Enjoy!

Tina and Dan

Previous Episodes:
The History of Microsoft - 1975
The History of Microsoft - 1976
The History of Microsoft - 1977
The History of Microsoft - 1978
The History of Microsoft - 1979
The History of Microsoft - 1980
The History of Microsoft - 1981
The History of Microsoft - 1982
The History of Microsoft - 1983
The History of Microsoft - 1984

January 23, 1985
Microsoft announces the release of Microsoft MacEnhancer expansion system, a new hardware product designed to open up the Apple Macintosh computer to a wide range of IBM compatible peripherals.

February 1, 1985
Ida Cole is named the new Vice President of Applications, responsible for planning, development, and marketing for the application software product line. She will report to Jon Shirley, President. She was previously with Apple Computer, Inc..

May 3, 1985

Microsoft Mouse Quarantined in Canada
Rich MacIntosh, General Manager of Microsoft Canada, Inc., was recently called to the Canadian Department of Agriculture to retrieve his Microsoft "Mouse" after four weeks of quarantine.

August 9, 1985
Microsoft announces that Wright Runstad & Company breaks ground today on a new Microsoft World Headquarters in Redmond scheduled for completion by mid-1986. The $25 million facility will be located in the southeast quadrant of Evergreen Place Office Park, in a heavily wooded, 29-acre campus setting.

August 12, 1985

Microsoft celebrates its 10th anniversary with sales figures of $140 million for the fiscal year of 1985.

August 22, 1985

Microsoft signs an agreement with IBM for joint development of operating systems and other systems software products.

September 3, 1985

Microsoft selects the Republic of Ireland as the site of its first production facility outside the U.S. for software products to be sold in the European market.

September 30, 1985
Microsoft announces the shipment to retail stores of Excel for the Macintosh, a powerful, full-featured microcomputer spreadsheet that combines business graphics with an on-sheet database.

November 20, 1985

Microsoft ships the retail version of Windows, an operating system that extends the features of the MS-DOS.

Other products released in 1985:

MS-DOS 3.2, Chart for Macintosh, Microsoft Access 1.0 (business communication app, not database), Cobol 2.1, MacEnhancer 2.0, Basic 2.1 Interpreter for the Mac, Chart 2.0 for DOS, Word for Networks, QuickBasic Compiler, LOGO for the Mac,

Notable New Hires:

Jeremy Butler - Former Senior Vice President, International and OEM.;Tony Dirksen - Former Senior Manager, Investor Relations;Ralf Harteneck - Former Vice President, Communication and Meeting Services Group;Min S. Yee - Former Vice President and Publisher of Microsoft Press.

Other 1985:

· Gaming: Tetris is written by Russian Alexey Pazhitnov.

· Internet: The Domain Name System (DNS) is created. Symbolics.com is the first domain registered, followed shortly by cmu.edu, purdue.edu, and others.

· Storage: The CD-ROM format is created by Phillips, in collaboration with Sony.

· USSR: Mikhail Gorbachev becomes general secretary of the Communist Party on the death of Chernenko.

· Exploration: The wreck of the Titanic is discovered after 73 years.

· Music: All-star Live Aid concerts in Philadelphia and London raise almost $250 million for African famine relief.

· Drugs: Crack cocaine begins hitting the streets of New York, setting off a drug epidemic.

· TV: Top-rated shows include The Cosby Show, Family Ties, and Murder She Wrote. MacGyver, Moonlighting, and Golden Girls premiere. Economy: The US becomes a debtor nation for first time since 1914.

· The King: The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley commemorative stamp, which sells a record-breaking 500 million.

· Comics: Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes premieres in the nation’s newspapers.

· Terrorism: Palestinian terrorists hijack the Italian liner Achille Lauro, killing one hostage. US Navy jets later force down the terrorists’ getaway plane in Sicily.

· Reagan: Public outrage accompanies President Reagan on his visit to a Nazi military cemetery at Bitburg, Germany.

· Rock: Rock Hudson dies of AIDS.

· The Real Thing?: Coca-Cola introduces New Coke in one of the biggest marketing disasters of the 20^th century.

· Greenpeace: French intelligence officers bomb and sink Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior in the harbor of Auckland, New Zealand. The boat was protesting French nuclear testing.

