Computer

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Computer

A computer is a general purpose device that can be programmed to carry out a finite set of arithmetic or logical operations. Since a sequence of operations can be readily changed, the computer can solve more than one kind of problem. Conventionally, a computer consists of at least one processing element and some form of memory. The processing element carries out arithmetic and logic operations, and a sequencing and control unit that can change the order of operations based on stored information. Peripheral devices allow information to be retrieved from an external source, and the result of operations saved and retrieved. The first electronic digital computers were developed between 1940 and 1945 in the United Kingdom and United States. Originally they were the size of a large room, consuming as much power as several hundred modern personal computers (PCs).[1] In this eramechanical analog computers were used for military applications. Modern computers based on integrated circuits are millions to billions of times more capable than the early machines, and occupy a fraction of the space.[2] Simple computers are small enough to fit into mobile devices, and mobile computers can be powered by small batteries. Personal computers in their various forms are icons of the Information Age and are what most people think of as "computers". However, the embedded

computers found in many devices from mp3 players to fighter aircraft and from toys toindustrial robots are the most numerous.
Contents
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1 History of computing

o o o o

1.1 Limited-function early computers 1.2 First general-purpose computers 1.3 Stored-program architecture 1.4 Semiconductors and microprocessors

2 Programs

o o o o

2.1 Stored program architecture 2.2 Bugs 2.3 Machine code 2.4 Programming language

2.4.1 Low-level languages 2.4.2 Higher-level languages

2.5 Program design

3 Components

o o o o o o o o

3.1 Control unit 3.2 Arithmetic logic unit (ALU) 3.3 Memory 3.4 Input/output (I/O) 3.5 Multitasking 3.6 Multiprocessing 3.7 Networking and the Internet 3.8 Computer architecture paradigms

4 Misconceptions

4.1 Required technology

5 Further topics

o o

5.1 Artificial intelligence 5.2 Hardware

5.2.1 History of computing hardware 5.2.2 Other hardware topics

o o o

5.3 Software 5.4 Languages 5.5 Professions and organizations

6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links

History of computing

The Jacquard loom, on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, England, was one of the first programmable devices.

Main article: History of computing hardware The first use of the word "computer" was recorded in 1613, referring to a person who carried out calculations, or computations, and the word continued with the same meaning until the middle of the 20th century. From the end of the 19th century the word began to take on its more familiar meaning, a machine that carries out computations.[3]
Limited-function early computers

The history of the modern computer begins with two separate technologies, automated calculation and programmability, but no single device can be identified as the earliest computer, partly because of the inconsistent application of that term. A few devices are worth mentioning though, like some mechanical aids to computing, which were very successful and survived for centuries until the advent of the electronic calculator, like the Sumerian abacus, designed around 2500 BC[4] of which a descendant won a speed competition against a modern desk calculating machine in Japan in 1946,[5] the slide rules, invented in the 1620s, which were carried on five Apollo space missions, including to the moon[6] and arguably the astrolabe and the Antikythera

mechanism, an ancient astronomical computer built by the Greeks around 80 BC.[7] The Greek mathematician Hero of Alexandria (c. 1070 AD) built a mechanical theater which performed a play lasting 10 minutes and was operated by a complex system of ropes and drums that might be considered to be a means of deciding which parts of the mechanism performed which actions and when.[8] This is the essence of programmability. Around the end of the 10th century, the French monk Gerbert d'Aurillac brought back from Spain the drawings of a machine invented by the Moors that answered either Yes or No to the questions it was asked.[9] Again in the 13th century, the monks Albertus Magnus and Roger Bacon built talking androidswithout any further development (Albertus Magnus complained that he had wasted forty years of his life when Thomas Aquinas, terrified by his machine, destroyed it).[10] In 1642, the Renaissance saw the invention of the mechanical calculator,[11] a device that could perform all four arithmetic operations without relying on human intelligence.[12] The mechanical calculator was at the root of the development of computers in two separate ways. Initially, it was in trying to develop more powerful and more flexible calculators[13] that the computer was first theorized by Charles Babbage[14][15] and then developed.[16] Secondly, development of a low-cost electronic calculator, successor to the mechanical calculator, resulted in the development byIntel[17] of the first commercially available microprocessor integrated circuit.
First general-purpose computers

In 1801, Joseph Marie Jacquard made an improvement to the textile loom by introducing a series of punched paper cards as a template which allowed his loom to weave intricate patterns automatically. The resulting Jacquard loom was an important step in the development of computers because the use of punched cards to define woven patterns can be viewed as an early, albeit limited, form of programmability.

The Most Famous Image in the Early History of Computing[18]

This portrait of Jacquard was woven in silk on a Jacquard loom and required 24,000 punched cards to create (1839). It was only produced to order. Charles Babbage owned one of these portraits ; it inspired him in using perforated cards in his analytical engine[19]

The Zuse Z3, 1941, considered the world's first working programmable, fully automatic computing machine.

It was the fusion of automatic calculation with programmability that produced the first recognizable computers. In 1837, Charles Babbage was the first to conceptualize and design a fully programmablemechanical computer, his analytical engine.[20] Limited finances and Babbage's inability to resist tinkering with the design meant that the device was never completednevertheless his son, Henry Babbage, completed a simplified version of the analytical engine's computing unit (the mill) in 1888. He gave a successful demonstration of its use in computing tables in 1906. This machine was given to the Science museum in South Kensington in 1910.

In the late 1880s, Herman Hollerith invented the recording of data on a machine-readable medium. Earlier uses of machine-readable media had been for control, not data. "After some initial trials with paper tape, he settled on punched cards ..."[21] To process these punched cards he invented the tabulator, and thekeypunch machines. These three inventions were the foundation of the modern information processing industry. Large-scale automated data processing of punched cards was performed for the 1890 United States Census by Hollerith's company, which later became the core of IBM. By the end of the 19th century a number of ideas and technologies, that would later prove useful in the realization of practical computers, had begun to appear: Boolean algebra, thevacuum tube (thermionic valve), punched cards and tape, and the teleprinter. During the first half of the 20th century, many scientific computing needs were met by increasingly sophisticated analog computers, which used a direct mechanical or electrical model of the problem as a basis for computation. However, these were not programmable and generally lacked the versatility and accuracy of modern digital computers. Alan Turing is widely regarded as the father of modern computer science. In 1936 Turing provided an influential formalisation of the concept of thealgorithm and computation with the Turing machine, providing a blueprint for the electronic digital computer.[22] Of his role in the creation of the modern computer, Time magazine in naming Turing one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, states: "The fact remains that everyone who taps at a keyboard, opening a spreadsheet or a word-processing program, is working on an incarnation of a Turing machine".[22]

The ENIAC, which became operational in 1946, is considered to be the first general-purpose electronic computer.

EDSAC was one of the first computers to implement the stored-program (von Neumann) architecture.

The AtanasoffBerry Computer (ABC) was the world's first electronic digital computer, albeit notprogrammable.[23] Atanasoff is considered to be one of the fathers of the computer.[24] Conceived in 1937 by Iowa State College physics professor John Atanasoff, and built with the assistance of graduate studentClifford Berry,[25] the machine was not programmable, being designed only to solve systems of linear equations. The computer did employ parallel computation. A 1973 court ruling in a patent dispute found that the patent for the 1946 ENIAC computer derived from the AtanasoffBerry Computer. The first program-controlled computer was invented by Konrad Zuse, who built the Z3, an electromechanical computing machine, in 1941.[26] The first programmable electronic computer was the Colossus, built in 1943 by Tommy Flowers. George Stibitz is internationally recognized as a father of the modern digital computer. While working at Bell Labs in November 1937, Stibitz invented and built a relay-based calculator he dubbed the "Model K" (for "kitchen table", on which he had assembled it), which was the first to use binarycircuits to perform an arithmetic operation. Later models added greater sophistication including complex arithmetic and programmability.[27] A succession of steadily more powerful and flexible computing devices were constructed in the 1930s and 1940s, gradually adding the key features that are seen in modern computers. The use of digital electronics (largely invented by Claude Shannon in 1937) and more flexible programmability were vitally important steps, but defining one point along this road as "the first digital electronic computer" is difficult. Shannon 1940 Notable achievements include:

Konrad Zuse's electromechanical "Z machines". The Z3 (1941) was the first working machine featuring binary arithmetic, including floating point arithmetic and a measure of programmability. In 1998 the Z3 was proved to be Turing complete, therefore being the world's first operational computer.[28]

The non-programmable AtanasoffBerry Computer (commenced in 1937, completed in 1941) which used vacuum tube based computation, binary numbers, and regenerative capacitor memory. The use of regenerative memory allowed it to be much more compact than its peers (being approximately the size of a large desk or workbench), since intermediate results could be stored and then fed back into the same set of computation elements.

