10 Fun Facts About Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation. It is the world’s largest software maker measured by revenues. It is also one of the world’s most valuable companies. Despite being tough fights and competition from Apple and Google and ever-increasing Mac sales. Microsoft still stands as the first choice of most people and has an undisputed dominance over the computer industry. So, most people are always passionate to know about Microsoft, its people, Bill Gates and road map. For those people who are itching to know more here are a few amazing fun facts about Microsoft, which you would love to know.
1. It was “Micro-soft” First ever mentioned
Bill Gates named his company Microsoft mentioning in a letter to Paul Allen. But he wrote it as “Micro-soft” which was the combination of the words “microcomputer” and “software”. It was registered in November 1976 in New Mexico where Gates and Allen were working for their first big customer, MITS. Then Microsoft moved to Redmond, Washington in 1986. Another interesting fact is that the windows were supposed to be called “The Interface Manager”. The logo of Microsoft has also evolved throughout the year and the initial logo used to carry the design “o” was influenced by the name of a burger that used to serve in Microsoft Cafeteria.
2. The first Microsoft tune by Brian Eno
When the Windows 95 is booting then the sound is heard which was created by the pioneering musician Brian Eno. He worked with U2 and David Bowie told San Francisco Chronicle that it was a very funny and amazing sort piece of music like The Microsoft Sound. “Start Me Up” from the Rolling Stones is also used in Windows 95. He also composed the music Spore computer game.
3. Pizza – The Microsoft’s favorite food
Maybe it sounds similar, but pizza is the most preferred food in Microsoft’s biggest cafeteria. Each year in the Microsoft campus shuttle more than 25 million drinks (Milk and Orange juice) are offered for free even candy also. Although it cannot be compared with Google regarding food, however, Microsoft has around 35 cafeterias serving more than 37,000 people each day and pizza is the most favourite and popular meal on the menu, which tops on the list.
4. Anniversaries with M&M candy
Like in many big companies, Microsoft also follows its own set of culture and tradition which is set by Bill Gates. It’s customary for “Softies” (Employee of Microsoft) to celebrate their M&M anniversary with M&M candy each year. The entire Microsoft employee is expected to bring one pound of M&M candies for each year they have worked. It became a habit for the employees to celebrate anniversaries with M&M candy. Most interesting is that for Bill Gates, he has to come up with a total of at least 39 pounds of M&M candy as of 2014.
5. Microsoft uses Code Names
From the release of its first operating system, Microsoft uses the code names which can be found in Wikipedia. It always addresses its entire project by some codenames. It seems that due to the convinced by an employee, Bill Gates dropped his idea of the name Interface Manager and changes it to Windows. Longhorn, Lone Star and Vienna are some precious codes among all the codes. A marketing exercise, “The Mojave Experiment” was also created to battle against the poor PR of Vista.
6. Massive Art Gallery
As we all know that artwork is creative thinking that reduces stress and encourages creating very creative things. Microsoft apparently bought that theory into action because it owns a huge collection of art in the whole world. It has more than 5,000 pieces of contemporary art like photographs, ceramics, portraits, sculpture, painting, work on paper, multimedia, etc. It collects art from both big names, local and newcomers’ artists. About more than 150 Microsoft’s many campuses display all these collections.
7. The Average Softie
Currently, more than 88,000 employees are working in Microsoft Company out of which 50,000 are U.S based. Among them 76% of employees are male. In Microsoft Company most of the employees are near to the age of 38 and they all call themselves as “Softie”. Their average salary is $108.000 per year and they all are working as a developer.
8. Ask Strange and Weird Interview Questions
Microsoft has a very strange tradition of asking a very weird and offbeat question during an interview. Mostly it asks you the non-IT type of question to check your creativity and logic and also to session whether they can sustain in the company in any type of format or not. Some popular questions are given below:
- Why is a manhole cover always round?
- Design a coffee maker that will be used by astronauts?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
9. Stock of Microsoft Split 9 Times
When any companies get valued very high then their stock split very highly. It is also very difficult to do business with such a high valued share cost. Since Microsoft has published in 1986, its stock has been split 9 times when its share price becomes very high. Since then it has split with ratios 2:1 and 3:1, today Microsoft’s one share would be now equal to 288 shares. Interestingly $21 a share is a price offer to the initial public by Microsoft and at the time of writing a share is now around $23.
10. Over 10,000 Patents owns by Microsoft
In the United States, Microsoft is in the top 5 Patent owners with over 10,000 patents and keeps filing around 3,000 each year. Although a large percentage of the patents relate to the software elements, the 5,000th and 10,000th were easily understandable, consumer-friendly ideas. The 5,000th was for watching a video game remotely and 10,000th was for Microsoft surface. &1,5oo bonus, a plague, and a decorative black cube for their desk are also rewarded its staff for securing a new patent.
