Microsoft

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(Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, www.microsoft.com) The most successful software company in the industry. Microsoft's software and Intel's hardware pioneered the PC and revolutionized the computer industry. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, its Windows operating systems are the de facto standards on the desktop and major contenders in the server arena. Microsoft Office is the most successful application suite in history. The company also has a thriving business in programming languages, which are its roots, as well as in numerous other software categories.

Gates and Allen were two college students when they wrote the first BASIC interpreter for the Intel 8080 microprocessor. MBASIC was licensed to Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems to accompany its Altair 8800 kit. By the end of 1976, more than 10,000 Altairs were sold, and versions were licensed to Radio Shack, Apple and others. Although the company became a leader in microcomputer programming languages, its outstanding success was caused by fitting IBM PCs with DOS in 1981 and non-IBM PCs with MS-DOS. In 1990, Windows 3.0, its third version of Windows, was enormously popular. Later, Windows 95 and Windows NT cemented Microsoft's leadership.

After the explosion of the Web, Microsoft worked feverishly to gain a foothold. By giving away its Internet Explorer browser and then integrating it into Windows 98, Internet Explorer became the leading on-ramp to the Internet. The Microsoft Network (MSN) ISP division is also a growing part of the company, and although many do not think of it as such, Microsoft is a very large hardware company. Its 2003 revenues for mice, keyboards, Xboxes and other devices exceeded five billion dollars. See Windows, DOS, Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, Microsoftie and Altair.

William H. Gates, III

Bill Gates has become the most widely known business entrepreneur in the world, regardless of industry. (Image courtesy of Microsoft Corporation.)

The Microsoft Campus

This is the main building of the sprawling Microsoft campus. (Image courtesy of Microsoft Corporation.)

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Company Perspectives: To enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential. Key Dates: 1975: Microsoft is founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen; they sell BASIC, the first PC computer language program to MITS Computer, Microsoft's first customer. 1981: Microsoft, Inc. is incorporated; IBM uses Microsoft's 16-bit operating system for its first personal computer. 1982: Microsoft, U.K., Ltd. is incorporated. 1983: Paul Allen resigns as executive vice-president but remains on the board; Jon Shirley is made president of Microsoft (he later becomes CEO); Microsoft introduces the Microsoft Mouse and Word for MS-DOS 1.00. 1985: Microsoft and IBM forge a joint development agreement. 1986: Microsoft stock goes public at $21 per share. 1987: The company's first CD-ROM application, Microsoft Bookshelf, is released. 1990: Jon Shirley retires as president and CEO; Michael R. Hallman is promoted in Shirley's place; the company becomes the first PC software firm to surpass $1 billion of sales in a single year. 1992: Bill Gates is awarded the National Medal of Technology for Technological Achievement. 1993: The company introduces Windows NT. 1995: Bill Gates publishes his first book, The Road Ahead. 1996: The company acquires Vermeer Technologies and its software application, FrontPage. 1997: The Justice Department alleges that Microsoft violated a 1994 consent decree concerning licensing the Windows operating system to computer manufacturers. 1998: The U.S. Department of Justice files two antitrust cases against Microsoft, alleging the company had violated the Sherman Act. 2000: The company acquires Visio Corporation, its largest acquisition to date. 2001: Microsoft Windows XP is released internationally. 2003: Microsoft launches Windows Server 2003.

Incorporated: 1981 as Microsoft, Inc.
NAIC: 511210 Software Publishers; 511130 Book Publishers; 334111 Electronic Computer Manufacturing; 334119 Other Computer Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing; 423990 All Other Durable Goods Merchant Wholesalers; 443120 Computer and Software Stores; 551112 Offices of Other Holding Companies; 541613 Marketing Consulting Services; 541618 Other Management Consulting Services

With annual revenues of more than $32 billion, Microsoft Corporation is more than the largest software company in the world: it is a cultural phenomenon. The company's core business is based on developing, manufacturing, and licensing software products, including operating systems, server applications, business and consumer applications, and software development tools, as well as Internet software, technologies, and services. Led by Bill Gates, the world's wealthiest individual and most famous businessman, Microsoft has succeeded in placing at least one of its products on virtually every personal computer in the world, setting industry standards and defining markets in the process.