The secret British Colossus computers (1943),[29] which had limited programmability but demonstrated that a device using thousands of tubes could be reasonably reliable and electronically reprogrammable. It was used for breaking German wartime codes.

The Harvard Mark I (1944), a large-scale electromechanical computer with limited programmability.[30] The U.S. Army's Ballistic Research Laboratory ENIAC (1946), which used decimal arithmetic and is sometimes called the first general purposeelectronic computer (since Konrad Zuse's Z3 of 1941 used electromagnets instead of electronics). Initially, however, ENIAC had an inflexible architecture which essentially required rewiring to change its programming.

Stored-program architecture
This section does not cite anyreferences or sources. (July

2012)

Several developers of ENIAC, recognizing its flaws, came up with a far more flexible and elegant design, which came to be known as the "stored-program architecture" or von Neumann architecture. This design was first formally described by John von Neumann in the paper First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC, distributed in 1945. A number of projects to develop computers based on the stored-program architecture commenced around this time, the first of which was completed in 1948 at the University of Manchester in England, the Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine (SSEM or "Baby"). The Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC), completed a year after the SSEM at Cambridge University, was the first practical, nonexperimental implementation of the stored-program design and was put to use immediately for research work at the university. Shortly thereafter, the machine originally described by von Neumann's paperEDVACwas completed but did not see full-time use for an additional two years. Nearly all modern computers implement some form of the stored-program architecture, making it the single trait by which the word "computer" is now defined. While the technologies used in computers have changed dramatically since the first electronic, general-purpose computers of the 1940s, most still use the von Neumann architecture.

Die of an Intel 80486DX2 microprocessor(actual size: 126.75 mm) in its packaging.

Beginning in the 1950s, Soviet scientists Sergei Sobolev and Nikolay Brusentsov conducted research on ternary computers, devices that operated on a base three numbering system of 1, 0, and 1 rather than the conventional binary numbering system upon which most computers are based. They designed the Setun, a functional ternary computer, at Moscow State University. The device was put into limited production in the Soviet Union, but supplanted by the more common binary architecture.
Semiconductors and microprocessors

Computers using vacuum tubes as their electronic elements were in use throughout the 1950s, but by the 1960s had been largely replaced bysemiconductor transistor-based machines, which were smaller, faster, cheaper to produce, required less power, and were more reliable. The first transistorised computer was demonstrated at the University of Manchester in 1953.[31] In the 1970s, integrated circuit technology and the subsequent creation of microprocessors, such as the Intel 4004, further decreased size and cost and further increased speed and reliability of computers. By the late 1970s, many products such as video recorders contained dedicated computers called microcontrollers, and they started to appear as a replacement to mechanical controls in domestic appliances such as washing machines. The 1980s witnessed home computers and the now ubiquitous personal computer. With the evolution of the Internet, personal computers are becoming as common as the television and the telephone in the household[citation needed]. Modern smartphones are fully programmable computers in their own right, and as of 2009 may well be the most common form of such computers in existence[citation needed]. Programs

Replica of the Small-Scale Experimental Machine (SSEM), the world's first stored-program computer, at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, England

The defining feature of modern computers which distinguishes them from all other machines is that they can be programmed. That is to say that some type of instructions (the program) can be given to the computer, and it will process them. While some computers may have strange concepts "instructions" and "output" (see quantum computing), modern computers based on the von Neumann architecture often have machine code in the form of an imperative programming language. In practical terms, a computer program may be just a few instructions or extend to many millions of instructions, as do the programs for word processors and web browsers for example. A typical modern computer can execute billions of instructions per second (gigaflops) and rarely makes a mistake over many years of operation. Large computer programs consisting of several million instructions may take teams of programmers years to write, and due to the complexity of the task almost certainly contain errors.
Stored program architecture

Main articles: Computer program and Computer programming This section applies to most common RAM machine-based computers. In most cases, computer instructions are simple: add one number to another, move some data from one location to another, send a message to some external device, etc. These instructions are read from the computer's memory and are generally carried out (executed) in the order they were given. However, there are usually specialized instructions to tell the computer to jump ahead or backwards to some other place in the program and to carry on executing from there. These are called "jump" instructions (or branches). Furthermore, jump instructions may be made to happen conditionally so that different sequences of instructions may be used depending on the result of some previous calculation or some external event. Many computers directly support subroutines by providing a type of jump that "remembers" the location it jumped from and another instruction to return to the instruction following that jump instruction. Program execution might be likened to reading a book. While a person will normally read each word and line in sequence, they may at times jump back to an earlier place in the text or skip sections that are not of interest. Similarly, a computer may sometimes go back and repeat the instructions in some section of the program over

and over again until some internal condition is met. This is called the flow of control within the program and it is what allows the computer to perform tasks repeatedly without human intervention. Comparatively, a person using a pocket calculator can perform a basic arithmetic operation such as adding two numbers with just a few button presses. But to add together all of the numbers from 1 to 1,000 would take thousands of button presses and a lot of time, with a near certainty of making a mistake. On the other hand, a computer may be programmed to do this with just a few simple instructions. For example:

mov No. 0, sum mov No. 1, num loop: add num, sum add No. 1, num cmp num, #1000 ble loop halt

; set sum to 0 ; set num to 1 ; add num to sum ; add 1 to num ; compare num to 1000 ; if num <= 1000, go back to 'loop' ; end of program. stop running

Once told to run this program, the computer will perform the repetitive addition task without further human intervention. It will almost never make a mistake and a modern PC can complete the task in about a millionth of a second.[32]
Bugs

Main article: software bug

The actual first computer bug, a moth found trapped on a relay of the Harvard Mark II computer

Errors in computer programs are called "bugs". They may be benign and not affect the usefulness of the program, or have only subtle effects. But in some cases they may cause the program or the entire system to "hang" become unresponsive to input such as mouse clicks or keystrokes to completely fail, or to crash. Otherwise benign bugs may sometimes be harnessed for malicious intent by an unscrupulous user writing an exploit, code designed to take advantage of a bug and disrupt a computer's proper execution. Bugs are

usually not the fault of the computer. Since computers merely execute the instructions they are given, bugs are nearly always the result of programmer error or an oversight made in the program's design. [33] Rear Admiral Grace Hopper is credited for having first used the term "bugs" in computing after a dead moth was found shorting a relay in the Harvard Mark II computer in September 1947.[34]
Machine code

In most computers, individual instructions are stored as machine code with each instruction being given a unique number (its operation code or opcodefor short). The command to add two numbers together would have one opcode, the command to multiply them would have a different opcode and so on. The simplest computers are able to perform any of a handful of different instructions; the more complex computers have several hundred to choose from, each with a unique numerical code. Since the computer's memory is able to store numbers, it can also store the instruction codes. This leads to the important fact that entire programs (which are just lists of these instructions) can be represented as lists of numbers and can themselves be manipulated inside the computer in the same way as numeric data. The fundamental concept of storing programs in the computer's memory alongside the data they operate on is the crux of the von Neumann, or stored program, architecture. In some cases, a computer might store some or all of its program in memory that is kept separate from the data it operates on. This is called the Harvard architecture after the Harvard Mark Icomputer. Modern von Neumann computers display some traits of the Harvard architecture in their designs, such as in CPU caches. While it is possible to write computer programs as long lists of numbers (machine language) and while this technique was used with many early computers,[35] it is extremely tedious and potentially error-prone to do so in practice, especially for complicated programs. Instead, each basic instruction can be given a short name that is indicative of its function and easy to remember a mnemonic such as ADD, SUB, MULT or JUMP. These mnemonics are collectively known as a computer's assembly language. Converting programs written in assembly language into something the computer can actually understand (machine language) is usually done by a computer program called an assembler.

A 1970s punched card containing one line from aFORTRAN program. The card reads: "Z(1) = Y + W(1)" and is labelled "PROJ039" for identification purposes.

