Finally, a great deal of controversy took place when a set of internal memos from the company were leaked on the Internet. Microsoft launched its Indian headquarters as well, which would eventually become the company's second largest after its U.S. headquarters. Windows 98 came with Internet Explorer 4.0 SP1 (which had Windows Desktop Update bundled), and included new features from Windows 95 OSR 2.x including the FAT32 file system, and new features designed for Windows 98, such as support for multiple displays. The year 1998 was significant in Microsoft's history, with Bill Gates appointing Steve Ballmer as president of Microsoft but remaining as chair and CEO himself.
Native Windows integration (taskbar pinning, quick‑launch and offline access) helps users act faster without context switching. Other highlights include system-wide audio control, latency-free mixing and seamless integration with any Windows app, empowering creators, educators and enthusiasts to achieve studio-level results from their desktop. Moises Live is an exclusive app that sets a new standard for music apps by harnessing real-time AI audio separation technology. Its trusted workflows extend to Microsoft and enterprise environments, helping teams ship faster while staying secure Developers can run ngrok as a background service, benefiting from integration with Windows security and app management tools. This makes Manus a powerful, flexible digital assistant for professionals seeking robust, transparent and secure automation on Windows.
It was an immediate success; 5,000 cards, a large number given the microcomputer market at the time, were purchased in the initial three months at $349 (~$1,112 in 2024) each and it was Microsoft's number one revenue source in 1980. It develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices. When Microsoft launched several versions of Microsoft Windows in the 1990s, they had captured over 90% market share of the world's personal computers.
The announcement came with confusion after Microsoft announced Windows 10 would be the last version of the operating system; set to be released in the third quarter of 2021. On September 21, 2020, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire video game company ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, for about $7.5 billion, with the deal expected to occur in the second half of 2021 fiscal year. Apple has imposed a strict limit on "remote desktop clients" which means applications are only allowed to connect to a user-owned host device or gaming console owned by the user. On March 26, 2020, Microsoft announced it was acquiring Affirmed Networks for about $1.35 billion (~$1.61 billion in 2024). In January 2019, Microsoft announced that support for Windows 10 Mobile would end on December 10, 2019, and that Windows 10 Mobile users should migrate to iOS or Android phones. In December 2018, Microsoft announced Project Mu, an open source release of the UEFI core used in Microsoft Surface and Hyper-V products.
Microsoft will launch a preview of Intune for Education "in the coming weeks", with general availability scheduled for spring 2017, priced at $30 (~$38.00 in 2024) per device, or through volume licensing agreements. Intune for Education is a new cloud-based application and device management service for the education sector. The server sibling to Windows 10, Windows Server 2016, was released in September 2016. In June 2016, Microsoft announced a project named Microsoft Azure Information Protection. The successor to Windows Phone 8.1, Windows 10 Mobile, was released November 20, 2015.
The release included an updated version of the Windows 2000 kernel, enhanced DOS emulation abilities, and many of the home-user features found in previous consumer versions. Microsoft, in 2000, released new products for all three lines of the company's flagship operating system, and saw the beginning of the end of one of its most prominent legal cases. In 1997, Internet Explorer 4.0 was released, marking the beginning of the takeover of the browser market from rival Netscape, and by agreement with Apple, Internet Explorer was bundled with the Apple Macintosh operating system as well as with Windows. The company continued to branch out into new markets in 1996, starting with a joint venture with NBC to create a new 24-hour cable news television station, MSNBC. Microsoft also released the Microsoft Sidewinder 3D Pro joystick in an attempt to further expand its profile in the computer hardware market.
It sported several new features such as enhanced multimedia abilities and consumer-oriented PC maintenance options, but is often regarded as one of the worst versions of Windows due to stability problems, restricted real mode DOS support and other issues. The next update to the consumer line, Windows ME (or Windows Millennium Edition), was released on September 14, 2000. On June 15, 2000, the company released a new version of its hand-held operating system, Windows CE 3.0. Part of this ruling was later overturned by a federal appeals court, and eventually settled with the U.S. The documents also alluded to legal and other actions against Linux as well as other open source software.