· Soccer Disaster: The main stand at Bradford City Football Ground in Northern England catches fire, killing 40 and injuring more than 170.

· Movies: Top grossing movies of the year include Out of Africa, Back to the Future, Rambo, and The Color Purple. Out of Africa also nets Oscars for Best Movie and Best Director (Sydney Pollack). Best Actor is William Hurt in Kiss of the Spider Woman, Best Actress is Geraldine Page in Trip to Bountiful.

1984 Revenue/Headcount

The 1984 Fiscal year-end sales total $97,479,000. The 1984 fiscal Year employee headcount totals 860 people.

January 24, 1984
Microsoft and Apple Computer announce the new Apple Macintosh computer and Microsoft's custom-designed productivity software for the new computer. Macintosh's interface, combined with Microsoft’s software: Multiplan, Chart, Word, File, and BASIC provides a powerful and functional environment for all users.

March 4, 1984

Microsoft joins forces with Spectravideo and four Japanese firms to establish a hardware/software compatibility standard based on the popular Z80® 8-bit microcomputer. The standard, called MSX, was announced on June 15, 1983 and made available a new set of standard specifications so diverse software programs would be compatible with low-cost home computers from different manufacturers. MSX was developed primarily for the Japanese market as the first unified format in Japan for software or hardware. It was never adapted for sale in the U.S.

March 22, 1984

Microsoft Press introduces its first two titles: Cary Lu's "The Apple Macintosh Book” and Peter Norton's "Exploring the IBM PCjr Home Computer."

March 29, 1984

Microsoft creates a new Hardware and Peripherals Division dedicated to developing and marketing hardware products that complement Microsoft's software product line.

August 14, 1984

IBM chooses XENIX and MS-DOS for its new generation personal computer, the IBM PC AT.

September 9, 1984
Microsoft schedules a meeting with Redmond city officials to discuss relocating the company to the Evergreen Place development in 1985.

September 24, 1984

Francis J. Gaudette joins Microsoft as vice president of Finance and Administration.

Other products released in 1984: Project 1.0, Multiplan for Mac 1.0, Chart 1.01, Serial Mouse 2.5, SoftCard II, PCJr Booster w/Mouse, Pascal 3.2, Fortran 3.2, C Compiler 2.0

Notable New Hires: Charles Stevens - Corporate Vice President, Enterprise & Partner Group (EPG);Rich Macintosh - Former vice president of Sales and Support, U.S. Sales;Marty Taucher - Former senior group marketing manager for Microsoft's Consumer Division.;Joe Vetter - Former vice president of the Western U.S. and South Pacific Regions;

Other 1984:

· Winter Olympics: At the Sarajevo Olympics, twin brothers Phil and Steve Mahre took first and second place in the slalom, while Torvill & Dean earned perfect scores and a gold medal for their ice dance to Ravel’s “Bolero.”

· Bhopal: A gas leak at a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India killed over 3,000.

· Nobel: South African Bishop Desmond Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize.

· Housing: The average price of a new single-family home broke six figures.

· Beirut: The U.S. withdrew its Marines from Beirut following terrorist bombing.

· Presidential Election: Reagan defeated Mondale and won reelection by a landslide 59 percent, carrying 49 states.

· Music: Top hits included Michael Jackson's Thriller, Prince's Purple Rain, Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A, Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters,” Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” and Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose.”

· VCRs: The Supreme Court okays home TV recording in its ruling on the Sony case.

· Medicine: Baby Fae received a transplanted baboon heart.

· Summer Olympics: The Los Angeles Olympics featured record-setting performances from Americans Carl Lewis, Joan Benoit, and Mary Lou Retton and were a commercial success despite being boycotted by the Soviet Union.

· Hong Kong: Britain agreed to return Hong Kong to China in 1997.

· Nuclear protests: The Diablo Canyon nuclear reactor in California went online despite protests.

· Internet: By year-end, 1,000 hosts were on the Internet. In 2003, there were over 170 million.

· TV: Sitcoms Kate & Allie and The Cosby Show premiered, to both critical and popular acclaim. Other top shows included Dallas, Dynasty, The A-Team, and Simon & Simon.

