History of Microsoft CorporationAmerican Microsoft Corporation is a multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, specializing in the development, manufacturing, licensing, support, and sale of computer software. It is probably best known for producing software such as the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems and the Internet Explorer Web browser. Its leading hardware products include the Xbox line of gaming consoles. Microsoft is currently the largest software manufacturer in the world in terms of revenue and for this reason it is also one of the most valuable companies in the world. The company was created by childhood friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Gates and Allen began developing and selling BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. Their passion for computer programming allowed them to succeed in the industry, and by the mid-1980s, Microsoft dominated the market for personal computer operating systems with the revolutionary MS-DOS, followed by Microsoft Windows. From the 1990s onwards, Microsoft gradually expanded from the operating system market and delved into acquisitions of other companies, such as in 2011 when they purchased Skype Technologies, a telecommunications company for $8.5 billion. Microsoft is currently dominant in the IBM PC-compatible operating system market and also the office software markets with their ever-popular Microsoft Office program. Microsoft also produces a wide range of additional software for desktop computers and servers and is involved in several areas such as competing with Google in the Internet search market with Bing, challenging market dominance in the video game industry... middle of paper. .....different.Works CitedMicrosoft News Center, . NP Network. February 2, 2014.Grandy, C. (1993). JSTOR: The Journal of Economic History. (2 ed., vol. 53). London: Cambridge University Press.Wasserman, E. (1998, November 17). Gates' testimony makes the judge laugh in court. Excerpt from Gates' deposition makes judge laugh in courtLenard, TM, & Eisenach, JA (2000, April 4). The Microsoft monopoly: the facts, the law and the remedy. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from http://www.pff.org/issues-pubs/pops/pop7.4microsoftmonopolyfacts.htmlWilliams, W. (2014, January 11). Still think Internet Explorer sucks? Microsoft wants you to "rethink" this opinion. BetaNews. Retrieved April 16, 2014, from http://betanews.com/2014/01/22/still-think-internet-explorer-sucks-microsoft-wants-you-to-rethink-that-opinion/