Bill Gates was born in Seattle in 1955, the second of three children in a well-to-do family. His father, William H. Gates II, was a lawyer, while his mother, Mary Gates, was a teacher, a regent of the University of Washington, and member of several corporate boards. Gates was first exposed to computers at school in the late 1960s with his friend Paul Allen, the son of two Seattle librarians. By the time Gates was 14, the two friends were writing and testing computer programs for fun and profit.

In 1972 they established their first company, Traf-O-Data, which sold a rudimentary computer that recorded and analyzed traffic data. Allen went on to study computer science at the University of Washington and then dropped out to work at Honeywell, while Gates enrolled at Harvard. Inspired in 1975 by an issue of Popular Electronics that showed the new Altair microcomputer kit just released by MITS Computer, Gates and Allen wrote a version of BASIC for the machine. Later that year Gates left college to work full time developing programming languages for the Altair, and he and Allen relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to be near MITS Computer, where Allen took a position as director of software development. Gates and Allen named their partnership Micro-soft. Their revenues for 1975 totaled $16,000.

A year later, Gates published "An Open Letter to Hobbyists" in the Altair newsletter, in which he enjoined users to avoid illegally copied software. Arguing that software piracy prevented "good software from being written," Gates wrote prophetically, "Nothing would please me more than being able to hire ten programmers and deluge the hobby market with good software." In November 1976 Allen left MITS to devote his full attention to Microsoft, and the company's tradename was registered. In 1977 Apple and Radio Shack licensed Microsoft BASIC for their Apple II and Tandy computers, with the Apple license going for a flat fee of $21,000. As Apple sold a million machines complete with BASIC, Microsoft's unit revenues dropped to two cents a copy.

That same year Microsoft released its second programming language, Microsoft FORTRAN, which was followed in 1978 by a version of COBOL. Both were written for the CP/M operating system, one of many available in the rapidly expanding but still unstandardized microcomputer market. As CP/M was adopted by computer manufacturers including Sirius, Zenith, and Sharp, Microsoft became the leading distributor for microcomputer languages. By the end of 1978 Microsoft had 13 employees, a sales subsidiary in Japan, and $1 million in revenues. The following year Gates and Allen moved the company to Bellevue, Washington.

Microsoft's big break came in 1980 as IBM began developing its Personal Computer, or PC. While IBM contracted Microsoft to develop languages for the PC, IBM's first choice to provide an operating system was the leader in the field, Digital Research; however, IBM and Digital Research were unable to agree on terms, so the contract for the operating system was awarded to Microsoft. As Microsoft was under a tight deadline and did not have an operating system of its own, the company purchased the rights to one from Seattle Computer Products for $75,000. Originally dubbed Q-DOS (for "Quick and Dirty Operating System"), the product was renamed MS-DOS (for "Microsoft Disk Operating System") and modified for IBM's purposes. Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft retained the right to sell the operating system to other companies and to consumers, while IBM could not. Neither company could have foreseen the value of this arrangement: as other manufacturers developed hardware compatible with the IBM PC, and as personal computing became a multibillion-dollar business, the fast and powerful MS-DOS became the industry's leading operating system, and Microsoft's revenues skyrocketed.

The year 1980 also saw the arrival of Steve Ballmer, a close friend of Gates from Harvard, who was hired to organize the non-technical side of the business. Ballmer later recalled the company's stormy beginnings under Gates's leadership: "Our first major row came when I insisted it was time to hire 17 people. He claimed I was trying to bankrupt him." Conservative in his spending, Gates dictated that the company must always have enough money in the bank to operate for a year with no revenues. Nearly 20 years later that policy still stood--in 1999 Microsoft had cash reserves of more than $13 billion and no long-term debt--while Ballmer, who had by then become Microsoft president, remained Gates's closest friend and adviser.

In 1981 the company was incorporated as Microsoft, Inc., with Gates as president and chairman and Allen as executive vice-president. The company closed the year with 128 employees and revenues of $16 million. Two years later Allen left Microsoft after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. He remained on the board of directors and continued to hold more than 10 percent of the company's stock. Also in 1983 Microsoft launched a word processing program, Word 1.0, in an effort to supplant the category leader, WordStar. Simpler to use and less expensive than WordStar, Word used a mouse to move the cursor and was able to display bold and italic type on the screen. Nevertheless, some users felt that the product was too complex--designed for software engineers rather than business users--and it was quickly surpassed in the market by WordPerfect, released by the WordPerfect Corporation. Word did not become a success until its greatly improved version 3.0 was released in 1986, whereupon the application became Microsoft's best-selling product.