Programming language

Main article: Programming language Programming languages provide various ways of specifying programs for computers to run. Unlike natural languages, programming languages are designed to permit no ambiguity and to be concise. They are purely written languages and are often difficult to read aloud. They are generally either translated into machine code by a compiler or an assembler before being run, or translated directly at run time by an interpreter. Sometimes programs are executed by a hybrid method of the two techniques.
Low-level languages

Main article: Low-level programming language Machine languages and the assembly languages that represent them (collectively termed low-level programming languages) tend to be unique to a particular type of computer. For instance, an ARM architecture computer (such as may be found in a PDA or a hand-held videogame) cannot understand the machine language of an Intel Pentium or the AMD Athlon 64 computer that might be in a PC.[36]
Higher-level languages

Main article: High-level programming language Though considerably easier than in machine language, writing long programs in assembly language is often difficult and is also error prone. Therefore, most practical programs are written in more abstract high-level programming languages that are able to express the needs of the programmer more conveniently (and thereby help reduce programmer error). High level languages are usually "compiled" into machine language (or sometimes into assembly language and then into machine language) using another computer program called a compiler.[37] High level languages are less related to the workings of the target computer than assembly language, and more related to the language and structure of the problem(s) to be solved by the final program. It is therefore often possible to use different compilers to translate the same high level language program into the machine language of many different types of computer. This is part of the means by which software like video games may be made available for different computer architectures such as personal computers and various video game consoles.
Program design
This section does not cite anyreferences or sources. (July

2012)

Program design of small programs is relatively simple and involves the analysis of the problem, collection of inputs, using the programming constructs within languages, devising or using established procedures and

algorithms, providing data for output devices and solutions to the problem as applicable. As problems become larger and more complex, features such as subprograms, modules, formal documentation, and new paradigms such as object-oriented programming are encountered. Large programs involving thousands of line of code and more require formal software methodologies. The task of developing large software systems presents a significant intellectual challenge. Producing software with an acceptably high reliability within a predictable schedule and budget has historically been difficult; the academic and professional discipline of software engineering concentrates specifically on this challenge. Components Main articles: Central processing unit and Microprocessor A general purpose computer has four main components: the arithmetic logic unit (ALU), the control unit, the memory, and the input and output devices (collectively termed I/O). These parts are interconnected by busses, often made of groups of wires. Inside each of these parts are thousands to trillions of small electrical circuits which can be turned off or on by means of an electronic switch. Each circuit represents a bit (binary digit) of information so that when the circuit is on it represents a "1", and when off it represents a "0" (in positive logic representation). The circuits are arranged in logic gates so that one or more of the circuits may control the state of one or more of the other circuits. The control unit, ALU, registers, and basic I/O (and often other hardware closely linked with these) are collectively known as a central processing unit (CPU). Early CPUs were composed of many separate components but since the mid-1970s CPUs have typically been constructed on a single integrated circuit called a microprocessor.
Control unit

Main articles: CPU design and Control unit

Diagram showing how a particular MIPS architecture instruction would be decoded by the control system.

The control unit (often called a control system or central controller) manages the computer's various components; it reads and interprets (decodes) the program instructions, transforming them into a series of

control signals which activate other parts of the computer.[38] Control systems in advanced computers may change the order of some instructions so as to improve performance. A key component common to all CPUs is the program counter, a special memory cell (a register) that keeps track of which location in memory the next instruction is to be read from.[39] The control system's function is as followsnote that this is a simplified description, and some of these steps may be performed concurrently or in a different order depending on the type of CPU: 1. Read the code for the next instruction from the cell indicated by the program counter. 2. Decode the numerical code for the instruction into a set of commands or signals for each of the other systems. 3. Increment the program counter so it points to the next instruction. 4. Read whatever data the instruction requires from cells in memory (or perhaps from an input device). The location of this required data is typically stored within the instruction code. 5. Provide the necessary data to an ALU or register. 6. If the instruction requires an ALU or specialized hardware to complete, instruct the hardware to perform the requested operation. 7. Write the result from the ALU back to a memory location or to a register or perhaps an output device. 8. Jump back to step (1). Since the program counter is (conceptually) just another set of memory cells, it can be changed by calculations done in the ALU. Adding 100 to the program counter would cause the next instruction to be read from a place 100 locations further down the program. Instructions that modify the program counter are often known as "jumps" and allow for loops (instructions that are repeated by the computer) and often conditional instruction execution (both examples of control flow). The sequence of operations that the control unit goes through to process an instruction is in itself like a short computer program, and indeed, in some more complex CPU designs, there is another yet smaller computer called a microsequencer, which runs a microcode program that causes all of these events to happen.
Arithmetic logic unit (ALU)

Main article: Arithmetic logic unit The ALU is capable of performing two classes of operations: arithmetic and logic.[40] The set of arithmetic operations that a particular ALU supports may be limited to addition and subtraction, or might include multiplication, division, trigonometry functions such as sine, cosine, etc., and square roots. Some can only operate on whole numbers (integers) whilst others use floating point to represent real numbers, albeit with limited precision. However, any computer that is capable of performing just the simplest operations can be

programmed to break down the more complex operations into simple steps that it can perform. Therefore, any computer can be programmed to perform any arithmetic operationalthough it will take more time to do so if its ALU does not directly support the operation. An ALU may also compare numbers and returnboolean truth values (true or false) depending on whether one is equal to, greater than or less than the other ("is 64 greater than 65?"). Logic operations involve Boolean logic: AND, OR, XOR and NOT. These can be useful for creating complicated conditional statements and processing boolean logic. Superscalar computers may contain multiple ALUs, allowing them to process several instructions simultaneously.[41] Graphics processors and computers with SIMD and MIMD features often contain ALUs that can perform arithmetic on vectors and matrices.
Memory

Main article: Computer data storage

Magnetic core memory was the computer memory of choice throughout the 1960s, until it was replaced by semiconductor memory.

A computer's memory can be viewed as a list of cells into which numbers can be placed or read. Each cell has a numbered "address" and can store a single number. The computer can be instructed to "put the number 123 into the cell numbered 1357" or to "add the number that is in cell 1357 to the number that is in cell 2468 and put the answer into cell 1595". The information stored in memory may represent practically anything. Letters, numbers, even computer instructions can be placed into memory with equal ease. Since the CPU does not differentiate between different types of information, it is the software's responsibility to give significance to what the memory sees as nothing but a series of numbers. In almost all modern computers, each memory cell is set up to store binary numbers in groups of eight bits (called a byte). Each byte is able to represent 256 different numbers (2^8 = 256); either from 0 to 255 or 128 to +127. To store larger numbers, several consecutive bytes may be used (typically, two, four or eight). When negative numbers are required, they are usually stored in two's complement notation. Other arrangements are possible, but are usually not seen outside of specialized applications or historical contexts. A computer can

store any kind of information in memory if it can be represented numerically. Modern computers have billions or even trillions of bytes of memory. The CPU contains a special set of memory cells called registers that can be read and written to much more rapidly than the main memory area. There are typically between two and one hundred registers depending on the type of CPU. Registers are used for the most frequently needed data items to avoid having to access main memory every time data is needed. As data is constantly being worked on, reducing the need to access main memory (which is often slow compared to the ALU and control units) greatly increases the computer's speed. Computer main memory comes in two principal varieties: random-access memory or RAM and read-only memory or ROM. RAM can be read and written to anytime the CPU commands it, but ROM is pre-loaded with data and software that never changes, therefore the CPU can only read from it. ROM is typically used to store the computer's initial start-up instructions. In general, the contents of RAM are erased when the power to the computer is turned off, but ROM retains its data indefinitely. In a PC, the ROM contains a specialized program called the BIOS that orchestrates loading the computer's operating system from the hard disk drive into RAM whenever the computer is turned on or reset. In embedded computers, which frequently do not have disk drives, all of the required software may be stored in ROM. Software stored in ROM is often called firmware, because it is notionally more like hardware than software. Flash memory blurs the distinction between ROM and RAM, as it retains its data when turned off but is also rewritable. It is typically much slower than conventional ROM and RAM however, so its use is restricted to applications where high speed is unnecessary.[42] In more sophisticated computers there may be one or more RAM cache memories, which are slower than registers but faster than main memory. Generally computers with this sort of cache are designed to move frequently needed data into the cache automatically, often without the need for any intervention on the programmer's part.
Input/output (I/O)

Main article: Input/output

Hard disk drives are common storage devices used with computers.