· Tennis: McEnroe bested Connors at Wimbledon, while Navratilova topped Evert Lloyd.

· New Orleans World's Fair: Although a financial failure, the fair did result in a large riverside park which opened up access to the Mississippi.

· Oscars: Amadeus won Oscars for best picture, actor (F. Murray Abraham), and director (Milos Forman). Best actress award went to Sally Field for Places in the Heart.

Previous Episodes:
The History of Microsoft - 1975
The History of Microsoft - 1976
The History of Microsoft - 1977
The History of Microsoft - 1978
The History of Microsoft - 1979
The History of Microsoft - 1980
The History of Microsoft - 1981

The History of Microsoft - 1982

1983 Timeline

February 18, 1983

Paul Allen resigns as Microsoft's executive vice president, but remains on the Board of Directors.

March 9, 1983

Microsoft introduces MS-DOS 2.0.

May 2, 1983

Microsoft introduces the Microsoft Mouse, a low-cost, handheld pointing device for use with the IBM PC as well as any other MS-DOS-based personal computer.

August 1, 1983
The assets of Wiser Laboratories Pty, Ltd. of Australia, the local distributor of Microsoft products, are acquired. With the establishment of this subsidiary, Microsoft obtains a direct distribution network into the region. All of Wiser's employees will be retained, and the firm will stay at its existing address. This is considered the company’s first acquisition.

September 29, 1983

Microsoft ships it’s full-featured word processing program, Word for MS-DOS 1.00 and provides a free demonstration copy to subscribers of The PC World Software Review.

November 3, 1983
Microsoft Press, a trade-book publishing division specializing in computer books, is formed. Nahum Stiskin is named General Manager and Publisher. The primary marketing focus is the business professional, with secondary emphasis on the hobbyist, home, and education markets. Microsoft Press expects to publish 30 to 35 books in its first year.

November 10, 1983

Microsoft unveils Windows, an extension of the MS-DOS operating system that provides a graphical operating environment. Windows features a window management capability that allows a user to view unrelated application programs simultaneously. It also provides the capability to transfer data from one application program to another. Windows wouldn’t actually ship until 2 years later.

December 1, 1983
The first international subsidiaries to connect to Microsoft e-mail are in Europe: Microsoft Ltd. in the U.K., Microsoft Sarl in France, and Microsoft G.m.b.H. in Germany.

Other products released in 1983: BASIC Interpreter 1.0, Multi-Tool Budget 1.0, Microsoft Multiplan 1.1, Microsoft Sort

Notable new hires: Jon Shirley - Former Microsoft president, chief operating officer, and director; Joachim Kempin - Former senior vice president of Microsoft's OEM Division;Mike Slade -Former product manager, helped products such as Excel and Works to become household names and managed the entire line of Mac products;Pete Higgins - Former group vice president of the Interactive Media Group and member of the Office of the President;Raymond B. "Buck" Ferguson - Former senior director of Investor and Shareholder Relations;Bernard Vergnes - Chairman Emeritus of Microsoft EMEA.

Other 1983:

· World Population: 4.690 billion

· Nobel Peace Prize: Lech Walesa (Poland)

· U.S. Statistics: President- Ronald W. Reagan; Vice President - George Bush; Population -233,791,994; Life expectancy - 74.6 years

· First Artificial Heart: A permanent artificial heart was implanted in a human for first time. The operation was performed on Dr. Barney B. Clark, 61, at University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City.

· First Woman In Space: Sally K. Ride, 32, is the first US woman astronaut in space as a crew member aboard space shuttle Challenger.

· Academy Awards: Best Picture - Terms of Endearment, James L. Brooks, producer (Paramount); Best Actor - Robert Duvall, Tender Mercies; Best Actress - Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment; Director - James L. Brooks, Terms of Endearment.

· Nobel Prize for Literature: William Golding (UK)

· Song of the Year: "Always on My Mind," Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson, songwriters

· Record of the Year: "Rosanna," Toto

· Major Movies of the Time: The Big Chill, Terms of Endearment, Fanny & Alexander, The Right Stuff

· M*A*S*H: More than 125 million viewers tune in to the last episode of M*A*S*H.

