any in the world. Microsoft was given an enormous boost when its operating system software, MS-DOS was selected for use bye the IBM PC. Gates, now the richest man in the world, provides the companys vision on new product ideas and technologies. Not until 1975 and the introduction of the Altair 8800 personal computer was computing made available to individuals and very small companies. This event has forever changed how society perceives computers. One prominent entrepreneurial venture during the early years of personal computers was the Apple II computer. Two young computer enthusiasts, Steven Jobs and Steve Wozniak (then 21 and 26 years of age, respectively), collaborated to create and build their Apple ii computer on a makeshift production line in Jobs garage. Seven years later, Apple Computer earned a spot on the Fortune 500 , a list of the 500 largest corporations in the United States. In 1981, IBM tossed its hat into the personal computer ring with its announcement of the IBM Personal Computer, or IBM PC. By the end of 1982, 835,000 had been sold. When software vendors began to orient their products to the IBM PC, many companies began offering IBM-PC compatibles or clones. Today the IBM PC and its clones have become a powerful standard for the microcomputer industry, Mitchell Kapor is one of the major forces behind the microcomputer boom in the 1980s in 1982, Kapor founded Lotus Development Company, now one of the largest applications software companies in the world. Kapor and the company introduced an electronic spreadsheet product that gave IBMs recently introduced IBM PC (1981) credibility in business marketplace. Sales of the IBM pc and the electronic spreadsheet, lotus 1-2-3 soared.Microsoft introduced Windows, a GUI for IBM PC compatible computers in 1985; however, windows did not enjoy widespread acceptance until 1990 with the release of Windows 3.0 Windows 3.0 gave a huge boost to the software industry because larger, more...
