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Microsoft boots up
Gates and Allen form a partnership called Microsoft -
Steve Ballmer hired to help run the company
two years after the initial announcement, Microsoft ships Windows 1.0. -
More windows, more speed
Microsoft releases Windows 2.0 with desktop icons and expanded memory. With improved graphics support, you can now overlap windows, control the screen layout, and use keyboard shortcuts to speed up your work. -
Getting the graphics
Microsoft announces Windows 3.0, followed shortly by Windows 3.1 in 1992. Taken together, they sell 10 million copies in their first 2 years, making this the most widely used Windows operating system yet. -
Windows NT
Microsoft meets an important milestone: the completion of a project begun in the late 1980s to build an advanced new operating system from scratch. -
the PC comes of age
Microsoft releases Windows 95, selling a record-setting 7 million copies in the first five weeks -
Catching the Internet wave
the first version of Internet Explorer is released. -
Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me
Windows 98 is the first version of Windows designed specifically for consumers. With Windows 98, you can find information more easily on your PC as well as the Internet. -
Stable, usable, and fast
Windows XP is released with a redesigned look and feel that's centered on usability and a unified Help and Support services center. It’s available in 25 languages. It’s both fast and stable. Navigating the Start menu, taskbar, and Control Panel are more intuitive.