Throughout its history, Microsoft has been known for releasing products that were initially unsuccessful but eventually grew to dominate their categories. Many reviewers have been harsh in their criticism: David Kirkpatrick, writing in Fortune, described the first release of one product as a "typically unreliable, bug-ridden Microsoft mess," while Brent Schlender noted in the same magazine that "from its beginnings, Microsoft has been notorious for producing inelegant products that are frequently inferior and bringing them to the market way behind schedule." These critics note that the success of Microsoft has been based not only--or even principally--on the company's technological prowess, but also on Bill Gates's business acumen, which combined dogged perseverance, strategic marketing, powerful alliances, and, increasingly as the years went on, highly aggressive competitive tactics.

Microsoft worked closely with Apple during the development of Apple's Macintosh computer, which was introduced in 1984. Revolutionary in its design, the Mac featured a graphical user interface based on icons rather than the typed commands used by the IBM PC, making its programs simple to use and easy to learn, even by computer novices. Microsoft introduced Mac versions of BASIC, Word, and the spreadsheet program Multiplan, and quickly became the leading supplier of applications for the Mac. Revenues jumped from $50 million in 1983 to nearly $100 million in 1984.

Convinced that the Mac's graphical user interface represented the future of end-user applications, Gates sought to develop an interface manager to work on top of MS-DOS that would convert the operating system to a graphical model that would be user-friendly and provide a single method for interacting with the many non-standardized programs designed to run on the system. Because other companies, including IBM, were working to develop similar interface managers for MS-DOS, Gates solicited support from hardware manufacturers and software publishers who were concerned about IBM's continued dominance of the PC market. Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Texas Instruments, Digital Equipment Corporation, and others announced their support for the project, called Microsoft Windows, while IBM, in the face of this opposition, threw its weight behind VisiOn, a similar product already being marketed by VisiCalc, while working to develop its own program, called TopView. Plagued by delays in development, the release of Windows was repeatedly rescheduled throughout 1984 and 1985, causing tensions at Microsoft and with other software publishers who were forced to delay releases of the applications they were designing for the system. Finally released in November 1985, after some 110,000 hours of frantic work by programmers, Windows faced a disappointing reception. The system was slow, few applications were available to run on it, and customers delayed purchase decisions while waiting for the introduction of TopView.

In 1985 Microsoft also introduced Excel 1.0, a Mac spreadsheet product. Based on the earlier and less successful Multiplan, Excel gradually took hold against its principal competitor, Lotus 1-2-3, and eventually came to account for more than $1 billion of Microsoft's annual revenues. That same year Microsoft began collaborating with IBM on a next-generation operating system, called OS/2.

In early 1986 Microsoft moved to a new 40-acre corporate campus in Redmond, Washington, near Seattle. Designed to provide a refuge free of distractions for those whose job was, in Gates's words, to "sit and think," the campus was nestled in a quiet woodland setting and reflected huge expenditures for tools, space, and comfort. Buildings were designed in the shape of an X to maximize light, with each programmer given a private office rather than a cubicle. The buildings featured many small, subsidized cafeterias, as well as refrigerators stocked with juice and caffeinated beverages. The self-contained, collegiate surroundings were carefully designed to promote the company's distinctive culture, which one commentator described as a close approximation of "math camp." Like most software companies, Microsoft had no dress code (although company lore recounts that in 1988 senior management did express a preference that employees not go barefoot indoors). Employees were hired on the basis of sheer intelligence, with the company selecting only a small fraction of applicants from the more than 100,000 resumes it received each year, and were expected to work brutal schedules to bring products to market as quickly as possible. Microsoft paid salaries that were distinctly lower than elsewhere in the industry, even to their senior executives, but compensated with generous stock options that made thousands of Microsoft employees millionaires. At the same time, the company tried to maintain a small company mentality, in which executives traveled coach class, the necessity of additional staff positions was closely scrutinized, and other unnecessary expenditures were vigilantly avoided.

