Interesting Facts About Microsoft That You Probably Didn't Know

• Microsoft didn't make MS-DOS, their original Operating System. TweetThis
  
  They licensed the software  for 86-DOS (aka Quick and Dirty DOS) from Seattle Computer Products, reworked it and then renamed it.

• Microsoft is involved in near-continual legal battles. TweetThis
  
  A large portion of their legal woes for the last decade centered around monopoly-like business practices that illegally blocked competition.

• At Microsoft, they like to mix work with pleasure.
  
  Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder, was a childhood friend of Bill Gates. TweetThis
  
  Founder Bill Gates married Microsoft employee Melinda French. TweetThis
  
  Steve Ballmer, the second Microsoft CEO, was a Harvard class-mate of Bill Gates. He was Microsoft's 24th employee. TweetThis

• Chujwamwdupe, a hacker, published attack codes after Microsoft refused to credit him for finding software vulnerabilities. TweetThis
  
  Microsoft usually credits hackers by their online handle, but "chujwamwdupe" is a sexually explicit term in Polish, and Microsoft was uncomfortable with this graphic name.

• Microsoft was originally called Micro-soft. TweetThis
  
  They removed the hyphen in 1976. Microsoft is a combination of the words "microcomputer" and "software".

• Microsoft's total revenue in it's first year was $ 16,000. TweetThis
  
  In 1989, just four years later, they made $ 1 million.

• Windows was originally called Interface-Manager. TweetThis
  
  Fortuantely, the marketing department stepped in.

• WinVer 1.4, the first Windows Virus was unleashed in 1992. TweetThis

• Jim Allchin, a former Microsoft executive who retired the day Microsoft Vista was released to the public, felt that Microsoft had lost it's way with Windows Vista. TweetThis
  
  He claimed that he would have purchased a Mac had he not been working for Microsoft.

• Microsoft had made Bill Gates a billionaire by age 31. TweetThis
  
  He was knighted by the Queen of England in 2005.

• 2009 was the first year in 23 years that Microsoft reported a quarterly drop in revenue. TweetThis

• Microsoft has more than 10,000 patents. TweetThis
  
  They are one of the top five U.S. patent holders and file about 3,000 every year.

•  Microsoft is one of the biggest corporate collectors of contemporary artwork. TweetThis
  
  They have over 5,000 pieces. Their collection includes works by Cindy Sherman, Chuck Close and Takashi Murakami.

•  It's a Microsoft tradition to celebrate events with M&M Candies. TweetThis

• Microsoft interviewees are asked unusual questions like "Why are manholes round?" TweetThis
  
  They are also asked to design products that Microsoft isn't going to produce, like a coffee maker for astronauts. Microsoft uses these unique questions to gauge their creativity.

• Temporary Microsoft employees are given an email address with a dash (-) before the at (@) symbol. TweetThis
  
  Permanent employees refer to them as "Dash-Trash".
  
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