1
Microsoft Corporation
Research Paper
GEB1011
Every day some aspect of our personal, professional, or educational life is dependent on
using a computer. With just a few taps, we are on the Internet and connected to virtually a world
of information. Back in the 1970s, the very idea that computers would be in every school, office,
and home was beyond the imagination of most people. However, Bill Gates saw the computer
age coming and realized technological innovation was a way to change the world.
In 1975, Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard and formed a start-up with his high school
friend and programming genius Paul Allen. Microsoft’s first software program was BASIC
which quickly caught on due to Gates’ aggressive marketing to software programmers. With the
success of BASIC, they expanded into development of other computer languages. Three years
after starting Microsoft, year-end sales exceeded $1 million (Kreit & Wanke, n.d.). The business
was getting so large that Gates decided to bring in his former Harvard roommate Steve Ballmer
to handle some of the business operations. Ballmer had worked for Proctor & Gamble for three