In March 1986 Microsoft held an initial public offering (IPO) of 2.5 million shares which raised $61 million. Within a year the stock had risen from $25 to $85, making Bill Gates a billionaire at the age of 31. The following year Microsoft released its first CD-ROM product, Microsoft Bookshelf, a collection of ten reference works, as well as Excel for Windows, its first application for the new operating system. Microsoft also purchased Forethought, Inc., for $12 million, thereby acquiring that company's PowerPoint presentation graphics program, and released OS/2 in collaboration with IBM. In November 1987 Microsoft introduced Windows 2.0, a greatly improved version of the operating system, and by the end of the year Windows had sold more than one million copies. As Windows began to take hold, more software companies were convinced to develop applications for the operating system, which brought it increased usefulness and further sales momentum. In 1988 Microsoft surpassed Lotus Development Corporation as the leading software vendor, with more than $500 million in sales. The company was accused of copyright infringement by Apple, which alleged that Microsoft had copied the "look and feel" of the Macintosh, in a lawsuit that was finally dismissed after five years of litigation. In 1989 the company introduced Microsoft Office, a "suite" of programs that eventually came to dominate the market and become Microsoft's best-selling application product. While the initial release of Office was a discount package, later versions incorporated standard, shared features and included Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and the e-mail program Mail, with the Access database management program included in the Office Professional version.

Before 1990 Microsoft was primarily a supplier to hardware manufacturers, but after 1990 the bulk of the company's revenues came from sales to consumers. That year Microsoft became the first software company to reach $1 billion in revenues, closing the year with 5,600 employees.

In 1993 Microsoft introduced Encarta, the first multimedia encyclopedia on CD-ROM, as well as the first version of Windows NT, an operating system for users on corporate networks. While the initial acceptance of Windows NT was disappointing, an upgrade shipped in September of the following year as NT 3.5 was a dramatic success: winning the PC Magazine award for technical excellence in system software and named the best operating system product of 1994, the upgrade boosted sales of NT to more than one million copies by the end of the year. Microsoft announced an agreement to purchase Intuit, the producer of the leading package of personal financial software, called Quicken; however, after the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit to prevent the takeover on the basis of antitrust concerns, Microsoft withdrew its offer. Revenues for 1994 exceeded $4 billion.

In August 1995 Microsoft launched its next version of Windows, called Windows 95, which sold more than one million copies in the first four days after its release. For the rest of the decade Microsoft expanded aggressively into new businesses associated with its core franchise. Its projects included two joint ventures with the National Broadcasting Company under the name MSNBC: an interactive online news service and a cable channel broadcasting news and information 24 hours a day. The company's web-based services included the Microsoft Network online service, a travel agency, local events listings, car buying information, a personal financial management site, and a joint venture with First Data that allowed consumers to pay their bills online. Microsoft purchased 11 percent of the cable television company Comcast for $1 billion and cut a licensing deal with the largest U.S. cable operator, TCI Communications, to put Windows into at least five million set-top boxes. The company also purchased WebTV, whose core technology allowed users to surf the Internet without a PC. Microsoft's latest generation of Windows, Windows CE, was designed to expand the franchise into computer-like devices including mobile phones, point-of-sale terminals, pocket organizers, digital televisions, digital cameras, handheld computers, automobile multimedia systems, and pagers. By early 1999 the company had secured more than 100 licensing agreements with manufacturers of these "intelligent appliances."

Microsoft's many critics believed that the company's goal in this widespread expansion was to control every delivery channel of information, thereby providing the means to control the content. According to Scott McNealy of rival company Sun Microsystems, "By owning the entry points to the Internet and electronic marketplace, Microsoft has the power to exercise predatory and exclusionary control over the very means for people to access the Internet and all it represents."

