The History of Microsoft

Posted 2021-04-28 瓯江学院经管学院国贸专业

瓯江学院

国际经济与贸易专业

微软，是一家美国跨国科技公司，也是世界PC（Personal Computer，个人计算机）软件开发的先导，由比尔·盖茨与保罗·艾伦创办于1975年，公司总部设立在华盛顿州的雷德蒙德（Redmond，邻近西雅图）。以研发、制造、授权和提供广泛的电脑软件服务业务为主。

最为著名和畅销的产品为Microsoft Windows操作系统和Microsoft Office系列软件，目前是全球最大的电脑软件提供商。

The History of Microsoft

微软简史

Microsoft Corporation is the world's largest software company, with global annual sales in the tens of billions of US dollars and nearly60,000 employees in more than 90countries. The company’s headquarters are in Redmond, Washington, USA Microsoft develops, manufactures licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices. Its most popular products are the Microsoft Windows operating system and the Microsoft Office suite of productivity software, each of which has achieved near ubiquity in the desktop computer market. Microsoft has footholds in other markets. with assets such as the MSNBC cable television network, the MSN Internet portal, and the Microsoft Encarta computer encyclopedia. The company also markets home entertainment products, such as the Xbox and WebTV.

徽软公司是世界上最大的软件公司，公司每年的全球收入达数十亿美元，在全球90多个国家拥有近60000名员工。公司总部在美国华盛顿特区的雷蒙德。徽软开发、制造、特许并支持计算机设备的许多软件产品。徽软的大部分产品都是和 Microsoft Windows操作系统以及Microsoft Office配套的软件，在台式电脑市场上述两种平台已经无处不在。微软在其他市场也有涉足，比如说 MSNBC有线电视网络MSN因特网网站以及Microsoft Encarta计算机百科全书。微软同时还在家用娱乐产品市场、如Xbox和Webtv也占有份额。

“ Microsoft”（ short for micromputer software) was founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen， to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the altair 8800. After the market saw a flood of IBM PC clones in the mid-1980s, Microsoft used its new position, which it gained in part due to a contract from IBM, to dominate the home computer operating system market with its MS-DOS operating system.

“微软”（“微计算机软件”的缩写）公司1975年创建于新墨西哥州的阿尔伯克基，创始人为比尔・盖茨和保罗·阿伦，公司最初的业务是研发并销售 Altair8800的BASIC解释程序。20世纪80年代中期，IBM计算机如洪水泛滥，微软利利用这一新的发展机遇，以其MS－DOS操作系统占据了家用电脑操作系统市场的统治性地位，当然微软的成功部分归功于与IBM的一纸协议。

 In the mid-1990s Microsoft began to expand into the media, entertainment, and communications industries, launching MSN in 1995 and the MSNBC cable channel and Web site in 1996.

In June 1998 MicrosoftreleasedWindows 98, which featured integrated Internet capabilities. In the following month, Gates appointed Steve Ballmer, executive vice president of Microsoft as the company's president, giving him supervision of most day-to-day business operations of the company. Gates retained the title of chairman and chief executive officer(CEO).

20世纪90年代中期，微软开始进军媒体、娱乐和通讯产业，1995年发布了MSN，1996年又推出了MSNBC有线频道和网站。1998年6月，微软发布Windows98，这个操作系系统集成了因特网的许多功能。接下来的一个月内比尔·盖茨任命微软副总裁史蒂夫・巴尔默为公司总裁授权他监管公司绝大部分日常业务运作。盖茨本人保留董事长与首席执行官头衔。

In 1999 Microsoft paid $5 billionto telecommunications company AT&TCorp. to use Microsofts Windows CE operating system in devices designed to provide consumers with integrated cable television, telephone, and highspeed Internet services. Also in 1999, the company released Windows 2000, the latest version of the Windows NT operating system. In January 2000 Gates transferred his title of CEO to Ballmer.

In 2001 Microsoft released a new.-operating system known as WindowsXP, the company's first operating system for consumers that was notbased on MS-DOS. The same year the company also released Xbox. its first venture into video-game consoles. Microsoft announced a new business strategy in 2001 known as Net (pronounced dot-net). The strategy sought to enable a variety of hardware devices, from PCS to PDAS to cell phones, to communicate with each other via the Internet, while also automating many computer functions. Confusion over the term. Net led to the adoption of the slogan "seamless computing"in 2003.

Other major business developments in the early 21st century included new versions of the Microsoft Network andthe development with several major computer manufacturers of the Tablet PC, a laptop computer that featured handwriting-recoanition software and awireless connection to the Internet. In 2003 the company began to focus on “trustworthy computing, "requiring its programmers to improve their skills in protecting software from malicious hacker attacks in the form of computer viruses and worms. In 2004 Microsoftsold its innovative online newsmagazine, Slate, to The Washington Post Company ending an experiment in online journalism that began in 1996 undereditor Michael Kinsley.

21世纪初微软的其他主要业务扩展包括微软网络的新版本，与平板电脑几大主要计算机制造商的合作作开发，具有手写辨别软件和无线连入因特网功能的笔记本电脑等。2003年，微软开始注重“可信计算”，要求程序员提升自身技能以保护软件免受恶意黑客以计算机病毒和蠕虫形式的攻击。2004年，徽软将其在线新闻杂志Slate出售给《华盛顿邮报》，从而结束了1996年开始始的以编辑迈克尔·金斯利主导的在线新闻业实验。

In November 2005 Microsoft unveiled its new-generation video game console, the Xbox 360 (see Electronic Games). The new device went beyond gaming, providing consumers with the ability to store and play audio, video and photo files. The same month Gates and the newly named chief-technology officer, Ray Ozzieannounced a new Web services initiative providing software services on the Internet accessible from any browser. The initial components Windows Live and Office Live represented a move away from packaged software. The initiatives were to be supported by advertising revenue and subscriptions.

2005年11月，微软发布了新一代视频游戏控制器——box360。这一新设备的功能十分强大，用户可以保存和播放音频、视和图片文件。同一个月，盖茨和新任首席技术官雷·奥齐宣布了一个新的网服务计划，微软将向用户提供可以从任何浏览器接入因特网的软件服务。这一计划的组成部分 Windows Live和 Office Live代表着打包软件的逐渐分离解体。这一计划由广告收入和捐款来支持。

In June 2006 Gates announced that he would begin transitioning from a full-time role at Microsoft to a full-time role at the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation. In November 2006， Microsoft released Vista. its first new operating system since Windows XPwas introduced in 2001. The long anticipated system was first made available to businesses only. A consumer version was released in January 2007. The new system won generally favorable reviews for its improved graphics, search capabilities and security protection aqainst computer viruses.

2006年6月，盖茨宣布他将离开微软公司的全职工作，将所有精力转为比尔和梅林达盖茨基金会的全职工作。2006年11月，微软发布 Vista，这也是自2001年推出 Windows XP后再次发布的新的操作系统。这一全球翘首企盼已久的操作系统最初的设计只是为商业用户所用。2007年1月，Vista家用版发布。新的操作系统因其大大改善了的图形显显示、搜索功能以及抗击计算机病毒的安全防护能力而获得了广泛的好评。

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