the current one). The employees protest and launch a safeguard campaign of the blibbet. The new logo is adopted all the same.
April 1987: Marketing of ms OS/2, a new operating system developed to benefit from the possibilities of microprocessors 286 and 386.
April 1987: Marketing of Windows 2.0, turning on MS-DOS. With the numbers of innovations: new appearance, windows superimposing itself.
July 1987: Microsoft acquires Forethought Inc., which produces a software of presentation named PowerPoint.
October 1987: Microsoft markets Excel for Windows. It is about the first product turning exclusively under Windows.
Mars 1988: Apple continues Microsoft in justice for plagiarism of “look and feel” (intuitivity) by Windows 2.0, which, starts to him to allure.
May 1990: Microsoft launches Windows 3.0 and it is success: 10 million specimens sold in 2 years.
July 1990: Microsoft becomes the first software publisher to exceed the billion dollar of annual sale.
Mars 1992: First commercials intended on television. These spots are windy the merits of Windows. Also: Microsoft and Fox Software (Foxpro) amalgamate.
April 1992: Microsoft markets Windows 3.1. This version presents more than 100 improvements compared to Windows 3.0 and is a success without precedent: more than one million pre-orders were passed throughout the world. It is the boom of the graphic systems and Microsoft dominates the market.
June 1992: George Bush US president decrees in Bill Gates the national medal of technology for technological and commercial success.
October 1992: Marketing of Windows for Workgroups 3.1. This version allows the exchange of emails, the division of the files and the printers and the network management.
November 1992: Marketing of Access for Windows.
Mars 1993: Marketing of Inserted, the first encyclopedia intended for a computer. Also: Marketing of MS-DOS 6.0.
April 1993: More than 25 million people use Windows throughout the world.
May 1993: Marketing of the first Windows NT. Microsoft attacks the world of the company. Also: Marketing of the second Microsoft mouse.
July 1993: Marketing Windows for Workgroups 3.11.
December 1993: The Fortune magazine decrees at Microsoft the title of " Company more in;.
April 1994: Windows for Workgroups 3.11 becomes the operating system more sold. 300.000 copies were sold throughout the world.
June 1994: Microsoft acquires the montréalaise Softimage Inc. for 30 million dollars.
September 1994: Microsoft chooses the official name of the next version of Windows (of which code name is Chicago): Windows 95.
January 1995: Bill Gates announces the nearest publication of Microsoft Office for Windows 95. It is about a whole of eight applications (word processing, calendar, address book, email, etc). This product will be a failure.
Mars 1995: Microsoft and DreamWorks SKG (Spielberg) found DreamWorks Interactive (which will be repurchased by Electronics Arts in 2000).
August 1995: Launching of Windows 95. A million copies will be sold four days only after its exit. It is a revolution and the dream of Bill Gates starts to be carried out: “has computer one every desk, in every house” .
1996 : Creation of MSNBC, a partnership between Microsoft and the National Broadcast Corporation (NBC).
July 1996: Launching of Windows NT 4.0 which replaces Windows NT 3.11. This version is heavier than Windows 95 but more reliable.
August 1996: Launching of Internet Explorer 3.0, it is the beginning of the end for Netscape.
August 1997: The disagreement which opposed Microsoft and Apple about the paternity (and of the property) of the graphical interface end by amicable agreement and Microsoft enters the capital of Apple to height of 150 million dollars.
May 1998: Beginning of the “antitrust” lawsuit against Microsoft with the USA.
July 1998: Marketing of Windows 98, regarded at the time as a minor Windows 95 revision, it integrates for the first time the Internet Explorer navigator.
1999 : Windows 98 2nd edition marketing which, according to some, is the most stable version of the Win9x core.
January 2000: Bill Gates yields his place to Steve Ballmer with the head of Microsoft.
February 2000: Marketing of Windows 2000, also known under the name of Windows NT 5.0 available for waiter and work station, considered as one of the best operating systems of Microsoft.
September 2000: Marketing in parallel of Windows 2000 of Windows Me, only for the work stations.
June 2000: Jackson judge decides in favor of the scission of Microsoft in two distinct companies, which will not be finally made (currently only the State of the Massachusetts maintains its continuations).
August 2001: Marketing of Windows XP, which is the reunification of Windows 2000 for its robustness and Windows 9x for the aspect particular user, with a simple interface of use.
September 27th 2001: the public limit company Softimage France, property of Microsoft since 1994, was condemned by the bankruptcy court of Nanterre to three franc million of damages, for the counterfeit in the software Softimage by the reproduction of the software Character.
November 2001: Launching of the Xbox.
2003 : Exit of the SP1 of Windows XP.
April 2003: Marketing of Microsoft Windows Server 2003; exit of the Xbox game console; the policy of Microsoft was to sell it at cost price to start the pump and to take its benefit only on the plays.