· Birth of Cell Phones: The FCC authorizes Motorola to begin testing cellular phone service in Chicago.

· New Camera Technology: Kodak produces 8 million disc cameras during the first year of production.

· The Pope: Pope John Paul II signs new Roman Catholic code incorporating changes brought about by Second Vatican Council.

· World Series: Baltimore d. Philadelphia Phillies (4-1)

· Wimbledon: Women - Martina Navratilova d. A. Jaeger (6-0 6-3); Men - John McEnroe d. C. Lewis (6-2 6-2 6-2)

· War: U.S. forces invade island of Grenada, disposing the Marxist regime there

· Median Household Income(current dollars): $20,885

· Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.20

· Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: The Color Purple, Alice Walker

· Pulitzer Prize for Music: Three Movements for Orchestra, Ellen T. Zwilich

Previous Episodes:
The History of Microsoft - 1975
The History of Microsoft - 1976
The History of Microsoft - 1977
The History of Microsoft - 1978
The History of Microsoft - 1979
The History of Microsoft - 1980
The History of Microsoft - 1981

March 24, 1982Microsoft U.K. Ltd. (United Kingdom) is incorporated (first official international subsidiary).

June 25, 1982
James C. Towne is appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of Microsoft. In July he takes over all responsibilities from Bill Gates, who will assume the title of Executive Vice President, responsible for all development activities. Gates remains Chairman of the Board. Towne was previously Vice President and General Manager of the Instrument Division at Tektronix. He is replaced by Jon Shirley the next year.

June 28, 1982

Microsoft announces a new corporate logo, new packaging, and a comprehensive set of retail dealer support materials. (blibbet)

July 6, 1982
Microsoft becomes a registered trademark in the U.S. ( No. 1,200,236 in Int.Cls 9 and 42 (computer programs and computer programming services).

July 16, 1982
Microsoft Acquires a Fax Machine for in-house use. It is a Panafax 1200 and is group I and II compatible.

July 16, 1982

The Microsoft Local Area Network (MILAN) is now fully functional, linking all of Microsoft's in-house development computers, including a DEC 2060, two PDP-11/70s, a VAX 11/250, and many MC68000 machines running XENIX. This system will simplify e-mail delivery on-site. (Bill Gates becomes billg)

August 1, 1982
Microsoft Multiplan version 1.00 for MS-DOS ships.

September 1, 1982
Microsoft announces the availability of its symbolic mathematic package muMATH/muSIMP for the IBM Personal Computer. This package is also offered for the Apple II, TRS-80, and CP/M-80 computer systems.

October 1, 1982
Paul Allen is diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease, which is localized and in a very treatable form. He is on a limited work schedule while undergoing treatments. Although his treatment is successful, he will resign from Microsoft in 1983.

1982 Revenue/Headcount

The 1982 year-end sales total $24,486,000. The 1982 Calendar Year employee headcount totals 220 people.

Other products released in 1982: Cobol 4.6, Typing Tutor II for Apple II, SoftCard Premium, Flight Simulator for MS-DOS

Other 1982:

· First Artificial Heart: A permanent artificial heart was implanted in a human for first time. The operation was performed on Dr. Barney B. Clark, 61, at University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City.

· Top hits: "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" by Daryl Hall and John Oates - "Waiting for a Girl Like You" by Foreigner - "Hooked on Classics" by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - "The Sweetest Thing I've Ever Known" by Juice Newton.

· Baby Bells Created: American Telephone and Telegraph settled the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against it by agreeing to divest itself of the 22 Bell System companies. The ATT Bell System was ordered to be subdivided into 7 Baby Bells by the US government.

· Hinckley Found Not Guilty: John W. Hinckley, Jr. was found not guilty because of insanity in shooting of President Reagan.

· Israel Invades Lebanon on June 6. The immediate cause cited for the invasion was the attempted assassination of Israel's Ambassador in London. Israel's plan was designed first to create a buffer between Lebanon and Northern Israel. The incursion quickly grew to a full-fledged attempt to destroy the P.L.O.

· Good News for Dieters: 1982 gave us the beginnings of Diet Coke and Equal artificial sweetener.

