39 years ago today, Microsoft was officially founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen

Apr 4, 2014 14:07 GMT  ·  By
Front row (left to right): Bill Gates, Andrea Lewis, Marla Wood, and Paul Allen. Middle row: Bob O'Rear, Bob Greenberg, Marc McDonald, and Gordon Letwin. Back row: Steve Wood, Bob Wallace, and Jim Lane
   Front row (left to right): Bill Gates, Andrea Lewis, Marla Wood, and Paul Allen. Middle row: Bob O'Rear, Bob Greenberg, Marc McDonald, and Gordon Letwin. Back row: Steve Wood, Bob Wallace, and Jim Lane

The Redmond-based software giant Microsoft today turns 39, as Bill Gates and Paul Allen officially founded the empire that brought us the number one desktop operating system in the world on April 4, 1975.

We’re not going to present you the whole history of the company, as most of it is available online either on Wikipedia or right on Microsoft’s very own website, but it’s still worth mentioning that after the first year on the market, the company reported revenues of $16,000 (€11,600), which was probably a clear indication that the software firm was laying the foundation of a very successful business.

Steve Ballmer joined the company on June 11, 1980, while other high-profile executives followed next to expand the company’s product lineup and improve the Windows operating system even more.

Here’s a piece of text from Microsoft’s websites that describes the way the Windows operating system came to be:

“In June 1980, Gates and Allen hire Gates’ former Harvard classmate Steve Ballmer to help run the company. The next month, IBM approaches Microsoft about a project code-named ‘Chess.’

In response, Microsoft focuses on a new operating system—the software that manages, or runs, the computer hardware and also serves to bridge the gap between the computer hardware and programs, such as a word processor. It’s the foundation on which computer programs can run. They name their new operating system MS‑DOS.”

Fast forward to 2014 and we have a completely different Microsoft that’s now led by Satya Nadella, the new CEO which was appointed in late February to replace Steve Ballmer after 13 years spent at the helm of the company.

Although Nadella has only recently took over the leading job at Microsoft, the company is already showing a completely different face and the BUILD 2014 developer conference that opened its doors on April 2 is the living proof.

Microsoft presented a wide array of products and seemed more open to communication with developers than ever, while also putting the emphasis on consumer feedback and information coming from partners.

The “new” Microsoft is also tweaking its products to better address consumers’ needs and decided to revert some of the changes it made to its flagship operating system. The Start menu will soon be back, while the company is also working to make Windows much better on desktop computers, the number one working device that’s still available everywhere you look, despite the “attack” of tablets.