Portal:Microsoft
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Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions.
Its most profitable products are Microsoft Office, which has come to dominate the commercial office suite market, and the Microsoft Windows operating system, which has achieved near ubiquity in the desktop computer market. The company has also diversified in recent years into the video game industry with the Xbox, its successor, the Xbox 360 and most recently the Xbox One as well as into the consumer electronics and digital services market with Bing, MSN and the Windows Phone OS.
According to recent polls, Microsoft is the most admired company in the world,[1] and products such as Windows are among the most beloved by consumers.[2]
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Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC; also known as Windows DAC) is a framework of interrelated Microsoft technologies that allows programmers a uniform and comprehensive way of developing applications that can access almost any data store. Its components include: ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), OLE DB, and Open Database Connectivity (ODBC). There have been several deprecated components as well, such as the Microsoft Jet Database Engine, MSDASQL (the OLE DB provider for ODBC), and Remote Data Services (RDS). Some components have also become obsolete, such as the former Data Access Objects API and Remote Data Objects. The first version of MDAC was released in August 1996. At that time Microsoft stated MDAC was more a concept than a stand-alone program and had no widespread distribution method. Later Microsoft released upgrades to MDAC as web-based redistributable packages. Eventually, later versions were integrated with Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer, and in MDAC 2.8 SP1 they ceased offering MDAC as a redistributable package. Throughout its history, MDAC has been the subject of several security flaws, which led to attacks such as an escalated privileges attack, although the vulnerabilities were generally fixed in later versions and fairly promptly. The current version is 2.8 service pack 1, but the product has had many different versions and many of its components have been deprecated and replaced by newer Microsoft technologies. MDAC is now known as Windows DAC in Windows Vista.
The Xbox is a video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console market.
- September 30: Microsoft announces the Windows Insider program which allows users to test Windows 10 and provide feedback to Microsoft. Currently their are over 5 million Insiders.
- January 21: HoloLens, the world's first holographic headset is announced and Microsoft announces that Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for customers with Windows 7, Windows 8.1 or Windows Phone 8.1 (excluding enterprise).
- April 29: Microsoft holds their annual developer conference in San Francisco. Some highlights of the event include the name of the Windows 10 browser is announced (Microsoft Edge), iOS and Android (operating system) apps will work with Windows 10 and Continuum, a new feature that allows you to use your phone as a full PC when paired with a mouse, keyboard and monitor.
- May 5: Microsoft launches the Surface 3
- July 29: Windows 10 is launched in 190 countries
- October 6: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 4, Surface Book, Lumia 950, Lumia 950 XL and Band 2.
- October 15: Skype introduces a new feature that allows video calls without an account
- October 26: The flagship Microsoft Store opens in New York City
Bill Gates (correctly William Henry Gates III) (born October 28, 1955 in Seattle, Washington) is the co-founder, chairman, former chief software architect, and former CEO of Microsoft, the world's largest software company. According to Forbes magazine's list of The World Billionaires, he was ranked as the richest person in the world for thirteen consecutive years, and recent estimates put his net worth near $82 billion dollars. When family wealth is considered, his family ranks second behind the Walton family. Gates is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution. Although he is widely respected by people who see his wealth as a product of intelligence and foresight, since amassing his fortune, Gates has pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors, donating large amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000.
- ... that Windows XP's default Bliss wallpaper was taken north of San Francisco in 1996?
- ... that Microsoft's revenues on Microsoft Office are in the range of $250 million USD a week?
- ... that Turing Award winner and long-time Microsoft Research technical fellow Jim Gray was lost at sea during a solo sailing trip?
- ... that Robert Fripp, founding member of King Crimson, helped create the system sounds for Windows Vista?
- ... that brand consultancy Millward Brown Optimor reported in 2006 that "Microsoft" is the most powerful brand name in the world?
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<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>Template:/box-header Software: Windows • Office • Servers • Dynamics • Visual Studio • Money • Encarta • Defender• more…
Technology: Active Directory • DirectX • .NET • Internet Explorer • Microsoft Edge • Windows Media • PlaysForSure • more…
Web properties: Windows Live • Office Live • MSNBC • ninemsn • MSN • Hotmail • Messenger • Spaces • Groups • Live ID • Popfly
Gaming: Microsoft Game Studios • Zone • XNA • Xbox / 360 / One • Xbox Live (Arcade, Marketplace) • Games for Windows • Games for Windows - Live
Hardware: Zune • Keyboard • Natural Keyboard • Mouse • Webcam • MSN TV • SideWinder • Ultra-Mobile PC • Fingerprint • Audio System • Pocket PC • Smartphone • Microsoft Surface • Microsoft HoloLens
Education and recognition: MCPs • MSDN • MSDNAA • MSCA • Microsoft Press • Microsoft MVP • Studies related to Microsoft
Board of directors: Nadella • Cash • Dublon • Gates • Gilmartin • Marquardt • Noski • Panke • Shirley Template:/box-footer
Template:/box-header This portal is about all things Microsoft, from its history to its products to its criticism.
This portal is not an advertisement for Microsoft; it simply summarizes various encyclopedic NPOV (neutral point of view) articles related to Microsoft. Please remove any blatant advertising for Microsoft (or any other individual or company for that matter) in accordance with Wikipedia's policy on advertising.
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WikiProject Microsoft is a group of editors who are willing to improve Wikipedia's coverage of Microsoft Corporation, its technologies, web properties & its people. This WikiProject is brand new and is welcoming editors to help out. Template:/box-footer
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