The U.S. government apparently agreed. After an intensive investigation of Microsoft's competitive practices that had gone on for much of the decade, in 1998 the U.S. Department of Justice and a group of 20 state attorneys general filed two antitrust cases against Microsoft alleging violations of the Sherman Act. The government sought to prove a broad pattern of anticompetitive behavior on Microsoft's part by demonstrating an array of claims, including the following: that Microsoft had a monopoly on the market for operating systems; that the company used that monopoly as a means of preventing other companies from selling its competitors' products (most notably Netscape's Internet browser); that it was illegal for Microsoft to bundle its own browser into the operating system Windows 98 as a means of precluding customers from purchasing Netscape's product; that the company sought to divide markets with competitors; that Microsoft sought to subvert the Java programming language, developed by Sun Microsystems, which it viewed as a threat to Windows; and, finally, that Microsoft's business practices were detrimental to consumers. The case was conducted under a flurry of media attention, with all parties agreeing that the stakes were extremely high: should Microsoft win, its brand of extremely aggressive capitalism would secure a legal blessing; should the company lose, the company could be forced to license the source code for Windows to competitors, thus destroying its monopoly, or could be broken up into smaller components, crippling its hold over the marketplace.

The fear and resentment that Microsoft and its founder Gates engendered were testament to the company's mythic status and Gates's role as the embodiment of the digital era. Gates's extreme wealth (in early 1999 he was worth $50 billion) made him the subject of constant scrutiny, while the Internet was rife with Bill Gates "hate pages," named, for example, "The Society for the Prevention of Bill Gates Getting Everything." Resentment and legal action notwithstanding, with more than $14 billion in sales in 1998, Microsoft showed no signs of slowing down.

Microsoft continued to grow rapidly, increasing its net revenue by 29 percent, to $19.7 billion, in 1999. Additionally, net income rose to $7.79 billion, a dramatic 73 percent increase over 1998. While the antitrust suit against Microsoft showed threats of a forced breakup of Microsoft, innovations in the company continued. Encarta Africana, the first complete encyclopedia of black history and culture, was launched, as well as Shop, Microsoft's first online store.

In 2000 Microsoft acquired Visio Corporation, the top supplier of business diagramming and technical drawing software. The transaction, at approximately $1.3 billion, became the largest acquisition in Microsoft history. Also in 2000, Microsoft invested $135 million in the software publisher Corel. Apparently, Corel negotiated the investment, offering to drop "certain legal actions" it had against the company, even as it had no legal claims filed against Microsoft. Another transaction--in Microsoft's desire to expand into the television market--involved a $56 million investment in Intertainer Inc, a provider of video-on-demand service. In the same year, Microsoft increased its employee base by nearly 9,000, from 39,170 to 48,030. The total expenditures took a temporary toll on Microsoft's net income, which dropped 22 percent, to $7.35 billion, in 2001. At the same time, net revenue continued to increase, up 10 percent from 2000.

The release of Windows 2000, while causing a stir, was overshadowed by the highly anticipated debut and worldwide release of Microsoft Windows XP. So confident was Microsoft in the product, and in its ability to boost worldwide sales of computers (which had declined 11.3 percent since the September 11 attacks just a month before), they launched a $250 million ad campaign for the product. The software did not represent a brand new development, as much of the technology came from that of its predecessor, Windows 2000. But as Paul Thurrott, writer for Network Windows magazine, wrote, "There's no doubt that we'll eventually look back on Windows XP as one of the key OS releases of all time."

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice ruled that they would not enforce a breakup of Microsoft. By the end of 2002, the U.S. District Court approved the settlement Microsoft reached with the Justice Department. The settlement included preventing Microsoft from benefiting from exclusive deals that could hinder competition; uniform contract terms for computer manufacturers; the required ability of customers to remove icons from certain Microsoft features; and a requirement that Microsoft release specific innovational technical information to its rivals, in order to enforce competition.

Microsoft's net revenue increased to $28.37 billion in 2002, while net income rebounded, gaining 6 percent from the previous year. In 2003, Microsoft saw an impressive 28 percent jump in net income, to reach just below $10 billion. The launching of Windows Server 2003, the largest software development project in the company's history to date, contributed to the growth. According to Microsoft, Windows Server 2003 would be a more reliable, more manageable, and more collaborative piece of software. Security would also be tighter, especially due to a newly built IIS (Internet Information Server) Web Server.

By 2004, with more than 56,000 employees and anticipated year-end revenues of up to $38 billion, Microsoft continued to hold a strong lead in the computer software industry. With an emphasis on continuous innovation--including such business products as the BizTalk Server 2004--further success seemed ensured. Still, resentment toward Microsoft was omnipresent. In April 2004, the company was fined by the European Union for abusing its monopoly on computer operating systems. The fine, at EUR 497 million ($596 million), was not likely to be the last for Microsoft.