I/O is the means by which a computer exchanges information with the outside world.[43] Devices that provide input or output to the computer are calledperipherals.[44] On a typical personal computer, peripherals include input devices like the keyboard and mouse, and output devices such as the displayand printer. Hard disk drives, floppy disk drives and optical disc drives serve as both input and output devices. Computer networking is another form of I/O. I/O devices are often complex computers in their own right, with their own CPU and memory. A graphics processing unit might contain fifty or more tiny computers that perform the calculations necessary to display 3D graphics[citation needed]. Modern desktop computers contain many smaller computers that assist the main CPU in performing I/O.
Multitasking

Main article: Computer multitasking While a computer may be viewed as running one gigantic program stored in its main memory, in some systems it is necessary to give the appearance of running several programs simultaneously. This is achieved by multitasking i.e. having the computer switch rapidly between running each program in turn.[45] One means by which this is done is with a special signal called an interrupt, which can periodically cause the computer to stop executing instructions where it was and do something else instead. By remembering where it was executing prior to the interrupt, the computer can return to that task later. If several programs are running "at the same time", then the interrupt generator might be causing several hundred interrupts per second, causing a program switch each time. Since modern computers typically execute instructions several orders of magnitude faster than human perception, it may appear that many programs are running at the same time even though only one is ever executing in any given instant. This method of multitasking is sometimes termed "timesharing" since each program is allocated a "slice" of time in turn.[46] Before the era of cheap computers, the principal use for multitasking was to allow many people to share the same computer. Seemingly, multitasking would cause a computer that is switching between several programs to run more slowly, in direct proportion to the number of programs it is running, but most programs spend much of their time waiting for slow input/output devices to complete their tasks. If a program is waiting for the user to click on the mouse or press a key on the keyboard, then it will not take a "time slice" until the event it is waiting for has occurred. This frees up time for other programs to execute so that many programs may be run simultaneously without unacceptable speed loss.
Multiprocessing

Main article: Multiprocessing

Cray designed many supercomputers that used multiprocessing heavily.

Some computers are designed to distribute their work across several CPUs in a multiprocessing configuration, a technique once employed only in large and powerful machines such as supercomputers, mainframe computers and servers. Multiprocessor and multi-core (multiple CPUs on a single integrated circuit) personal and laptop computers are now widely available, and are being increasingly used in lower-end markets as a result. Supercomputers in particular often have highly unique architectures that differ significantly from the basic stored-program architecture and from general purpose computers.[47] They often feature thousands of CPUs, customized high-speed interconnects, and specialized computing hardware. Such designs tend to be useful only for specialized tasks due to the large scale of program organization required to successfully utilize most of the available resources at once. Supercomputers usually see usage in large-scale simulation, graphics rendering, and cryptography applications, as well as with other so-called "embarrassingly parallel" tasks.
Networking and the Internet

Main articles: Computer networking and Internet

Visualization of a portion of the routes on the Internet.

Computers have been used to coordinate information between multiple locations since the 1950s. The U.S. military's SAGE system was the first large-scale example of such a system, which led to a number of specialpurpose commercial systems such asSabre.[48] In the 1970s, computer engineers at research institutions throughout the United States began to link their computers together using telecommunications technology. The effort was funded by ARPA (now DARPA), and the computer network that resulted was called the ARPANET.[49]The technologies that made the Arpanet possible spread and evolved. In time, the network spread beyond academic and military institutions and became known as the Internet. The emergence of networking involved a redefinition of the nature and boundaries of the computer. Computer operating systems and applications were modified to include the ability to define and access the resources of other computers on the network, such as peripheral devices, stored information, and the like, as extensions of the resources of an individual computer. Initially these facilities were available primarily to people working in high-tech environments, but in the 1990s the spread of applications like e-mail and the World Wide Web, combined with the development of cheap, fast networking technologies like Ethernet andADSL saw computer networking become almost ubiquitous. In fact, the number of computers that are networked is growing phenomenally. A very large proportion of personal computers regularly connect to the Internet to communicate and receive information. "Wireless" networking, often utilizing mobile phone networks, has meant networking is becoming increasingly ubiquitous even in mobile computing environments.

Computer architecture paradigms

There are many types of computer architectures:

Quantum computer vs Chemical computer Scalar processor vs Vector processor Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) computers Register machine vs Stack machine Harvard architecture vs von Neumann architecture Cellular architecture

The quantum computer architecture holds the most promise to revolutionize computing.[50] Logic gates are a common abstraction which can apply to most of the above digital or analog paradigms. The ability to store and execute lists of instructions called programs makes computers extremely versatile, distinguishing them from calculators. The ChurchTuring thesis is a mathematical statement of this versatility: any computer with a minimum capability (being Turing-complete) is, in principle, capable of performing the

same tasks that any other computer can perform. Therefore any type of computer (netbook, supercomputer, cellular automaton, etc.) is able to perform the same computational tasks, given enough time and storage capacity. Misconceptions A computer does not need to be electronic, nor even have a processor, nor RAM, nor even a hard disk. While popular usage of the word "computer" is synonymous with a personal computer, the definition of a computer is literally "A device that computes, especially a programmable [usually] electronic machine that performs highspeed mathematical or logical operations or that assembles, stores, correlates, or otherwise processes information."[51] Any device which processes information qualifies as a computer, especially if the processing is purposeful.
Required technology

Main article: Unconventional computing Historically, computers evolved from mechanical computers and eventually from vacuum tubes to transistors. However, conceptually computational systems as flexible as a personal computer can be built out of almost anything. For example, a computer can be made out of billiard balls (billiard ball computer); an oft-quoted example. More realistically, modern computers are made out of transistors made of photolithographed semiconductors. There is active research to make computers out of many promising new types of technology, such as optical computers, DNA computers, neural computers, and quantum computers. Most computers are universal, and are able to calculate any computable function, and are limited only by their memory capacity and operating speed. However different designs of computers can give very different performance for particular problems; for example quantum computers can potentially break some modern encryption algorithms (by quantum factoring) very quickly. Further topics

Glossary of computers

Artificial intelligence

A computer will solve problems in exactly the way it is programmed to, without regard to efficiency, alternative solutions, possible shortcuts, or possible errors in the code. Computer programs that learn and adapt are part of the emerging field of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Hardware

Main articles: Computer hardware and Personal computer hardware

The term hardware covers all of those parts of a computer that are tangible objects. Circuits, displays, power supplies, cables, keyboards, printers and mice are all hardware.
History of computing hardware

Main article: History of computing hardware

Calculators First Generation (Mechanical/Electromechanical) Programmable Devices Jacquard loom, Analytical engine, Harvard Mark I, Z3 Antikythera mechanism, Difference engine, Norden bombsight

Calculators

AtanasoffBerry Computer, IBM 604, UNIVAC 60, UNIVAC 120

Second Generation (Vacuum Tubes) Programmable Devices Colossus, ENIAC, Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine, EDSAC, Manchester Mark 1,Ferranti Pegasus, Ferranti Mercury, CSIRAC, EDVAC, UNIVAC I, IBM 701, IBM 702, IBM 650, Z22

Mainframes Third Generation (Discrete transistors and SSI, MSI, LSI Integrated circuits) Minicomputer

IBM 7090, IBM 7080, IBM System/360, BUNCH

PDP-8, PDP-11, IBM System/32, IBM System/36

Minicomputer

VAX, IBM System i

4-bit microcomputer

Intel 4004, Intel 4040

8-bit microcomputer

Intel 8008, Intel 8080, Motorola 6800, Motorola 6809, MOS Technology 6502, Zilog Z80

16-bit microcomputer Fourth Generation (VLSI integrated circuits) 32-bit microcomputer

Intel 8088, Zilog Z8000, WDC 65816/65802

Intel 80386, Pentium, Motorola 68000, ARM architecture

64-bit microcomputer[52]

Alpha, MIPS, PA-RISC, PowerPC, SPARC, x86-64

Embedded computer

Intel 8048, Intel 8051

Personal computer

Desktop computer, Home computer, Laptop computer, Personal digital assistant (PDA), Portable computer, Tablet PC, Wearable computer

Theoretical/experimental

Quantum computer, Chemical computer, DNA computing, Optical computer, Spintronics based computer

Other hardware topics

Input

Mouse, keyboard, joystick, image scanner, webcam, graphics tablet, microphone

Peripheral device (input/output) Output

Monitor, printer, loudspeaker

Both

Floppy disk drive, hard disk drive, optical disc drive, teleprinter

Short range Computer busses

RS-232, SCSI, PCI, USB

Long range (computer networking) Ethernet, ATM, FDDI

Software

Main article: Computer software Software refers to parts of the computer which do not have a material form, such as programs, data, protocols, etc. When software is stored in hardware that cannot easily be modified (such asBIOS ROM in an IBM PC compatible), it is sometimes called "firmware" to indicate that it falls into an uncertain area somewhere between hardware and software.
Unix and BSD UNIX System V, IBM AIX, HP-UX, Solaris (SunOS), IRIX, List of BSD operating systems

