Gates And His Company Microsoft example essay topic

William Henry Gates the, is also referred as "The king of Software' he cofounder the Microsoft Corporation, the largest computer software company. Gates is an American business executive officer of Microsoft. He was born in Seattle, Washington on October 28, 1955. He was the second child and only son of William Henry Gates Jr. who was an attorney and former schoolteacher. Bill developed an early interest in computer science and began studying computers in the seventh grade.

By the age of twelve, he was involved with various computer-programming projects thought high school. While attending Harvard in 1975, Gates teamed with Paul Allen to develop a version of the Basic computer programming language for their first personal computer. They both decided they wanted to be at the head of the computer software design industry, when they saw an article in "Popular Electronics' magazine published in 1975 about a three hundred and Fifty-dollar computer. He dropped out of Harvard in 1975, beginning his life as an entrepreneur in computer software. After he left Harvard both Allen and himself developed a programming language for the firs personal computer and the language they called Basic. This led to the formation of Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico but in 1979 they decided to move the company to Seattle to be close to home.

The opportunity of a lifetime came in 1980 when IBM asked Gates to help them with their personal computer project. They needed Gates to write the operating system for the new machines. This is where Gates wrote MS-DOS, and not only did he sell it to IBM but other companies to. Over two million copies were sold in four years and over one hundred million by 1990. He introduced word processing software for PCs called Microsoft Word. He also agreed to develop software for Apple Macintosh before the release of the first Mac in 1984.

Reed College in Portland, Oregon presented Bill the Howard Vellum award in 1984 for his outstanding achievements in the fields of science and technology. In 1985 People magazine named him on their list of most eligible bachelors. Everything is going great for Gates. His company Microsoft has grown from 15 employees and $500,000 in revenues in 1978 to over 17,000 employees and $4.7 billion in revenues for the fiscal year ending in 1994. More than 50 percent of Microsoft's income comes from overseas sales.

In 1987, Gates entered the world of computer driven multimedia when he began promoting CD-ROM technology. CD-ROM is an optical storage medium easily connected to a PC, and a CD-ROM disc has an incredibly large capacity that can store unbelievable amounts of information, and even be used for game interaction and incredible graphics. Gates hoped to be able to use CD-ROM technology to expand his business, he was soon able to and is now a huge success. Microsoft began to evolve its windows technology into increasingly powerful systems. In May 1990 it released Windows 3.0 and followed with 3.1 in April 1992.

Windows software had no boundaries, it could be used on all kinds of computers and it was even marketed for big business. Windows is now currently used in over 15 million computers worldwide. Windows success led to the development of other programs like Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, local network systems that link computers, Microsoft mouse pointing device. Microsoft has also expanded its publishing with Microsoft press, into the development of database software with Microsoft Access, and Fox Pro. In 1990, Gates and his company Microsoft was investigated by the Federal Trade Commission for monopolistic activities, but the FTC dropped the case. In 1994, Microsoft was ordered to change its operating system software was sold and licensed to computer manufacturers but in 1995 a US district judge refused to approve the decision.

In March of 1995, Gates teamed up with DreamWorks to launch a new company called Interactive DreamWorks to create interactive multimedia entertainment programs. In May of 1995 Gates announced an agreement with NBC to develop interactive television. Gates's desire, creativity and competitive nature made him a powerhouse in the computer industry. He achieved his goal, "for there to be a computer in every household. ' He completed his goal created a multi-billion dollar company in the process.

Bill Gates is a role model for all those who have a dream. All he had was an idea and he became one of the most successful entrupenuear of all time.