Development in mobile technologies with Microsoft Windows THIS: PocketPC (personal assistants), Smartphone (mobile phones), etc

August 2004: Exit of the SP2 of Windows XP.
May 9th 2005: World launching of Windows Mobile 5.0 intended for the Smartphone S and PDA
November 8th 2005: World launching of SQL Waiter 2005 and Visual studio 2005 with the Carousel from Louvre in Paris; Microsoft introduces into SQL waiter the 2005 concept of basic mirror.
December 2nd 2005: Exit of the Xbox 360.
November 30th 2006: Availability of Windows Vista, for the companies.
January 30th 2007: Exit of Windows Vista and Office 2007 for the private individuals.
May 2007: New technology of the keyboards of tomorrow, exposed to the Fair of Paris.

Future

Innovations of Microsoft in 2007:

the technology .NET the purpose of which is to facilitate the programming and the deployment of the applications;
Windows XP Media Center Edition (televised programs, recording of the emissions, radio, etc)
NGSCB (for Next-Generation Secure Computing Base , in the past Palladium ), which aims according to Microsoft at making PC a made safe environment, by including a very new architecture, but which also makes fear drifts relating to the private life.
Attempts at security of its operating systems, introduced in 2004 in particular with the publication of Service Pack 2 for Windows XP. This last integrates a fire wall (but only for returning flow), and supervises your anti-virus software permanently. It integrates also a function anti intruding Fenêtre.

to make safe its software, Microsoft operates multiple repurchases of companies, such as Giant Software, specialized company in safety. Thanks to this repurchase, Microsoft offers, with all the owners of license Windows XP, the software AntiSpyware de Giant software, famous " Microsoft AntiSpyware" and also integrates it in Windows Vista

Révélé on July 22nd, 2005, the final name of the next system generation of Microsoft exploitation for the work station is Windows Vista. Windows® Vista™, hitherto known under the name of code “Longhorn” left on January 30th, 2007, for the version general public to France. It brings inter alia things: Aero (a new graphical interface), WinFX (which will replace the API Win32), User Access Protection: new layer of safety protecting the users (already discussed), etc Microsoft will leave Vista with a colossal delay (more than three years on the initial calendar).
WinFS, based on NTFS, which will make it possible to open a file by simple association of ideas, is pushed back with the following version of Windows in 2009. WinFS will take again apparently concepts and patents of the computers IBM S/38 and AS/400 fallen at the end of the twenty legal years in the public domain. Indeed, the hierarchical organization , useful to avoid with the software of the losses of performance in the access to the files, creates ergonomic big problems of management of the files, which become quasi-ingérables when their number starts to exceed 50.000, case become current today. For the user, the files will be accessible through a bases of relational data managed by the system. One will be able to ask then indifferently: “all files relative to such application”, or on the contrary “all files pdf” without incurring slownesses of exhaustive research operation in the repertories like today.

