The History of Microsoft and All Company Products

There is no doubt that the company’s most popular product is its operating system, but the truth is that Microsoft has other very useful and helpful tools such as Office itself. In short, software for both personal and professional use and entertainment.

A little history…

Although I think that any type of presentation is superfluous, Microsoft is a multinational technology company in the IT sector with its headquarters in Redmond, Washington. A company that develops, manufactures, licenses, and provides support for software, personal computers, servers, electronic devices, and services.

If we look back, Microsoft was founded on April 4, 1975 by Paul Allen and Bill Gates with the goal of developing and marketing the BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800, a microcomputer designed in 1974 and based on the 8080 processor from Intel.

In the mid- 1980s , Microsoft and IBM themselves reached an agreement that made it possible to link the Redmond’s operating system with IBM computers. In this way, the computer manufacturer paid the one that would become the software giant for the rights to use each sale.

Five years later, IBM asked Microsoft to develop a new operating system for its computers, which it called OS / 2, but continued to develop its own system, eventually eclipsing the system it had developed for IBM. So much so, that in the 90s Microsoft’s operating system already had 90% of the market share of personal computers worldwide.

From that moment, Microsoft began to expand its line of products dedicated to network and Internet connections, launching the online MSN service on August 24, 1995. A service that became essential for its own online services. company and which also led to the development of Microsoft Password and later Windows Live ID.

The year 1998 was a great year for the company, as it was the time of the launch of Windows 98, a version that already arrived with Internet Explorer and that has been one of the great references for years. That same year they also announced future versions of windows NT. Windows XP arrived in 2001, specifically in the month of October, and we had to wait 5 more years for the arrival of Windows Vista.

In 2007 , Office 2007 was released to the public and two years later, in October 2009, the launch of Windows 7 arrived, another of the most popular versions of Microsoft’s operating system. In just three years, 2012 , Redmond’s launched Windows 8, which had a new version 8.1 just one year later, and in 2015 (July 29) it was the famous launch of Windows 10 for free through an update for Windows 7. , 8 and 8.1.

Microsoft products and services

There is no doubt that Microsoft’s main product is its operating system, Windows 10, and the office suite, Microsoft Office. However, those in Redmond have many other products and services.

Windows 10

The latest version of Microsoft’s operating system is Windows 10, however, there are different versions of the system:

• Windows 10 Home: It is the most basic and economic version if we talk about buying a license. Now, it has all the common characteristics of the system. The only thing that offers some limitations when buying OEM or Retail licenses and that the maximum RAM is 4G in 32 bits and 128 GB in 64 bits.
• Windows 10 Pro: Includes everything from the Home edition, but allows you to buy licenses by volume and the maximum memory for 64-bit RAM is 512 GB. It also has Hyper-V, Bitlocker and EFS or the possibility of using Remote Desktop as client and server, in addition to other features focused on the business environment.
• Windows 10 Education: As its name suggests, it is the version of the system focused on education and schools. The licenses are distributed by volume, so they cannot be purchased individually and, in addition, it has a series of tools specially designed for this environment.
• Versions N: N means that they are versions that do not have any multimedia player installed by default.

Microsoft Office and Office 365

The way to acquire the Microsoft suite is through the purchase of a license or through an Office 365 subscription, although the version of the office suite for students, Office 365 Education, is also available . If we choose the first one, the payment is unique for all the tools included in the suite, while if we opt for the Office 365 subscription, the payment will be in monthly installments, but in exchange we will always have the latest version of all the tools .

In the case of Office 365 Education, both students and educators can access this version that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Microsoft Teams, as well as other additional tools for the classroom, for free as long as they have an address of valid email.

Among the Office applications and Office 365 products we find:

• Outlook: It is the email client for Windows and Mac operating systems. It allows us to have all our emails, calendar and contacts in one place.
• Word: Microsoft word processor available for Windows and Mac. It offers all kinds of tools to edit or create text documents, grammar and spelling utilities, etc.
• Excel: Spreadsheet program that allows us to carry out all kinds of calculations and also contains graphics tools, dynamic tables and support for macro programming languages, also compatible with Windows and Mac. A complete tool to convert data into information .
• Powerpoint: It is the famous program within Office to create presentations both in Windows and Mac environment. It offers all kinds of elements to create animations of all kinds in a simple way.
• OneDrive: is the tool for cloud storage of all types of files. A place to store everything that we do not want to lose and that we want to always have on hand, share, etc.
• OneNote: It is a tool for taking notes freely and also available for Windows and Mac. A tool to organize ourselves in notepads that we can divide at will to have all our notes always at hand and organize ourselves.