GNU/Linux

List of Linux distributions, Comparison of Linux distributions

Microsoft Windows

Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7

Operating system

DOS

86-DOS (QDOS), PC-DOS, MS-DOS, DR-DOS, FreeDOS

Mac OS

Mac OS classic, Mac OS X

Embedded and real-time

List of embedded operating systems

Experimental

Amoeba, Oberon/Bluebottle, Plan 9 from Bell Labs

Multimedia Library Programming library

DirectX, OpenGL, OpenAL

C standard library, Standard Template Library

Protocol Data File format

TCP/IP, Kermit, FTP, HTTP, SMTP

HTML, XML, JPEG, MPEG, PNG

Graphical user interface(WIMP) User interface

Microsoft Windows, GNOME, KDE, QNX Photon, CDE, GEM, Aqua

Text-based user interface

Command-line interface, Text user interface

Office suite

Word processing, Desktop publishing, Presentation program, Database management system, Scheduling & Time management, Spreadsheet,Accounting software

Internet Access

Browser, E-mail client, Web server, Mail transfer agent, Instant messaging

Design and manufacturing

Computer-aided design, Computer-aided manufacturing, Plant management, Robotic manufacturing, Supply chain management

Graphics

Raster graphics editor, Vector graphics editor, 3D modeler, Animation editor, 3D computer graphics, Video editing, Image processing

Application

Audio

Digital audio editor, Audio playback, Mixing, Audio synthesis, Computer music

Software engineering

Compiler, Assembler, Interpreter, Debugger, Text editor, Integrated development environment, Software performance analysis, Revision control,Software configuration management

Educational

Edutainment, Educational game, Serious game, Flight simulator

Games

Strategy, Arcade, Puzzle, Simulation, First-person shooter, Platform, Massively multiplayer, Interactive fiction

Misc

Artificial intelligence, Antivirus software, Malware scanner, Installer/Package management systems, File manager

Languages

There are thousands of different programming languagessome intended to be general purpose, others useful only for highly specialized applications.

Programming languages

Lists of programming languages

Timeline of programming languages, List of programming languages by category, Generational list of programming languages, List of programming languages, Non-English-based programming languages

Commonly used Assembly languages

ARM, MIPS, x86

Commonly used high-level programming languages

Ada, BASIC, C, C++, C#, COBOL, Fortran, Java, Lisp, Pascal, Object Pascal

Commonly used Scripting languages

Bourne script, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP, Perl

Professions and organizations

As the use of computers has spread throughout society, there are an increasing number of careers involving computers.
Computer-related professions

Hardwarerelated

Electrical engineering, Electronic engineering, Computer engineering, Telecommunications engineering, Optical engineering, Nanoengineering

Softwarerelated

Computer science, Desktop publishing, Humancomputer interaction, Information technology, Information systems, Computational science, Software engineering, Video game industry, Web design

The need for computers to work well together and to be able to exchange information has spawned the need for many standards organizations, clubs and societies of both a formal and informal nature.
Organizations

Standards groups

ANSI, IEC, IEEE, IETF, ISO, W3C

Professional Societies

ACM, AIS, IET, IFIP, BCS

Free/Open source software groups Free Software Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, Apache Software Foundation

TYPES OF COMPUTERS

Computers can be classified based on their principles of operation or on their configuration. By configuration, we mean the size, speed of doing computation and storage capacity of a computer.

Types of Computers based on Principles of Operation

There are three different types of computers according to the principles of operation. Those three types of computers are

Analog Computers Digital Computers Hybrid Computers

Digital Computers
On the other hand a digital computer operates on digital data such as numbers. It uses binary number system in which there are only two digits 0 and 1. Each one is called a bit. The digital computer is designed using digital circuits in which there are two levels for an input or output signal. These two levels are known as logic 0 and logic 1. Digital Computers can give more accurate and faster results. Digital computer is well suited for solving complex problems in engineering and technology. Hence digital computers have an increasing use in the field of design, research and data processing.

Based on the purpose, Digital computers can be further classified as,

General Purpose Computers Special Purpose Computers Special purpose computer is one that is built for a specific application. General purpose computers are used for any type of applications. They can store different programs and do the jobs as per the instructions specified on those programs. Most of the computers that we see today, are general purpose computers.

Hybrid Computers
A hybrid computer combines the desirable features of analog and digital computers. It is mostly used for automatic operations of complicated physical processes and machines. Now-a-days analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters are used for transforming the data into suitable form for either type of computation. For example, in hospitals ICU, analog devices might measure the patients temperature, blood pressure and other vital signs. These measurements which are in analog might then be converted into numbers and supplied to digital components in the system. These components are used to monitor the patients vital sign and send signals if any abnormal readings are detected. Hybrid computers are mainly used for specialized tasks.

Types of Computers based on Configuration

There are four different types of computers when we classify them based on their performance and capacity. The four types are

Super Computers Mainframe Computers

Mini Computers Micro Computers

Super Computers
When we talk about types of computers, the first type that comes to our mind would be Super computers. They are the best in terms of processing capacity and also the most expensive ones. These computers can process billions of instructions per second. Normally, they will be used for applications which require intensive numerical computations such as stock analysis, weather forecasting etc. Other uses of supercomputers are scientific simulations, (animated) graphics, fluid dynamic calculations, nuclear energy research, electronic design, and analysis of geological data (e.g. in petrochemical prospecting). Perhaps the best known super computer manufacturer is Cray Research. Some of the "traditional" companies which produce super computers are Cray, IBM and Hewlett-Packard. As of July 2009, the IBM Roadrunner, located at Los Alamos National Laboratory, is the fastest super computer in the world.

If you want to know more advanced details about super computers, refer to SuperComputers
Mainframe Computers
Mainframe computers can also process data at very high speeds vi.e., hundreds of million instructions per second and they are also quite expensive. Normally, they are used in banking, airlines and railways etc for their applications.

Mini Computers
Mini computers are lower to mainframe computers in terms of speed and storage capacity. They are also less expensive than mainframe computers. Some of the features of mainframes will not be available in mini computers. Hence, their performance also will be less than that of mainframes.

Micro Computers
The invention of microprocessor (single chip CPU) gave birth to the much cheaper micro computers. They are further classified into

Desktop Computers Laptop Computers Handheld Computers(PDAs)

Desktop Computers
Today the Desktop computers are the most popular computer systems.These desktop computers are also known as personal computers or simply PCs. They are usually easier to use and more affordable. They are normally intended for individual users for their word processing and other small application requirements.

Laptop Computers
Laptop computers are portable computers. They are lightweight computers with a thin screen. They are also called as notebook computers because of their small size. They can operate on batteries and hence are screen folds down onto the keyboard when not in use. very popular with travellers. The

Handheld Computers
Handheld computers or Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are pen-based and also batterypowered. They are small and can be carried anywhere. They use a pen like stylus and accept handwritten input directly on the screen. They are not as powerful as desktops or laptops but they are used for scheduling appointments,storing addresses and playing games. They have touch screens which we use with a finger or a stylus.

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Windows Basics Working with XP Windows Applications Working with Files and Folders Help and Support in XP What's new in XP?

Microsoft
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coordinates: 473822.55N 122742.42W

Microsoft Corporation

Type

Public

Traded as

NASDAQ: MSFT SEHK: 4338 Dow Jones Industrial Averagecomponent NASDAQ-100 component S&P 500 component

Industry

Computer software Online services Video games

Founded

Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States (April 4, 1975)

Founder(s)

Bill Gates, Paul Allen

Headquarters

Microsoft Redmond Campus,Redmond, Washington, U.S.