Principal Subsidiaries

Microsoft Asia, Ltd. (Nevada); Microsoft Business Solutions Aps (Denmark); Microsoft Capital Group, L.P.; Microsoft E-Holdings, Inc.; Microsoft Finance Company Ltd. (Ireland); Microsoft Ireland Capital Ltd.; Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd.; Microsoft Licensing, Inc.; Microsoft Manufacturing BV (Netherlands); Microsoft T-Holdings, Inc.; MSLI, GP; Round Island, LLC; Round Island One Ltd.

Principal Divisions

Client; Server & Tools; Information Worker; Business Solutions; MSN; Mobile and Embedded Devices; Home and Entertainment; Other.

Principal Competitors

Apple Computer, Inc.; Hewlett-Packard Company; International Business Machines Corporation; Logitech International SA; Novell, Inc.; Sony Corporation; Sun Microsystems, Inc.; Time Warner Inc.; Yahoo! Inc.

Further Reading

Consuming, Michael A., Microsoft Secrets: How the World's Most Powerful Software Company Creates Technology, Shapes Markets, and Manages People, New York: Free Press, 1995, 512 p.

Desmond, Edward W., "Microsoft's Big Bet on Small Machines," Fortune, July 20, 1998, pp. 86-90.

"EU, Microsoft Clash Over Monopoly Ruling," Associated Press, April 29, 2004.

Evers, Joris, "Ballmer: Windows Server 2003 Does More with Less," IDG News Service (San Francisco Bureau).

France, Mike, "Microsoft: The View at Halftime," Business Week, January 25, 1999, p. 78.

Hamm, Steve, "No Letup--And No Apologies: Antitrust Scrutiny Hasn't Eased Microsoft's Competitiveness," Business Week, October 26, 1998, p. 58.

Higgins, David, "The Man Who Owns the Future," Sydney Morning Herald, March 14, 1998, p. 1.

Iceboat, Daniel, and Susan L. Knepper, The Making of Microsoft: How Bill Gates and His Team Created the World's Most Successful Software Company, Rocklin, Calif.: Prima Publishing, 1991, 304 p.

Isaacson, Walter, "In Search of the Real Bill Gates," Time Magazine, January 13, 1997, pp. 44+.

Kirkpatrick, David, "He Wants All Your Business--And He's Starting to Get It," Fortune, May 26, 1997, pp. 58+.

------, "Microsoft: Is Your Company Its Next Meal?," Fortune, April 27, 1998, pp. 92-102.

Krantz, Michael, "If You Can't Beat 'Em ... Will Bill Gates' Bailout Save Apple--Or Just Strengthen Microsoft's Hand in the Web Wars?," Time Magazine, August 18, 1997, pp. 35+.

Manes, Stephen, and Paul Andrews, Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry--And Made Himself the Richest Man in America, New York: Doubleday, 1993.

Mardesich, Jodi, "What's Weighing Down Microsoft?," Fortune, January 11, 1999, pp. 147-48.

McKenzie, Richard B., Trust on Trial: How the Microsoft Case Is Reframing the Rules of Competition, Perseus Publishing, 2000.

Moody, Fred, I Sing the Body Electronic: A Year with Microsoft on the Multimedia Frontier, New York: Viking, 1995, 311 p.

Nocera, Joseph, "High Noon," Fortune, November 23, 1998, pp. 162+.

Pollock, Andrew, "Media; Microsoft Makes Another Interactive TV Investment," New York Times, January 24, 2000.

Schlender, Brent, "What Bill Gates Really Wants," Fortune, January 16, 1995, pp. 34+.

Stross, Randall E., The Microsoft Way: The Real Story of How the Company Outsmarts Its Competition, Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1996, 318 p.

Wallace, James, and Jim Erickson, Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire, New York: Wiley, 1992, 426 p.

— Scott Lewis

The world’s leading software-producing company, headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and founded by William Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. Among its early products were BASIC and MS-DOS (marketed to IBM for use in its computers as PC-DOS). For further information see http://www.microsoft.com.

