Microsoft, the technology giant founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, has had a profound impact on the computer industry and society as a whole. From its early days as a small software company to its current position as one of the world’s largest and most influential corporations, Microsoft has been a driving force behind many of the technological advances of the past few decades. But there’s much more to Microsoft than just its business success. So, let’s take a closer look at 20 Microsoft facts that will give you a deeper understanding of this iconic company.
1-5 Fun Facts About Microsoft
1. In a strange turn of events, Microsoft banned a user from Xbox Live in 2010 for listing their location as Fort Gay, West Virginia, believing it to be a made-up location. However, after a plea from the town’s mayor, Microsoft eventually corrected the mistake.
2. Goldman Sachs once complained to Microsoft that their autocorrect feature in Word kept changing “Goldman Sachs” to “g*ddamn Sachs,” leading to some awkward moments in professional communication.
3. Microsoft’s success has resulted in the creation of three billionaires and an estimated 12,000 millionaires.
4. According to Investopedia, Microsoft is the 3rd biggest-country in the world.
5. In a legal battle that made headlines, Microsoft sued a high school student named Mike Rowe for registering the domain name MikeRoweSoft.com for his web design business. After a settlement was reached, the teenager received an Xbox as part of the agreement.
6-10 Interesting Facts About Microsoft
6. In a curious coincidence, the person who owned the domain windows2000.com happened to be named Bob, and Microsoft just happened to own bob.com. They worked out a deal to swap domains.
7. The inclusion of Solitaire in Windows was not just for fun, but also to help users become familiar with graphical user interfaces and drag-and-drop operations back in 1990.
8. To steer users away from Opera and towards Internet Explorer, Microsoft once intentionally made MSN.com appear faulty on Opera browsers. As a reply, Opera Software released Opera Bork Edition, which made MSN.com look like its text was written in gibberish by Swedish Chef from the Muppets Show.
9. Microsoft changed its default Word font from Times New Roman to Calibri 11 to acknowledge the shift from print to digital media.
10. The generic silhouette placeholder image in Microsoft Outlook 2010 is actually a mugshot of Bill Gates from when he was arrested for a driving offense.
11-15 Shocking Facts About Microsoft
11. Microsoft’s initiative to break Japan’s stronghold on the gaming industry was ironically called “The Manhattan Project” and later became known as DirectX.
12. In 1998, Microsoft’s “DirectX” team proposed a new gaming console named the “directXbox.” Eventually, the name was shortened to simply “Xbox.”
13. Microsoft receives royalties of up to $8 per Android device sold, which added up to a whopping $3.4 billion in 2013.
14. Charles Simonyi, the creator of Microsoft Office, spent approximately $30 million on two trips to the International Space Station.
15. In 1997, Microsoft invested $150 million in Apple to help revive the struggling company.
16-20 Insane Facts About Microsoft
16. Microsoft’s 10,000th patent was awarded for their groundbreaking Microsoft Surface laptop device, marking yet another technological leap forward for the software giant.
17. Microsoft employees drink 23 million free beverages every year
18. At the tender age of 31, Bill Gates became the youngest billionaire in history, reaching this incredible milestone in 1987.
Read More: 25 Surprising Bill Gates Facts That Will Blow Your Mind
19. The IRS once had a dedicated computer to calculate Bill Gates’ taxes in 2006.
20. Microsoft’s Encarta software, known internally as Gandalf, was a beloved encyclopedic resource for many years until it was discontinued in 2009, in part due to the rise of Wikipedia.
That’s it for this post guys, I hope you had fun while reading 20 Interesting Microsoft Facts.
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