Dominant position

As considering higher in the treating passage of the history of the company, Microsoft quickly dominated all the sector of the personal computing and was essential like an inevitable actor of this sector. This situation is worth many criticisms to him on its dominant position, it thus appears which Microsoft currently has same the types of problems of dominant position as those that IBM had before 1980:

integration owing to lack of Internet Explorer, and its exemption from payment, in Windows very strongly weakened its competitor, Netscape. It disadvantage today navigators such as Mozilla, which is free and Open source as Opera which indeed has difficulties of being essential apart from a restricted circle of initiates (no matter what this irrefutable fact starts to change. In March 2007, Firefox represents a market share of a little more than 24% in Europe according to the office of analysis Xiti).
integration owing to lack of a virtual Machine Java nonin conformity (containing specific functionalities) and the suppression of many security systems specific to Java in Windows violated the Java license agreement. They were considered to be abusive following a lawsuit brought by Sun Microsystems (creative of the concept and the language Java) and had to be withdrawn. Microsoft disengaged then itself of Java and launched its own language, the C# ( C sharp );
the dependant Vente of Windows with any PC of manufacturer (the PC of assemblers do not have this constraint) also is very criticized, under the name of Taxe Windows , by the partisans of the Free software. Systems based on GNU/Linux are recognized more and more as a possible alternative to Windows but the manufacturers only propose very seldom at the time of the purchase to replace Windows by these systems and thus to reduce the price;
Microsoft is shown to develop closed products knowingly not answering the standards and to slow down the emergence of open standards in order to return the migration of its customers towards other systems heavier and complex. That thus makes it possible to preserve migrations towards other solutions, thus exploiting its statute of the most widespread technical solution to sit a little more its dominant position (cf the promotion of technology ASP with the detriment of the standards of W3C);
Lastly, it is quite simply the dominant position (approximately 90% of the PC are equipped with Windows) of Microsoft which worries, so much so that a judgment of an American court recommended in 2000 the scission of the company in two distinct and concurrent entities.

This position of domination nevertheless is consolidated by the answer which it brings to two types of audience:

the users who appreciate to be able to have a range of environments homogeneous and familiar on different products (PC, personal assistant, cellphone, etc), thus freeing itself from the training of a new interface which becomes a barrier with the change;
the software publishers who are not constrained to develop and maintain their products on different operating systems, saving time and money but impoverishing the software offer apart from the Windows sphere.

Activities

Microsoft is one of the most important software publishers in the world and, in same time, the company is present since its beginnings in the Matériel (the mouse Microsoft, some time the Microsoft Sound System which was not essential, then some keyboards); the branch material never seems to have exceeded 10% of the turnover of Microsoft.

Software

Policy of die

the incomes of the BASIC of Microsoft provided him the incomes enabling him to modify Q-DOS.
the incomes of DOS enabled him to finance the development of Windows until this one reaches its break-even point, with its version 3.0.
the incomes of Windows (3.1, 3.11,95 and 98) enabled him to finance the development of its professional version NT.

Some products

Microsoft Windows

This family of Operating systems is the principal product of the firm and was the second agent of its phenomenal success (the first having been the operating system DOS, whose recurring financial contributions financed the development (overdrawn) of Windows to version 3.0 of this software, which reaches its break-even point then).

Windows is installed almost 90% of the personal computers sold in the world, and currently releases 87% of profit margin. Windows constitutes today the most profitable product of the editor, follow-up of close thereafter Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office

it is the office automation Suite of the editor, made up in his full version of the word processing Word, of the spreadsheet Excel, the software of presentation PowerPoint, the communications tools and diary Outlook and of the database Access. As from 2003, there is also the new tool of catch of note OneNote and a creator of " publications" (letters, invitations, posters, Web sites, etc) Publisher. This continuation is also published for the systems Mac OS of Apple, but without certain programs.

Windows Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer

Microsoft Internet Explorer: The Navigator Web of Microsoft equipping a little more than 65% of the computers connected to Internet. The current version is version 7 (impetus in 2006). A version of Internet Explorer is available free for the systems Mac OS of Apple but the development of this version however was stopped in 2003.

Windows Media Player

Windows Media Player is the Multimedia player which makes it possible to read files audio, video, and images on the personal computers functioning using the operating system Microsoft Windows. Distributed free with the operating system Microsoft Windows, it is currently with version 11. Windows Media Player is also available for the systems Mac OS of Apple.

Inserted

This continuation gathers an encyclopedia, an atlas and a dictionary. Including/understanding more than 36.500 articles in its French-speaking version, it is available in various languages, in particular in French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch or Japanese.