· Academy Awards: the 1982 Oscar for Best Movie went to "Gandhi."

· New Communist Leader: In Russia Soviet leader Leonid I. Brezhnev died at age 75 and the Kremlin command passed to Yuri Andropov. Brezhnev had suffered from arteriosclerosis of the brain.

· Record Breaker: Cal Ripken began playing for the Baltimore Orioles. By Sep 20, 1998 he had played a record 2,632 consecutive games.

· Computer is Man of the Year: Less than four months after IBM introduced the PC, Time Magazine named the computer as the man of the year! Never before (or since) had an inanimate object been chosen as the "man of the year".

· Tylenol tampering scare: In the fall of 1982, seven people die from taking cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules. The nation panics and Johnson and Johnson quickly recalls over 30 million bottles.

· Equal Rights Amendment defeated: The ERA, that would prohibit discrimination by sex, falls short of ratification when the deadline passes.

· Newspaper in Technicolor: A new publication called "USA Today" launched in full blown color, a first for a newspaper.

· Falkland Islands War: Argentina invades the British-occupied Falklands. After two months, Argentina surrenders to British forces on June 14.

· Princess Grace Dies: Princess Grace of Monaco dies from injuries suffered when her car plunged off a mountain road. Her daughter, seventeen-year-old Stephanie, a passenger in the car, suffers bruises and trauma.

Previous Episodes:
The History of Microsoft - 1975
The History of Microsoft - 1976
The History of Microsoft - 1977
The History of Microsoft - 1978
The History of Microsoft - 1979
The History of Microsoft - 1980

April 9, 1981

First semi-annual company meeting is held in the newly built Bellevue Athletic Club.

June 25, 1981

Microsoft reorganizes into a privately held corporation with Bill Gates as president and chairman of the board and Paul Allen as executive vice president. Microsoft becomes Microsoft, Inc., an incorporated business in the state of Washington.

August 12, 1981

IBM introduces its Personal Computer (PC), MS-DOS version 1.0, plus BASIC, COBOL, Pascal, and other Microsoft products. This is Microsoft’s entry into the operating systems business. Included in the IBM-compatible list of software is a game newly adapted to the PC, Microsoft Adventure.

October 1, 1981
The Microsoft Building (Northup Building) at 10700 Northup Way, (P.O. Box 97200) Bellevue, Washington, 98004, is leased.

December 8, 1981

Microsoft announces that is has signed a letter of intent to enter a second-source agreement with The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. for the XENIX operating system. The agreement will provide additional services to purchasers of XENIX, especially pre- and post-sale support, maintenance, and documentation.

1981 Revenue/Headcount

The 1981 year-end sales total $17,331,000. The 1980 Calendar Year employee headcount totals 129 people.

Notable employees hired:

Tandy Trower, Jeff Raikes, Chris Peters and 100^th employee Ellen Aycock. Chris Larson is hired as an FTE after several summer-long internships.

Other 1981:

· Osborne Computer introduces the Osborne 1, the first portable microcomputer.

· Ronald Reagan takes the oath as 40th President of the United States on January 20. On March 30, he is wounded by a gunman, along with two law-enforcement officers and his Press Secretary James Brady.

· US-Iran agreement frees 52 hostages held in Teheran since 1979.

· Pope John Paul II is wounded by a gunman on May 14.

· President Reagan nominates Sandra Day O'Connor as the first woman on the Supreme Court.

· The US Centers for Disease Control publish a report which officially announces the start of the AIDS epidemic.

· Oakland defeats Philadelphia to win the Super Bowl (27-10). The LA Dodgers defeat the NY Yankees (4-2) to win the World Series.

· Bestselling novels in 1981 include: Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, and Rabbit is Rich by John Updike. John Updike wins both a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for this novel in 1982.

· John Lennon and Yoko Ono win a Grammy Award for Best Album for Double Fantasy. Best Song is Bette Davis Eyes, by songwriters Jackie DeShannon and Donna Weiss. Best New Artist is Sheena Easton.

· The top-grossing films: Raiders of the Lost Ark ($115 million), Superman II ($65 million), On Golden Pond ($61 million), Arthur ($42 million), and Stripes ($40 million).