On July 31, 2012, Microsoft launched the Outlook.com webmail service beta to compete with Gmail. A developer preview was released on September 13, and was replaced by a consumer preview on February 29, 2012. Following the release of Windows Phone, Microsoft underwent a gradual rebranding of its product range throughout 2011 and 2012—the corporation's logos, products, services and websites adopted the principles and concepts of the Metro design language. On May 10, 2011, the company acquired Skype Technologies for US$8.5 billion (~$11.7 billion in 2024).
On the advertisement side of the deal, Microsoft's Atlas ad-serving division became the exclusive provider of previously unsold advertising inventory on Viacom owned web sites. The deal also made Viacom a preferred publisher partner for casual game development and distribution through MSN and Windows. The deal allowed Microsoft to license many shows from Viacom owned cable television and film studios for use on Xbox Live and MSN. On December 19, 2007, Microsoft signed a five-year, $500 million (~$727 million in 2024) contract with Viacom that included content sharing and advertisements.
On June 15, 2006, Bill Gates announced his plans for a two-year transition period out of a day-to-day role with Microsoft until July 31, 2008. Activity grew quickly as developers from around the world began to participate, and by early 2007 commercial open source companies, such as Aras Corp. began to offer enterprise open source software exclusively on the Microsoft platform. Soon afterward, Microsoft created the CodePlex collaborative development site for hosting open source projects. In guise of competing with other Internet Companies such as the search service Google, in 2005 Microsoft announced a new version of its MSN search service. However, Microsoft encountered more turmoil in March 2004 when antitrust legal action would be brought against it by slotrize casino registration the European Union for allegedly abusing its market dominance (see Microsoft Corp. v. Commission).
In November 1996, Microsoft Office 97 was released, which is the first version to include Office Assistant. While Microsoft largely failed to participate in the rise of the Internet in the early 1990s, some of the key technologies in which the company had invested to enter the Internet market started to pay off by the mid-90s. Microsoft entered the personal digital assistant (PDA) market in November with Windows CE 1.0, a new built-from-scratch version of their flagship operating system, designed to run on low-memory, low-performance machines, such as handhelds and other small computers. In an attempt to extend its reach in the consumer market, the company acquired WebTV, which enabled consumers to access the Web from their televisions. Microsoft also launched Slate, an online magazine edited by Michael Kinsley, which offered political and social commentary along with the cartoon Doonesbury.
On August 24, 1995, Microsoft released Windows 95, a new version of the company's flagship operating system which featured a completely new user interface, including a novel start button; more than a million copies were sold in the first four days after its release. The company released Microsoft Bob, a graphical user interface designed for novice computer users, in March 1995. As part of its strategy to broaden its business, Microsoft released Microsoft Encarta on March 22, 1993, the first encyclopedia designed to run on a computer. Microsoft also released Windows for Workgroups 3.11, a new version of the consumer line of Windows, and Windows NT 3.1, a server-based operating system with a similar user interface to consumer versions of the operating system, but with an entirely different kernel.
The company also released the Microsoft SQL Server 6.5, which had built-in support for internet applications. In March 1992, Microsoft released Windows 3.1 along with its first promotional campaign on TV; the software sold over three million copies in its first two months on the market. Microsoft Works, an integrated office program which combined features typically found in a word processor, spreadsheet, database and other office applications, saw its first release as an application for the Apple Macintosh towards the end of 1986. By then the company was the world's largest producer of software for personal computers—ahead of former leader Lotus—and published the three most-popular Macintosh business applications.
Within hours, CrowdStrike released a patch for the faulty update that prevented future crashes, but affected computers had to be fixed manually, so problems persisted for some time. In January 2023, CEO Satya Nadella announced Microsoft would lay off some 10,000 employees. Microsoft has not released statements regarding Activision's recent legal controversies regarding employee abuse, but reports have alleged that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, a major target of the controversy, will leave the company after the acquisition is finalized. Microsoft plans to incorporate Ally.io into its Viva family of employee experience products. On October 7, Microsoft acquired Ally.io, a software service that measures companies' progress against OKRs.