Live Coverage of Microsoft’s 50th Anniversary Copilot Event: Stay Updated on the Latest AI Developments and a Retrospective of Windows, Xbox, and Memorable Company Milestones

The Birth of Microsoft

On April 4, 1975, Microsoft was established by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico, specifically in a two-car garage. You might be curious about the origin of the name Microsoft.

The name was inspired by a cover of Popular Electronics magazine.

In the January 1975 edition, there was a detailed examination of the Altair 8800, featuring the Intel 8080 microprocessor, which is an 8-bit processor with a clock speed of 2MHz, coupled with 256 bytes of RAM and an 8-inch floppy disk drive.

Gates and Allen aimed to develop software for this computer. Hence, Microprocessors combined with Software resulted in the name Microsoft—which, at times, was stylized as Micro-Soft.

Assessing the Cringe Factor

On a cringe scale, I’m giving this moment a rating of 1 out of 5. Aside from the hairstyles from that era (which I myself sported at one point), there’s actually nothing too embarrassing about Microsoft’s early branding. That logo has a nostalgic appeal, and I believe it’d be refreshing to see a resurgence of this design style in today’s branding.

Celebrating a Milestone

Now that we’ve highlighted a significant milestone, let’s dive deeper into what this lengthy journey looks like for Microsoft over the past 50 years. From software innovations to transformative technologies, there’s plenty to discuss.

Before getting into the major announcements, let’s have some light-hearted fun. If you caught my live blog on April Fools’ Day, you might find it amusing that I’m a bit of a critic when it comes to distinguishing what’s truly worth celebrating and what comes off as cringe-worthy. So, get ready for a playful take on some of Microsoft’s key moments in their history with a cringe rating system. Things are about to get interesting!