Internet Information Services

It acts of a Web server provided free by Microsoft since version 4 of Windows NT. Its free supply signed the knell of many paying competing products (the principle of competition, like Netscape, was indeed to sell the waiter and to provide free only the customer, like Adobe for its software Acrobat does it).

Microsoft Visual Studio

Visual Studio is the continuation of development of the firm, including various editor S and Compilateur S, primarily for a version improved of BASIC named Visual BASIC, like for implementations of C++ and C#, which constitutes the response of Microsoft to the language Java. It also makes it possible to benefit from the functionalities of the Framework .NET.

Video games

Microsoft is the editor many video games for PC of which famous the Halo, Flight Simulator and Age off Empires.

Microsoft SQL Server 2005

basic Management system of Data of Microsoft. SQL Server in its version 2005 makes it possible to set up a decisional project since the retrieval/transformation of data (Integration Services: LTE) until the final reporting user (Reporting Services) while passing by the deployment of cube of data (Analysis Services).

Microsoft Business Solution

One of integrated business packages PGI, said Enterprise Resource Planning of Microsoft. The other products are Dynamics VOR (Navision), Dynamics SSL (Solomon) and Dynamics Gp (Great Plains) and Dynamics CRM.

Material

a line of peripheral various for PC (mouse, keyboards, peripherals of play, wheels…) ;
the Xbox: Xbox is a Console of video game.
the Xbox 360, evolution of the Xbox (available in December 2005).
the walkman Zune left in November 2006 in the USA.

Services

Microsoft proposes various services like the gate MSN (replacement by Windows Live planned), the television channel MSNBC, the accounts email free Hotmail, the instant messaging Windows Live Messenger, or a training program and certification (MCSE, MCSD, MCP, etc).

He also proposes DirectX, a API multi-media (video, its, network, etc) for the development of Windows application (mainly of the video games).

Failures

In spite of its very favoured position, Microsoft knew a certain number of failures of which in particular concerning dominant position abuses. The March 24th 2004, following four years of investigation of the European Commissioner to competition Mario Monti, the European commission returns its decision in the lawsuit Anti-trust which opposes it to the firm.

The returned decision condemns the monopolistic position of Microsoft and its illegal practices. The commission in addition inflicts at Microsoft a historical sanction of 497,5 million euros. Lastly, the firm will have to open certain parts of sound code with competition and to sell certain applications separately. Microsoft will have in particular to sell a version of Windows without Windows Media Player. This decision will not be effective, Microsoft having decided to sell Windows Limited Media Edition with the same price as the full version

A recourse engaged by the firm (June 7th 2004) in front of the County court of the European Communities not being a priori nonsuspensive the sum of the fine was regulated on July 1st 2004.

One can also note:

MSN, or Microsoft Network (the Microsoft network): what became its division Internet forever, for the moment, answered waitings during its launching in 1995: to become the leader of the search engines and the access to Internet.
the launching of MSN Messenger in Asia, which did not allure the Asian ones on many points.

Finances

Incomes

According to the annual accounts, the incomes of Microsoft rise in 2005 to 39.788 million dollars. I.e. an increase of 8% since 2004. These incomes are divided into 7 segments of products: customer, waiter and tools, Worker Information, Microsoft Business Solutions, MSN, Mobile and Embedded Devices, Home and Entertainment.

The " part; Client" gather in particular Microsoft Windows XP. It pays in 2005 12.234 million dollars (+6%) of income of operations. This corresponds to an increase of 12% of the number of licenses OEM but this one is balanced by a reduction of 9% of the incomes of the retail sales of these same licenses. This indicates a change of the structure of the incomes: the operating system is more and more a sale related to the purchase of the material.

The " part; Waiter and Outils" contains for example the Exchange waiter. Its operational income is of 3.259 million dollars (+130%) in 2005.

" Information worker" relate to primarily the office automation tools for an operational income of 11.013 million dollars (+3%) in 2005.

The other segments are either in loss or contribute a minor share compared to the 3 first.

Out of purse

Since the March 13rd 1986 Microsoft is quoted on the stock exchange, with.

The action was worth 30,9 dollars the May 4th 2007 for a market cap of 287 billion dollars, which does of it one of greatest capitalizations, to compare for example with the 119 billion dollars IBM.