• Sharepoint: Tool designed for sharing and continuous collaboration. Boost teamwork with dynamic and productive team sites where you need to share files, data, news and resources.
• Microsoft Teams: It is another tool that offers real-time collaboration with Office and also has other functions and integrated utilities such as searches and chats, video calls, file storage in the cloud and much more.
• Access (only for pc): An application that allows us to create our own database applications in different formats according to the needs of each one.
• Bookings: As its own name indicates, it is a great tool to access our favorite reservation page, receive the confirmation email, schedule appointments, specify all the details and also has all kinds of confirmations and notices to have it well controlled and we don’t forget anything.
• Exchange: Although it is one of the most used products or services in the professional world, Exchange is the Microsoft tool to have our business class email and the calendar or agenda of our work in the same place.
• Yammer: Microsoft tool designed to improve participation and communication in the company. It allows you to create communities of interest, gather ideas and comments, keep an entire team informed, etc.
• MyAnalytics: MyAnalitics allows us to analyze all our work patterns to discover the smartest way to improve our productivity. It offers suggestions obtained with artificial intelligence technologies to help improve productivity in Microsoft 365.
• Planner: A tool to end the chaos that involves organizing the work of a whole team of people in order to make it as productive as possible. Lets you create plans, organize and assign tasks, keep daily progress updated, share files or chat with teammates.
• PowerApps: It has been developed by Microsoft as a solution to different business challenges. Allows you to create applications and workflows to simplify the most complex processes in the business world as much as possible and help increase productivity.
• Power BI : As its name suggests, it is a Business Intelligence tool that allows obtaining all kinds of data for analysis. It allows you to use intelligent tools to obtain results in an always safe and reliable way.
• Project: Microsoft Project is a great utility to keep all our projects under control. Plan all the tasks of a team, assign them, set the time for their development, create milestones and know at all times if the project is progressing within the established deadlines or what tasks are delaying it to avoid surprises.
• Publisher (for pc only): Publisher has been created by those of Redmond with the aim of making it easy to design unique and specialized materials for any purpose. Design text, images, borders, calendars and much more with precision with Publisher.
• Skype for Business: Lets you use Skype for Business servers for calls, instant messaging and also integrate it with Microsoft Teams for meetings.
• Sway: It is a modern application with which we can create and share all kinds of interactive reports, personal stories, presentations, etc. It allows you to express any idea in a very personal way in the form of presentations, projects, resumes, etc.
• To Do: Microsoft To Do is one of the most popular and widely used to-do list tools. A way to create all our daily tasks in a simple way and always have them at hand.
• Visio: A way of working visually. It allows you to easily and intuitively draw all kinds of flow diagrams, organization charts, floor plans, engineering designs and much more.
• Whiteboard: As its name suggests, it is an infinite digital canvas where we can gather and expose all kinds of ideas, content and actors. A collaborative whiteboard to organize and design everything we need.

In the business environment

In addition to all the Office 365 products specially created for the business environment, such as Microsoft Project, Power BI, PowerApps, Visio, Planner, MyAnalytics, etc., Microsoft also has another series of products and services in this environment, such as:

• SQL Server: It is the relational database management system developed by Microsoft. It supports stored procedures, transactions, it has a graphical environment, it allows working in client-server mode, managing information from other data servers, etc.
• Visual Studio: Allows you to create applications for Windows, Android and iOS. A tool designed for developers of all kinds of applications in different environments and operating systems.
• Windows Server: An operating system prepared for the cloud and available in different versions depending on the number of users and devices or the need for remote user connections.
• Microsoft Azure: It is a set of cloud services in constant expansion to help companies meet all their business needs. It allows you to create, manage and deploy applications on a global network with its tools and frameworks.
• Microsoft Dynamics 365: The cloud suite that contains Microsoft CRM and ERP and that also includes a set of office and collaborative tools, in addition to Microsoft Business Intelligence.
• Microsoft 365: Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise is a subscription service that brings together the best of Office 365 productivity in the cloud. It allows you to manage devices and protect yourself against all kinds of threats to offer a useful and secure tool to the business world.
• Microsoft Advertising: It is the Microsoft platform designed to drive ads in search results in Microsoft Search NetWork. Companies bid to position an ad among search results so that they appear next to results that are not paid when users search for topics related to our business.

Entertainment

• Xbox Game Pass: Subscription service that gives unlimited access to more than 100 high-quality games, new exclusive titles for Xbox since its launch, offers, discounts, etc. However, it does not allow you to play the online modes without also having Live Gold.
• Xbox Live Gold: Subscription service that allows access to online multiplayer and that also includes several titles every month.
• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: It combines the two aforementioned services, therefore, it allows access to Game Pass games and also to the online mode of Live Gold.
• Store with games for Xbox: It has a wide catalog of games for XboxOne new releases, more popular, improved for Xbox One, on sale, etc.
• Shop with PC games: Free and paid games for PC. It offers a wide catalog of all kinds of games to enjoy from the computer.
• Shop with games and apps for Windows 10: In it we can find all kinds of games and programs for Windows 10, free and paid.
• Movies and TV: Microsoft also has its own store for movies and television shows where we can find the best-selling movies and shows, all kinds of titles organized by genres, etc.

Microsoft hardware

Although as we have already indicated it is known as the software giant, Microsoft also has its own devices in what is known as the Surface family, laptops, 2-in-1, etc. Computers designed for all the needs of users, with Windows 10 and with the latest hardware to offer the best performance. In the Surface product catalog we find: Surface Pro X, S urface Pro 7, Surface Pro 6, Surface Laptop 3, Surface Laptop 2, Surface Go, Surface Book 2 or Surface Studio 2.

In the entertainment section, everyone knows the game consoles from Microsoft, Xbox One X and Xbox One S. In this sense, Microsoft also offers its own controls and all kinds of accessories for customization, headphones, multimedia controls, etc.