Area served

Worldwide

Key people

Steve Ballmer (CEO) Bill Gates (Chairman)

Products

See listing

Services

See listing

Revenue

US$ 73.72 billion (2012)[1]

Operating income

US$ 21.76 billion (2012)[1]

Net income

US$ 16.97 billion (2012)[1]

Total assets

US$ 121.2 billion (2012)[1]

Total equity

US$ 66.36 billion (2012)[1]

Employees

94,000 (2012)[1]

Subsidiaries

List of Microsoft subsidiaries

Website

Microsoft.com

References: [2]

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington that develops, manufactures, licenses and supports a wide range of products and services related to computing. The company was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975. Microsoft is the world's largest software maker measured by revenues.[3] It is also one of the world's most valuable companies.[4] Microsoft was established to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. It rose to dominate the personal computer operating systemmarket with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems. The company's 1986 initial public offering, and subsequent rise in its share price, created an estimated three billionaires and 12,000 millionaires from Microsoft employees. Since the 1990s, it has increasingly diversified from the operating system market and has made a number of corporate acquisitions. In May 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion in its largest acquisition to date.[5] As of 2012, Microsoft is market dominant in both the PC operating system and office suite markets (the latter with Microsoft Office). The company also produces a wide range of other software for desktops and servers, and is active in areas including internet search (with Bing), the video game industry (with the Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles), the digital services market (through MSN), and mobile phones (via the Windows Phone OS). In June 2012, Microsoft announced that it would be entering the PC vendor market for the first time, with the launch of the Microsoft Surface tablet computer. In the 1990s, critics began to contend that Microsoft used monopolistic business practices and anti-competitive strategies including refusal to dealand tying, put unreasonable restrictions in the use of its software, and used misrepresentative marketing tactics; both the U.S. Department of Justiceand European Commission found the company in violation of antitrust laws.
Contents
[hide]

1 History

o o o o o

1.1 Early history 1.2 19841994: Windows and Office 1.3 19952005: Internet and the 32-bit era 1.4 20062010: Windows Vista, mobile, SaaS and Windows 7 1.5 2011-present: Mobile, Metro and Yammer

2 Product divisions

o o o
3 Culture

2.1 Windows & Windows Live Division, Server and Tools, Online Services Division 2.2 Business Division 2.3 Entertainment and Devices Division

4 Criticism 5 Corporate affairs

o o o

5.1 Financial 5.2 Environment 5.3 Marketing

6 See also 7 References 8 External links

History Main articles: History of Microsoft and History of Microsoft Windows

Early history

Paul Allen and Bill Gates (respectively) on October 19, 1981, in a sea of PCs after signing a pivotal contract. IBM called Microsoft in July 1980 inquiring aboutprogramming languages for its upcoming PC line;[6]:228 after failed negotiations with another company, IBM gave Microsoft a contract to develop the OS for the new line of PCs. [7]

Paul Allen and Bill Gates, childhood friends with a passion in computer programming, were seeking to make a successful business utilizing their shared skills. The January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics featured Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems's (MITS) Altair 8800microcomputer. Allen noticed that they could program a BASIC interpreter for the device; after a call from Gates claiming to have a working interpreter, MITS requested a demonstration. Since they didn't actually have one, Allen worked on a simulator for the Altair while Gates developed the interpreter. Although they developed the interpreter on a simulator and not the actual device, the interpreter worked flawlessly when they demonstrated the interpreter to MITS in Albuquerque, New

Mexico in March 1975; MITS agreed to distribute it, marketing it as Altair BASIC.[6]:108, 112114 They officially established Microsoft on April 4, 1975, with Gates as the CEO.[8] Allen came up with the original name of "Micro-Soft," as recounted in a 1995 Fortune magazine article. In August 1977 the company formed an agreement with ASCII Magazine in Japan, resulting in its first international office, "ASCII Microsoft".[9] The company moved to a new home in Bellevue, Washington in January 1979.[8]
Microsoft Inc. logo history

Logo

Years

Microsoft "blibbet" logo, filed August 26, 1982 at theUSPTO and used until 1987.[10]

Microsoft "Pac-Man" logo, designed by Scott Baker and used from 1987 to 2012 with the 1994 2002 slogan "Where do you want to go today?".[11][12]

Microsoft logo as of 2006 2011, with the slogan"Your potential. Our passion."[12]

Logo by Microsoft with the slogan"Be What's Next." 2011 2012.[13]

Introduced on August 23, 2012 to symbolize the "world of digital motion" and Microsoft's "diverse portfolio of products." 2012-present .[14]

Microsoft entered the OS business in 1980 with its own version of Unix, called Xenix.[15] However, it was MSDOS that solidified the company's dominance. After negotiations with Digital Research failed, IBM awarded a contract to Microsoft in November 1980 to provide a version of the CP/M OS, which was set to be used in the upcoming IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC).[16] For this deal, Microsoft purchased a CP/M clone called 86DOS from Seattle Computer Products, branding it as MS-DOS, which IBM rebranded to PC-DOS. Following the release of the IBM PC in August 1981, Microsoft retained ownership of MS-DOS. Since IBM copyrightedthe IBM PC BIOS, other companies had to reverse engineer it in order for non-IBM hardware to run as IBM PC compatibles, but no such restriction applied to the operating systems. Due to various factors, such as MSDOS's available software selection, Microsoft eventually became the leading PC operating systems vendor.[7][17]:210 The company expanded into new markets with the release of the Microsoft Mouse in 1983, as well as a publishing division named Microsoft Press.[6]:232 Paul Allen resigned from Microsoft in February after developing Hodgkin's disease.[6]:231
19841994: Windows and Office

While jointly developing a new OS with IBM in 1984, OS/2, Microsoft released Microsoft Windows, a graphical extension for MS-DOS, on November 20.[6]:242243, 246 Microsoft moved its headquarters to Redmond on February 26, 1986, and on March 13 the company went public;[18] the ensuing rise in the stock would make an

estimated four billionaires and 12,000 millionaires from Microsoft employees. [19] Due to the partnership with IBM, in 1990 theFederal Trade Commission set its eye on Microsoft for possible collusion; it marked the beginning of over a decade of legal clashes with the U.S. Government.[20] Microsoft announced the release of its version of OS/2 to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) on April 2, 1987;[6]:243244meanwhile, the company was at work on a 32-bit OS, Microsoft Windows NT, using ideas from OS/2; it shipped on July 21, 1993 with a new modularkernel and the Win32 application programming interface (API), making porting from 16-bit (MS-DOS-based) Windows easier. Once Microsoft informed IBM of NT, the OS/2 partnership deteriorated.[21] Microsoft introduced its office suite, Microsoft Office, in 1990. The software bundled separate office productivity applications, such as Microsoft Word andMicrosoft Excel.[6]:301 On May 22 Microsoft launched Windows 3.0 with a streamlined user interface graphics and improved protected mode capability for the Intel 386 processor.[22] Both Office and Windows became dominant in their respective areas.[23][24] Novell, a Word competitor from 19841986, filed a lawsuit years later claiming that Microsoft left part of its APIs undocumented in order to gain a competitive advantage.[25] On July 27, 1994, the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division filed a Competitive Impact Statement that said, in part: "Beginning in 1988, and continuing until July 15, 1994, Microsoft induced many OEMs to execute anti-competitive "per processor" licenses. Under a per processor license, an OEM pays Microsoft a royalty for each computer it sells containing a particular microprocessor, whether the OEM sells the computer with a Microsoft operating system or a non-Microsoft operating system. In effect, the royalty payment to Microsoft when no Microsoft product is being used acts as a penalty, or tax, on the OEM's use of a competing PC operating system. Since 1988, Microsoft's use of per processor licenses has increased." [26]
19952005: Internet and the 32-bit era

Bill Gates giving his deposition in 1998 for the United States v. Microsoft trial. Once theU.S. Department of Justice 1993 took over from the Federal Trade Commission, a protracted legal wrangling between Microsoft and the department ensued, resulting in various settlements and possible blocked mergers. Microsoft would point to companies such as AOL-Time Warner in its defense.[20]

Following Bill Gates's internal "Internet Tidal Wave memo" on May 26, 1995 Microsoft began to redefine its offerings and expand its product line intocomputer networking and the World Wide Web.[27] The company released Windows 95 on August 24, 1995, featuring pre-emptive multitasking, a completely new user interface with a novel start button, and 32-bit compatibility; similar to NT, it provided the Win32 API.[28][29]:20 Windows 95 came bundled with the online service MSN, and for OEMs Internet Explorer, a web browser. Internet Explorer was not bundled with the retail Windows 95 boxes because the boxes were printed before the team finished the web browser, and instead was included in the Windows 95 Plus! pack.[30]Branching out into new markets in 1996, Microsoft and NBC Universal created a new 24/7 cable news station, MSNBC.[31] Microsoft created Windows CE 1.0, a new OS designed for devices with low memory and other constraints, such as personal digital assistants.[32] In October 1997, the Justice Department filed a motion in the Federal District Court, stating that Microsoft violated an agreement signed in 1994 and asked the court to stop the bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows.[6]:323324 Bill Gates handed over the CEO position on January 13, 2000 to Steve Ballmer, an old college friend of Gates and employee of the company since 1980, creating a new position for himself as Chief Software Architect.[6]:111,
228[8]

