Source : NEW INDIAN EXPRESS NEWS
Paul Allen
Paul Allen, born in 1953 in Seattle, was a schoolmate of Gates.
Allen was 10 when he started a science club at home, and would later bond with young Gates over computers.
“Microsoft would never have happened without Paul,” Gates wrote in tribute to Allen, who died of cancer complications in 2018.
Gates told of Allen showing him a magazine featuring a computer running on a new chip, and warning that a tech revolution was happening without them.
Allen is credited with combining “microcomputer” and “software” to come up with “Micro-Soft”.
He left Microsoft in 1983, but remained a board member until 2000. He went on to accuse Gates and Ballmer of scheming to “rip him off” by getting hold of his shares while he battled cancer.
Steve Ballmer
Ballmer was seen as a devoted salesman who ramped up Microsoft revenue while neglecting innovation.
A Michigan native with a talent for mathematics, he graduated from Harvard.
Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 and was best man at the 1994 wedding of Bill and Melinda Gates.
Ballmer, now 69, succeeded Gates as chief executive in 2000.
His enthusiastic gestures, awkward dance moves, and voice-straining shouts made him the stuff of internet memes and company lore.
Ballmer oversaw the launch of Xbox video game consoles, Surface tablets, and Bing online search engine. Microsoft bought Skype and Nokia’s mobile phone division on Ballmer’s watch.
During his tenure, Microsoft was seen as clinging to PCs while lifestyles raced toward mobile devices and cloud-based software.
His product failures include Zune digital music players, Kin mobile phones, and a Vista version of Windows.
SOURCE : NEWINDIANEXPRESS