The company, which before had never distributed dividend, pours 3 $ per action on December 1st, 2004. This payment of dividend having been helped by a reduction of the tax concerned on 35 to 15%.

Legal affairs

Eolas business

August 1st In 2003, Microsoft loses against the group Eolas for counterfeit and is condemned to 521 million dollars of fine.

Alcatel-Lucent business

2002 - the American equipment supplier in telecommunications Lucent (in the past integrated as a branch equipment in AT&T) seizes a court of a complaint against manufacturers Dell and Gateway which, according to its dires, with certain applications would have violated patents deposited by its research center " Beautiful Labs" in 1994 and 1997, relating to musical technology numerical MP3. Microsoft joint with the procedure being estimated blamed because of use of MP3 in its Windows Media Player software.
November 2006 - the equipment supplier in French telecommunications Alcatel seizes a court with the Texas of a complaint against Microsoft which, according to its dires, would have violated seven of its patents. Negotiations are carried out in parallel in order to try to find an out-of-court settlement
Fin at the end of 2006 - Alcatel and Lucent amalgamates giving rise to Alcatel-Lucent
January 2007 - In front of the Californian court, Alcatel-Lucent requires a repair of 2 billion dollars for unauthorized use of a patent ex- Lucent in the audio decoder MP3 of Windows Media Player
February 2007 - In front of an American federal jury of San Diego in California, Microsoft is recognized guilty to have violated the patents MP3 of Alcatel-Lucent and is condemned to pour with the Franco-American equipment supplier damage rising with 1,52 billion dollar, much less than what Alcatel-Lucent claimed in its last conclusions (4,5 billion dollars). Microsoft indicates in an official statement that he studies the possibility to make call of the judgment. The editor put forward in his defense that it had already poured 16 million dollars of rights to the German institute Fraunhofer, “recognized by industry like the legitimate holder of the patent”. According to the assistant general secretary of Microsoft, this decision can result in generating continuations against hundreds of other companies which bought in Fraunhofer the right to use MP3. Alcatel-Lucent in answer indicates that it did not engage of procedure against of other companies, without excluding for as much this possibility in the future. The same court must separately examine other complaints against Microsoft, relative to patents of codecs for the voice and the compression of the video, technologies used in an illicit way by Microsoft, according to saying them Alcatel-Lucent, in the Xbox game console. Contrary, Microsoft continues Alcatel-Lucent in a business relative to its messaging software unified.
March 2007 - the federal jury of San Diego rejects the complaint of Alcatel-Lucent by estimating that Microsoft did not violate a patent of voice recognition belonging to the Franco-American equipment supplier. This last declares that it will appeal. In the other business relating to the litigation on MP3, Microsoft decides to appeal, which suspends any payment. In addition, a lodged complaint in February by Microsoft against Alcatel-Lucent for infringement of the substantive patent law is examined by the Commission of the international business (ITC) of the United States. Certain technologies of Alcatel-Lucent are threatened to be prohibited with the importation in the United States.
May 2007 - the supreme court of the United States breaks a judgment in call going back to July 2005 and which gave reason to Alcatel-Lucent (ex Lucent, ex AT&T). Microsoft saw itself reproaching for having incorporated in an illicit way in Windows one of the patents of voice recognition of AT&T. This last had required repairs proportionally with the sales of Windows to the the United States and also in the rest of the world. The two companies had concluded an agreement for the part of the sales in the United States, but for the part of the sales to international discussed of their disagreement on the level of Supreme court. This decision makes jurisprudence for all the software exported out of the United States. This also perhaps means that Microsoft probably will be based on this decision and will gain in call against Alcatel-Lucent in the business of the patents relative to MP3.
August 2007 - the decision of the court of San Diego of February 2007 condemning Microsoft to pay 1,5 billion dollars of fine (business of patents MP3) is cancelled by a Californian Court of Appeal.

Business ATT

August 1st April 29th, 2007 the Supreme court of the United States judged that Microsoft, attacked by ATT for violation of patent, could not be continued by American justice for the sales of its software Windows abroad

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