Various companies including Microsoft formed the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance in October 1999

to, among other things, increase security and protect intellectual property through identifying changes in hardware and software. Critics decry the alliance as a way to enforce indiscriminate restrictions over how consumers use software, and over how computers behave, a form of digital rights management; for example the scenario where a computer is not only secured for its owner, but also secured against its owner as well.[33][34] On April 3, 2000, a judgment was handed down in the case of United States v. Microsoft,[35] calling the company an "abusive monopoly";[36] it settled with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2004.[18] On October 25, 2001 Microsoft released Windows XP, unifying the mainstream and NT lines under the NT codebase.[37] The company released the Xbox later that year, entering the game console market dominated bySony and Nintendo.[38] In March 2004 the European Union brought antitrust legal action against the company, citing it abused its dominance with the Windows OS, resulting in a judgment of 497 million ($613 million) and to produce new versions of Windows XP without Windows Media Player, Windows XP Home Edition N and Windows XP Professional N.[39][40]
20062010: Windows Vista, mobile, SaaS and Windows 7

CEO Steve Ballmer at the MIX event in 2008. In an interview about his management style in 2005, he mentioned that his first priority was to get the people he delegatesto in order. Ballmer also emphasized the need to continue pursuing new technologies even if initial attempts fail, citing the original attempts with Windows as an example.[41]

Released in January 2007, the next version of Windows, Windows Vista, focused on features, security, and a redesigned user interface dubbedAero.[42][43] Microsoft Office 2007, released at the same time, featured a "Ribbon" user interface which was a significant departure from its predecessors. Relatively strong sales of both titles helped to produce a record profit in 2007.[44] The European Union imposed another fine of 899 million ($1.4 billion) for Microsoft's lack of compliance with the March 2004 judgment on February 27, 2008, saying that the company charged rivals unreasonable prices for key information about its workgroup and backoffice servers. Microsoft stated that it was in compliance and that "these fines are about the past issues that have been resolved".[45] Bill Gates retired from his role as Chief Software Architect on June 27, 2008 while retaining other positions related to the company in addition to being an advisor for the company on key projects.[46] Azure Services Platform, the company's entry into the cloud computing market for Windows, launched on October 27, 2008.[47] On February 12, 2009, Microsoft announced its intent to open a chain of Microsoft-branded retail stores, and on October 22, 2009 the first retail Microsoft Store opened in Scottsdale, Arizona; the same day the first store opened Windows 7 was officially released to the public. Windows 7's focus was on refining Vista with ease of use features and performance enhancements, rather than a large reworking of Windows. [48][49][50] As the smartphone industry boomed beginning in 2007, Microsoft struggled to keep up with its rivals Apple and Google in providing a modern smartphone operating system. As a result, in 2010, Microsoft revamped their aging flagship mobile operating system, Windows Mobile, replacing it with the new Windows Phone OS; along with a new strategy in the smartphone industry that has Microsoft working more closely with smartphone manufactures, such as Nokia, and to provide a consistent user experience across all smartphones using Microsoft's Windows Phone OS. It used a new user interface design language, codenamed "Metro", which prominently used simple shapes, typography and iconography. Microsoft is a founding member of the Open Networking Foundation started on March 23, 2011. Other founding companies include Google, HP Networking, Yahoo, Verizon, Deutsche Telekomand 17 other companies. The nonprofit organization is focused on providing support for a new cloud computing initiative called SoftwareDefined Networking.[51] The initiative is meant to speed innovation through simple software changes in telecommunications networks, wireless networks, data centers and other networking areas. [52]
2011-present: Mobile, Metro and Yammer

Following the release of Windows Phone 7, Microsoft gradually began a rebranding of its entire product range between 2011 and 2012. Logos, products, services and websites were updated to use the aesthetic features of the Metro design language.

On 31 May 2012, Microsoft released the release preview version of its next generation Windows 8 software. It is designed to power devices ranging from tablets to desktop computers.[53] On 25 June 2012, Microsoft announced that it is paying $1.2 billion to buy the social network Yammer.[54]

Product divisions Main article: Microsoft Product Divisions For the 2010 fiscal year, Microsoft had five product divisions: Windows & Windows Live Division, Server and Tools, Online Services Division, Microsoft Business Division, and Entertainment and Devices Division.
Windows & Windows Live Division, Server and Tools, Online Services Division

The company's Client division produces the flagship Windows OS line such as Windows 7; it also produces the Windows Live family of products and services. Server and Tools produces the server versions of Windows, such as Windows Server 2008 R2 as well as a set of development tools called Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft Silverlight, a web application framework, andSystem Center Configuration Manager, a collection of tools providing remote-control abilities, patch management, software distribution and a hardware/software inventory. Other server products include: Microsoft SQL Server, a relational database management system, Microsoft Exchange Server, for certain business-oriented e-mail and scheduling features, Small Business Server, for messaging and other small business-oriented features; and Microsoft BizTalk Server, for business process management. Microsoft provides IT consulting ("Microsoft Consulting Services") and produces a set of certification programs handled by the Server and Tools division designed to recognize individuals who have a minimal set of proficiencies in a specific role; this includes developers ("Microsoft Certified Solution Developer"), system/network analysts ("Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer"), trainers ("Microsoft Certified Trainers") and administrators ("Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator" and "Microsoft Certified Database Administrator"). Microsoft Press, which publishes books, is also managed by the division. The Online Services Business division handles the online service MSN and the search engine Bing. As of December 2009, the company also possesses an 18% ownership of the cable news channel MSNBC without any editorial control; however, the division develops the channel's website, msnbc.com, in a joint venture with the channel's coowner, NBC Universal.[55]
Business Division

The Commons, located on the campus of the company's headquarters in Redmond.

The Microsoft Business Division produces Microsoft Office including Microsoft Office 2010, the company's line of office software. The software product includes Word (a word processor), Access (a relational database program), Excel (a spreadsheet program), Outlook (Groupware, frequently used withExchange Server), PowerPoint (presentation software), Publisher (desktop publishing software) and Sharepoint. A number of other products were added later with the release of Office 2003 including Visio, Project, MapPoint, InfoPath and OneNote. The division also develops enterprise resource planning(ERP) software for companies under the Microsoft Dynamics brand. These include: Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics GP, and Microsoft Dynamics SL. They are targeted at varying company types and countries, and limited to organizations with under 7,500 employees.[56] Also included under the Dynamics brand is the customer relationship management software Microsoft Dynamics CRM, part of theAzure Services Platform.
Entertainment and Devices Division

The Entertainment and Devices Division produces the Windows CE OS for embedded systems and Windows Phone for smartphones.[57] Microsoft initially entered the mobile market through Windows CE for handheld devices, eventually developing into the Windows Mobile OS and now, Windows Phone. Windows CE is designed for devices where the OS may not directly be visible to the end user, in particular, appliances and cars. The division also produces computer games that run on Windows PCs and other systems including titles such as Age of Empires, Halo and the Microsoft Flight Simulator series, and houses the Macintosh Business Unit which produces Mac OS software including Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac. Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division designs, markets, and manufactures consumer electronics including the Xbox 360 game console, the handheld Zune media player, and the television-based Internet appliance MSN TV. Microsoft also markets personal computer hardwareincluding mice, keyboards, and various game controllers such as joysticks and gamepads. Culture

Technical reference for developers and articles for various Microsoft magazines such as Microsoft Systems Journal (or MSJ) are available through the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN). MSDN also offers subscriptions for companies and individuals, and the more expensive subscriptions usually offer access to prerelease beta versions of Microsoft software.[58][59] In April 2004 Microsoft launched a community site for developers and users, titled Channel9, that provides a wiki and an Internet forum.[60] Another community site that provides daily videocasts and other services, On10.net, launched on March 3, 2006.[61] Free technical support is traditionally provided through online Usenet newsgroups, and CompuServe in the past, monitored by Microsoft employees; there can be several newsgroups for a single product. Helpful people can be elected by peers or Microsoft employees for Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) status, which entitles them to a sort of special social status and possibilities for awards and other benefits.[62] Noted for its internal lexicon, the expression "eating our own dog food" is used to describe the policy of using prerelease and beta versions of products inside Microsoft in an effort to test them in "real-world" situations.[63] This is usually shortened to just "dog food" and is used as noun, verb, and adjective. Another bit of jargon, FYIFV or FYIV ("Fuck You, I'm [Fully] Vested"), is used by an employee to indicate they are financially independent and can avoid work anytime they wish.[64] The company is also known for its hiring process, mimicked in other organizations and dubbed the "Microsoft interview", which is notorious for off-thewall questions such as "Why is a manhole cover round?".[65] Microsoft is an outspoken opponent of the cap on H1B visas, which allow companies in the U.S. to employ certain foreign workers. Bill Gates claims the cap on H1B visas makes it difficult to hire employees for the company, stating "I'd certainly get rid of the H1B cap" in 2005.[66] Critics of H1B visas argue that relaxing the limits would result in increased unemployment for U.S. citizens due to H1B workers working for lower salaries.[67] The Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, a report of how progressive the organization deems company policies towardsLGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual) employees, rated Microsoft as 87% from 2002 to 2004 and as 100% from 2005 to 2010 after they allowed gender expression. [68] Criticism Main article: Criticism of Microsoft Criticism of Microsoft has followed the company's existence because of various aspects of its products and business practices. Ease of use, stability, and security of the company's software are common targets for critics. More recently, Trojan horses and other exploits have plagued numerous users due to faults in the security of Microsoft Windows and other programs. Microsoft is also accused of locking vendors into their products, and of not following and complying with existing standards in its software.[69] Total cost of ownership comparisons of Linux as well as Mac OS X to Windows are a continuous point of debate.