· The Academy votes the Best Picture of the year -- Chariots of Fire, and the public votes: the worst movie -- depending who you ask, of course -- Tarzan, the Ape Man, starring Bo Derek and Richard Harris.

· Henry Fonda receives the Best Actor Oscar for On Golden Pond; Best Actress goes to Katharine Hepburn also for On Golden Pond.

· Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is assassinated at the age of 63.

Previous Episodes:
The History of Microsoft - 1975
The History of Microsoft - 1976
The History of Microsoft - 1977
The History of Microsoft - 1978
The History of Microsoft - 1979

January 1, 1980

Microsoft Consumer Products announces its first consumer-oriented application software, Typing Tutor.

April 2, 1980

Microsoft introduces the Z-80 SoftCard, a circuit board that plugs into the Apple II computer and allows Apple II users to run CP/M applications with only minor modifications.

June 11, 1980

Steve Ballmer joins Microsoft with responsibility for Operations, including personnel, finance, and legal areas of the business.

August 25, 1980

Microsoft announces XENIX OS, a portable, UNIX-based operating system for 16-bit microprocessors.

1980 Revenue/Headcount

The 1980 year-end sales total $8,000,000. The 1980 Calendar Year employee headcount totals 40 people.

Other products released in 1980: Basic Compiler 5.3, TRS-DOS COBOL and Basic, muLISP and muMATH, TRS-80 Editor/Assember, XMacro-86 Cross Assembler, COBOL-80 Compiler 4.0, BASIC Interpreter for Z8000, Olympic Decathlon (game), M/SORT, FORTRAN & COBOL for Apple II, RAMcard (memory expander for the Apple II)

Other 1980:

• Apple Computer goes public with 4.6 million shares, the largest offering since Ford Motor Co. went public in 1956.
• Novell, Inc. is founded.
• President Carter declares a U.S. boycott of the Olympic Games in protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
• Mount St. Helens in Washington state erupts.
• Ordinary People, with Mary Tyler Moore, wins the Best Picture Oscar.
• Call Me, by Blondie, tops the Billboard charts.

Microsoft moves its offices to Bellevue, Washington from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

March 12, 1979

A M6800 version of Microsoft Basic is released

April 4, 1979

The 8080 version of Microsoft® Basic is the first microprocessor software product to win the ICP Million Dollar Award.

June 18, 1979

Microsoft BASIC, currently in use in over 200,000 Z80 and 8080 installations has just been released in a new version for the 8086 16-bit microprocessor.

August 1, 1979

Microsoft announces the availability of Microsoft BASIC Compiler for 8080 and Z-80 CP/M systems.

November 29, 1979

Service to the European market is expanded with the addition of a new representative, Vector Microsoft, located in Haasrode, Belgium.

December 1, 1979

Level III BASIC, the most powerful BASIC written for the TRS-80, has been introduced by Microsoft Consumer Products, the new consumer software development and marketing division of Microsoft

December 3, 1979

Microsoft distributes the first CODASYL-compatible database management system for microcomputers.

1978 Revenue/Headcount

The 1979 year-end sales total $2,390,145. There are 28 employees.

Other 1979:

· VisiCalc, the first electronic spreadsheet program, debuts at the West Coast Computer Faire.

· The first compact discs are created by Philips in the Netherlands and Sony in Japan, with joint licensing.

· Margaret Thatcher is the first woman to be elected prime minister of Great Britain.

· Sony introduces the first Walkman and teaches the world that technology can be sophisticated and portable.

Microsoft COBOL-80, which conforms to the 1974 ANSI standards for 8080, Z80, and 8085 microprocessor systems, is announced.

November 1, 1978

Microsoft establishes its first international sales office in Japan, ASCII Microsoft.

November 6, 1978

Microsoft announces the availability of Microsoft EDIT-80, a random access, line oriented text editor for 8080 and Z-80 systems. EDIT-80 is the first microcomputer editor with random line access to floppy disk files.

December 1, 1978

Microsoft announces Microsoft Macro-80 for 8080; Z-80. The 14K assembler is the fastest macro assembler currently on the microcomputer market, assembling over 1000 lines per minute.

