Company History, Part 2: 1977-1979
This is the second part of the translation of the article series from channel9.msdn.com . Those who missed the previous part, I propose to read: 1975-1976 . 1977 was the beginning of a formal partnership for Microsoft between Paul Allen and Bill Gates, the company hires the first employees and launches a new product, its second implementation of the programming language - FORTRAN-80 .
In 1978, the company released another language - COBOL-80 for microprocessors 8080, Z80 and 8085, which complies with ANSI 1974 standards. The first international sales office is being created and Microsoft is earning a million dollars for the first time .
For Microsoft, 1979 was the year of the M6800 versionMicrosoft Basic , which was released this year. The same product was the first software to win the ICP Million Dollar Award . In addition, in 1979, Microsoft BASIC compiler is now available for systems based on the 8080 and Z-80 the CP / M .
1977 year
February 3, 1977
A formal partnership agreement has been signed between Paul Allen and Bill Gates.
July 1, 1977
The company is releasing a second implementation of the programming language, this time FORTRAN-80 , at a price of $ 500 under an individual license, plus OEM licenses are available.
September 13, 1977
Microsoft receives new computers from Commodore , Radio Shack, and Texas Instruments .
September 26, 1977
The company's representative office in Albuquerque is expanding with three more offices in the same building.
November 18, 1977
The company terminates the exclusive license issued by MITS to BASIC and announces versions for the 8080 and Z-80 microprocessors .
1977 Number of Employees and Profit
Profits for 1977 amounted to $ 381,715, the number of employees rose to 9 people.
Other events of 1977
- Tandy Corporation announces the TRS-80® Model 1 microcomputer, which goes on sale for $ 600 with 4K memory;
- Commodore Business Machines Introduces Personal Electronic Transactor (PET);
- dies Elvis Presley, king of rock and roll;
- Star Wars, a high-tech blockbuster from director George Lucas introduces the R2-D2 and C3PO robots.
1978 year
April 11, 1978
The implementation of the programming language COBOL-80 for systems based on microprocessors 8080, Z80 and 8085 , which meets the 1974 ANSI standard, has been announced .
November 1, 1978
The company opens ASCII Microsoft - the first international sales office in Japan.
November 6, 1978
Microsoft announces Microsoft EDIT-80 - a line oriented text editor with random access for systems based on 8080 and Z-80. EDIT-80 is the first editor with random line access to floppy disk files. [from translations: who can translate better - tell me].
December 1, 1978
The company introduces Microsoft Macro-80 for 8080 and Z-80. This 14 kilobyte assembler is becoming the fastest macro assembler on the market with a capacity of 1000 lines per minute.
December 1, 1978
Microsoft announces Microsoft FORTRAN-80 compiler for TRS-80.
Number of Employees and Profit for 1978
Revenues from sales at the end of the year exceeded $ 1 million and amounted to $ 1,355,655. The staff grew to 13 people.
* The account for the Coca-Cola company office in Albuquerque in the calendar year 1978 amounted to $ 566.50.
Other events of 1978
- Intel releases the 8086 chip and launches a 16-bit microprocessor family;
- Senator Al Gore of Tennessee utters the phrase “Freeway Information” at a meeting with representatives of the computer industry;
- Lewis Brown becomes the first child conceived outside the human body, born in Britain;
- The United States bans chlorofluorocarbons chemicals due to their threat to the ozone layer;
- composition Shadow Dancing Andy Gibb headed the Billboard Hot 100 chart for seven weeks.
1979 year
January 1, 1979
The company relocates its office from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Bellevue, Washington.
March 12, 1979
M6800 version of Microsoft Basic has been released.
April 4, 1979
The 8080 version of Microsoft® Basic is the first software to receive the ICP Million Dollar Award.
June 18, 1979
The number of Microsoft BASIC installations for the Z80 and 8080 has reached more than 200,000. A new version of the product for the 16-bit 8086 microprocessor has been released .
August 1, 1979
Announced versions of the Microsoft BASIC compiler for systems 8080 and Z-80 CP / M.
November 29, 1979
Services for the European market will expand with the opening of Vector Microsoft a new company representative located in Gaasrod, Belgium.
December 1, 1979
For systems based on TRS-80 , Level III BASIC is released - the most powerful implementation of BASIC. This product has been released by a new division of Microsoft Consumer Products .
December 3, 1979
Microsoft manufactures the first CODASYL- compliant microprocessor-based database management system.
1979 Number of Employees and Profit
At the end of the year, sales profit was $ 2,390,145. The number of employees has grown to 28 people.
Other events in 1979
- VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet program, introduced at West Coast Computer Faire
- the first CD was created by Philips from the Netherlands and Sony from Japan;
- Margaret Thatcher becomes the first woman elected prime minister of Great Britain;
- Sony introduces the first Walkman and shows the world that technology can be sophisticated and portable.
- The History Of Microsoft 1977 http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/History/The-History-of-Microsoft-1977/
- The History Of Microsoft 1978 http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/History/The-History-of-Microsoft-1978/
- The History Of Microsoft 1979 http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/History/The-History-of-Microsoft-1979/
To be continued.
PS: Microsoft photo for 1978, thanks egge
