History of the company, part 1: 1975-1976
- Transfer
This is the first part of a translation of a series of articles from channel9.msdn.com telling about the history of Microsoft. I think many will find for themselves a lot of new and interesting things. If you did not know that Microsoft made its first million long before the advent of DOS, if you did not know that Microsoft released a UNIX-based operating system, then this cycle is for you.
Thirty-four years ago, a nineteen-year-old boy and his twenty-two-year-old friend and business partner sold their first program to a small company based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The program was called BASIC and it was the start of a company that we know under the name Microsoft.1975 year
January 1, 1975
A MITS Altair 8800 computer image appears on the cover of Popular Electronics magazine . The magazine article inspires Paul Allen and Bill Gates to develop the BASIC language for Altair.
February 1, 1975
Bill Gates and Paul Allen complete Altair BASIC and sell it to Microsoft’s first MITS client in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This was the first implementation of a programming language for a personal computer.
March 1, 1975
Paul Allen becomes MITS Software Director.
April 7, 1975
The description supplied with MITS Computer begins with the “Altair BASIC - Up and Running” section.
July 1, 1975
BASIC v2.0 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen is officially sold in two editions: for 4Kb memory and for 8Kb memory.
July 22, 1975
Paul Allen and Bill Gates sign a MITS licensing agreement for the Basic interpreter. The name Microsoft has not yet been chosen and an agreement has not yet been concluded with Microsoft.
July 29, 1975
In a letter to Paul Allen, Bill Gates uses the name “Micro-soft” to denote their partnership. This is the earliest known mention of the name.
December 31, 1975
Sales for 1975 are equivalent to $ 16,000, as described in Form 1065 US Partnership Return of Income.
1976 year
February 3, 1976
Bill Gates, the first programmer in history to raise the issue of software piracy. In an open letter, “An Open Letter to Hobbyists,” which was attached to the description of the computer, Gates reproached software enthusiasts for stealing good programs in this way.
March 27, 1976
Bill Gates delivers an opening address at the First Annual World Altair Computer Convention, which was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
April 1976
The first official employee of the company becomes Marc McDonald. Other people previously worked on Microsoft products, but on a contract basis.
July 1976
The company's first ad appears in the Digital Design magazine .
November 1, 1976
Paul Allen leaves MITS to join Microsoft.
November 26, 1976
Microsoft is registered with the Office of the Secretary in New Mexico.
September 1, 1976
Microsoft is renting office space at Two Park Central Tower Building at 300 San Mateo Blvd, NE, Suite 819, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Number of Employees and Profit for 1976
In the calendar year 1976, the number of Microsoft employees reached six. Revenues totaled $ 22,496.
Other events of 1976
- the company Shugart introduced the 5.25-inch magnetic disk drive for $ 390, the first microcomputer;
- Three new magazines launched: Byte , Computer Graphics and Art, and Dr. Dobb's Journal of Computer Calisthenics and Orthodontia;
- USA celebrates bicentennial of independence;
- Viking spacecraft landed on Mars and sent detailed photographs of the rocky and desert surface of the planet.
- The History Of Microsoft 1975 http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/History/The-History-of-Microsoft-1975/
- The History Of Microsoft 1976 http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/History/The-History-of-Microsoft-1976/
To be continued.