December 1, 1978

Microsoft announces the availability of Microsoft FORTRAN-80 Compiler for TRS-80.

December 31, 1978

Microsoft's year-end sales exceed $1 million at $1,355,655. There are 13 employees.

The Albuquerque office's Coca Cola bill for Calendar Year 1978 totals $566.50.

Other 1978

• Intel introduces the 8086 chip, the start of the 16-bit microprocessor family.
• Senator Al Gore of Tennessee coins the phrase “information highway” in a meeting with computer industry officials.
• Louise Brown, the first baby to be conceived outside the human body, is born to British parents.
• The United States bans chlorofluorocarbons as spray propellants because they damage the ozone layer.
• Shadow Dancing, by Andy Gibb, tops the Billboard charts for the year.

An official partnership agreement between Paul Allen and Bill Gates is executed.

July 1, 1977

FORTRAN-80, Microsoft’s second language product, is available at the prices of $500 for an individual license. OEM licenses are available.

September 13, 1977

Microsoft receives new computers from Commodore, Radio Shack and Texas Instruments.

September 26, 1977

The Albuquerque facilities are expanded by three new offices in the same building.

November 18, 1977

Microsoft terminates an exclusive license to MITS for Microsoft's BASIC product and announces availability of versions for the 8080 and Z-80 microprocessors.

1977 Revenue/Headcount
The 1977 Calendar Year revenue totals $381,715, headcount is 9.

Other 1977:

· Tandy Corporation announces the TRS-80® Model 1 microcomputer, which retails for $600 with 4K memory.

· Commodore Business Machines introduces the Personal Electronic Transactor (PET) computer.

· Elvis Presley, the king of rock ‘n’ roll, dies.

Bill Gates is the first programmer to raise the issue of software piracy. In "An Open Letter to Hobbyists," first published in Computer Notes, Gates accuses hobbyists of stealing software and thus preventing good software from being written.

March 27, 1976

Bill Gates gives the opening address at the First Annual World Altair Computer Convention held in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

April, 1976

Marc McDonald becomes Microsoft’s first official employee. (Other people did work on Microsoft products before that, but on a contract basis)

July, 1976

Microsoft’s first advertisement appears in Digital Design magazine.

November 1, 1976

Paul Allen resigns from MITS to join Microsoft full time.

November 26, 1976

The trade name, Microsoft, is registered with the Office of the Secretary of the State of New Mexico.

September 1, 1976

Microsoft leases official office space in the Two Park Central Tower Building at 300 San Mateo Blvd, N.E., Suite 819, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

1976 Headcount/Revenue

The 1976 Calendar Year employee headcount totals six people. Revenues are $22,496

Other 1976:

• Shugart introduces a 5.25-inch floppy disk drive for $390, the first of this size for microcomputers.
• Three new magazines hit the stands: Byte, Computer Graphics and Art, and Dr. Dobb’s Journal of Computer Calisthenics and Orthodontia.
• The United States celebrates its bicentennial.
• A Viking spacecraft lands on Mars and sends back detailed pictures of a rocky, desert terrain.

January 1, 1975

The MITS Altair 8800 appears on the cover of Popular Electronics. The article inspires Paul Allen and Bill Gates to develop a BASIC language for the Altair.

February 1, 1975

Bill Gates and Paul Allen complete Altair BASIC and sell it to Microsoft’s first customer, MITS of Albuquerque, New Mexico. This is the first computer language program for a personal computer.

March 1, 1975

Paul Allen joins MITS as director of software.

April 7, 1975

“Altair BASIC – Up and Running,” declares the headline of the first edition of MITS Computer Notes.

July 1, 1975

Bill Gates' and Paul Allen's BASIC officially ships as version 2.0 in both 4K and 8K editions.

July 22, 1975

Paul Allen and Bill Gates sign a licensing agreement with MITS regarding the Basic Interpreter. The name Microsoft has not yet been chosen, and Microsoft is not yet an official partnership.

July 29, 1975

In a letter to Paul Allen, Bill Gates uses the name "Micro-soft" to refer to their partnership. This is the earliest known written reference.

December 31, 1975

The 1975 year-end sales total equals 16,005 dollars, as detailed on Form 1065 U.S. Partnership Return of Income.