The company has been in numerous lawsuits by several governments and other companies for unlawful monopolistic practices. In 2004, the European Union found Microsoft guilty in a highly publicized anti-trust case. Additionally, Microsoft's EULA for some of its programs is often criticized as being too restrictive as well as being against open source software. Microsoft has been criticized (along with Yahoo, AOL, and other companies) for its involvement in censorship in the People's Republic of China.[70] Microsoft has also come under criticism foroutsourcing jobs to China and India.[71][72][73] There were reports of poor working conditions at a factory in southern China that makes some of Microsoft's products.[74] Criticism of the company has resulted in it being deemed "the evil empire" by some.[75] In a sci-fi allusion, Microsoft has also been called "The Borg" after the fictional race of aliens in the Star Trek universe. It reflects the perception that Microsoft often acquires technology from other companies rather than developing it inhouse,[76] as well as to Microsoft's ability to adapt to and overwhelm its opponents' strategies. [77][78][79][80][81][82] Corporate affairs The company is run by a board of directors made up of mostly company outsiders, as is customary for publicly traded companies. Members of the board of directors as of June 2010 are: Steve Ballmer, Dina Dublon, Bill Gates (chairman), Raymond Gilmartin, Reed Hastings, Maria Klawe, David Marquardt, Charles Noski, and Helmut Panke.[83] Board members are elected every year at the annual shareholders' meeting using a majority vote system. There are five committees within the board which oversee more specific matters. These committees include the Audit Committee, which handles accounting issues with the company including auditing and reporting; the Compensation Committee, which approves compensation for the CEO and other employees of the company; the Finance Committee, which handles financial matters such as proposing mergers and acquisitions; the Governance and Nominating Committee, which handles various corporate matters including nomination of the board; and the Antitrust Compliance Committee, which attempts to prevent company practices from violating antitrust laws.[84]

Five year history graph of (NASDAQ:MSFT) stock on September 29, 2009. [85]

When Microsoft went public and launched its initial public offering (IPO) in 1986, the opening stock price was $21; after the trading day, the price closed at $27.75. As of July 2010, with the company's nine stock splits, any IPO shares would be multiplied by 288; if one was to buy the IPO today given the splits and other factors, it would cost about 9 cents.[6]:235236[86][87] The stock price peaked in 1999 at around $119 ($60.928 adjusting for splits).[88] The company began to offer a dividend on January 16, 2003, starting at eight cents per share for the fiscal year followed by a dividend of sixteen cents per share the subsequent year, switching from yearly to quarterly dividends in 2005 with eight cents a share per quarter and a special one-time payout of three dollars per share for the second quarter of the fiscal year.[88][89] Though the company had subsequent increases in dividend payouts, the price of Microsoft's stock remained steady for years.[89][90] One of Microsoft's business tactics, described by an executive as "embrace, extend and extinguish," initially embraces a competing standard or product, then extends it to produce their own version which is then incompatible with the standard, which in time extinguishes competition that does not or cannot use Microsoft's new version.[91] Various companies and governments sue Microsoft over this set of tactics, resulting in billions of dollars in rulings against the company.[92][35][40] Microsoft claims that the original strategy is not anticompetitive, but rather an exercise of its discretion to implement features it believes customers want.[93]
Financial

Standard and Poor's and Moody's have both given a AAA rating to Microsoft, whose assets were valued at $41 billion as compared to only $8.5 billion in unsecured debt. Consequently, in February 2011 Microsoft released a corporate bond amounting to $2.25 billion with relatively low borrowing rates compared to government bonds.[94] For the first time in 20 years Apple Inc. surpassed Microsoft in Q1 2011 quarterly profits and revenues due to a slowdown in PC sales and continuing huge losses in Microsoft's Online Services Division (which contains its search engine Bing). Microsoft profits were $5.2 billion, while Apple Inc. profits were $6 billion, on revenues of $14.5 billion and $24.7 billion respectively.[95] Microsoft's Online Services Division has been continuously loss-making since 2006 and in Q1 2011 it lost $726 million. This follows a loss of $2.5 billion for the year 2010.[96] On July 20, 2012, Microsoft posted its first quarterly loss ever, despite earning record revenues for the quarter and fiscal year. Microsoft reported a net loss of $492 million; the 2007 acquisition of advertising company aQuantive for $6.2 billion and problems associated with it have been cited as the cause. [97]
Environment

Microsoft is ranked on the 17th place in Greenpeaces Guide to Greener Electronics (16th Edition) that ranks 18 electronics manufacturers according to their policies on toxic chemicals, recycling and climate change.[98] Microsofts timeline for phasing out BFRs and phthalates in all products is 2012 but its commitment

to phasing out PVC is not clear. As yet (January 2011) it has no products that are completely free from PVC and BFRs.[99] Microsoft's main U.S. campus received a silver certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program in 2008, and it installed over 2,000 solar panels on top of its buildings in its Silicon Valley campus, generating approximately 15 percent of the total energy needed by the facilities in April 2005.[100] Microsoft makes use of alternative forms of transit. It created one of the worlds largest private bus systems, the "Connector", to transport people from outside the company; for on-campus transportation, the "Shuttle Connect" uses a large fleet of hybrid cars to save fuel. The company also subsidises regional public transport as an incentive.[100][101] In February 2010 however, Microsoft took a stance against adding additional public transport and high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to a bridge connecting Redmond to Seattle; the company did not want to delay the construction any further.[102] Microsoft was ranked number 1 in the list of the World's Best Multinational Workplaces by the Great Place to Work Institute in 2011.[103]
Marketing

In 2004, Microsoft commissioned research firms to do independent studies comparing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of Windows Server 2003 to Linux; the firms concluded that companies found Windows easier to administrate than Linux, thus those using Windows would administrate faster resulting in lower costs for their company (i.e. lower TCO).[104] This spurred a wave of related studies; a study by the Yankee Group concluded that upgrading from one version of Windows Server to another costs a fraction of the switching costs from Windows Server to Linux, although companies surveyed noted the increased security and reliability of Linux servers and concern about being locked into using Microsoft products.[105] Another study, released by the Open Source Development Labs, claimed that the Microsoft studies were "simply outdated and one-sided" and their survey concluded that the TCO of Linux was lower due to Linux administrators managing more servers on average and other reasons.[106]

The current Microsoft symbol

As part of the "Get the Facts" campaign Microsoft highlighted the .NET trading platform that it had developed in partnership with Accenture for the London Stock Exchange, claiming that it provided "five nines" reliability. After suffering extended downtime and unreliability[107][108] the LSE announced in 2009 that it was planning to drop its Microsoft solution and switch to a Linux based one in 2010.[109][110] Microsoft adopted the so-called "Pac-Man Logo", designed by Scott Baker, in 1987. Baker stated "The new logo, in Helvetica italic typeface, has a slash between the o and s to emphasize the "soft" part of the name and convey motion and speed."[111] Dave Norris ran an internal joke campaign to save the old logo, which was green, in all uppercase, and featured a fanciful letter O, nicknamed the blibbet, but it was discarded.[112] Microsoft's logo with the "Your potential. Our passion." tagline below the main corporate name, is based on a slogan Microsoft used in 2008. In 2002, the company started using the logo in the United States and eventually started a TV campaign with the slogan, changed from the previous tagline of "Where do you want to go today?".[11][12][113] During the private MGX (Microsoft Global Exchange) conference in 2010, Microsoft unveiled the company's next tagline, "Be What's Next.".[13] On August 23, 2012, Microsoft unveiled a new corporate logo at the opening of its 23rd Microsoft store in Boston indicating the company's shift of focus from the classic style to the tile-centric Modern interface which it uses on the Windows Phone platform, Xbox 360 and the upcoming Windows 8 and Office Suites. [114] The new logo also includes four squares with the colors of the then-current Windows logo.[115] See also

List of Microsoft topics