1975: Childhood friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen launch Microsoft along with the computer language Altair Basic, the first aimed at personal computers.

1980: IBM awards a historic contract to Microsoft, which leads to the creation of the MS-DOS operating system, which will become the dominant PC platform. Ballmer joins as the 30th employee.

1983: Paul Allen quits Microsoft.

1985: Launch of Windows, a graphically based version of MS-DOS.

1986: Microsoft's IPO makes Gates one of the world's richest individuals.

1990: Launch of Microsoft Office. US antitrust officials begin an investigation of Microsoft as a monopoly, which leads to a decade of legal battles.

1995: Microsoft moves to adapt to the Internet, launches Windows 95.

2000: Ballmer becomes CEO. The European Commission launches its own antitrust case against Microsoft.

2001: Microsoft settles its US antitrust case, averting a breakup. The Xbox game console is launched.

2008: Gates exits the day-to-day operations of Microsoft to concentrate on his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

2009: Bing search is launched.

2010: Microsoft launches its first smartphone operating system, Windows Phone.

2011: Microsoft completes its acquisition of the popular messaging service Skype for $8.5 billion.

2012: Windows 8 is released, along with Surface, the new Microsoft-branded tablet. Microsoft buys the Yammer social network for $1.2 billion.

2013: Ballmer announces he will retire by mid-2014

- AFP

(China Daily 08/26/2013 page10)