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The new Evil Empire (the old one was IBM). The basic complaints are, as formerly with IBM, that (a) their system designs are horrible botches, (b) we can't get source to fix them, and (c) they throw their weight around a lot. See also Halloween Documents.

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Founded in 1975, the Microsoft Corporation rose from having no assets to become one of the most valuable companies in the world, and in 2003 was the largest computer software company and one of the great success stories in American business.

The roots of the company go back to 1968, when the Lakeside Academy acquired access to a computer in downtown Seattle. Computer programming fired the imaginations of Bill Gates and Paul Allen, then thirteen and fifteen years old. At the time, access to computers was expensive. They took on local programming jobs to pay for more computer time. In 1971, they wrote a program called Traf-O-Data, analyzing patterns of traffic flow. This project earned them $20,000. The next opportunity to turn their skills into income was a major turning point. In 1974, Management Information Tools, Inc. (MITI), published an advertisement for the first mass-produced home computer, called the MITS Altair. The machine was primitive by today's standards. It took a soldering iron and hours of patience to assemble. Once assembled, it could only be programmed with the 1s and 0s of machine code, requiring the programmer to set toggle switches at the front of the machine.

Despite these limitations, Gates and Allen saw the potential of personal computing. But first, it had to be made practical for the non specialist. Their solution was to write a compact version of the BASIC language that could be loaded into the Altair's memory from tape. Once loaded, the program understood and responded to simple, quasi-English commands in BASIC, using a Teletype machine to communicate. To complete negotiations with MITI, Gates and Allen formed a partnership they called Micro Soft, for microcomputer software. They later dropped the hyphen. As other companies produced personal computers of their own, Gates persuaded them to use Microsoft's BASIC. Microsoft hired additional programmers as it produced other languages for the new machines.

Bill Gates attended Harvard while trying to run the fledgling company. He had planned to major in law. Shortly, however, he quit to focus on the company fulltime. While at Harvard, he met Steve Ballmer, a business major who would eventually join the company and later become its chief executive officer.

Microsoft's next triumphs came in the area of operating systems. An operating system is a resident program that enables a user to load, manage, and run other programs; it provides the computer's general look and feel.

In 1981, the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) released its personal computer, or "PC." Microsoft grew tremendously after acquiring the MSDOS operating system and licensing it to IBM. (Gates paid a programmer named Tim Patterson $50,000 for the system, although Microsoft added refinements.) IBM did not insist on exclusive rights to the software. As a hardware company, it believed that more money was to be made selling machines. Microsoft was therefore able to license the system to all the IBM "clones" and so reap hundreds of millions of dollars. The de facto designer of the PC environment became Microsoft in conjunction with chipmaker Intel. The main competition remaining in the personal computer market was Apple—although Microsoft also wrote the most popular applications for the Apple Macintosh.

Along with Apple, Microsoft saw the value of graphical user interface (GUI), using pictures, menus, and icons, instead of typed-in commands. While continuing to expand into many areas, Microsoft worked for years on a GUI operating system for IBM PCs and clones (now just known as PCs). That system was Windows, released in 1985. At first a failure—clumsy and awkward compared to the Macintosh—Windows eventually succeeded. Windows 3.0 was easy to use and took advantage of improvements in PC hardware, such as superior graphics, that had occurred since Windows 1.0. Microsoft also released a new version of BASIC—Visual Basic—making it easy to write programs for Windows.

Eventually, 90 percent of all personal computers ran Windows, and the leading applications (including word processing, database, and spreadsheets) were also Microsoft products. In the mid-1990s, it seemed that the emerging Internet might give rivals a chance to supplant Microsoft, whose software had always been based on the single-user model. By the late 1990s, however, Microsoft's integration of Internet technology into its products helped secure its dominance. Meanwhile, the company continued to devote its large research budget to new areas, such as interactive television.

But on 7 June 2000, the confidence and persistence that had served Microsoft in the past threatened to damage it, as Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ordered the breakup of the company in a suit brought by the U.S. Justice Department and a number of states. The suit charged that Microsoft had an operating-system monopoly in Windows, which it exploited to its advantage in other product lines. Jackson reasoned that if Microsoft was two companies, the applications division could not take advantage of close ties to the designers of Windows. In the summer of 2001, an appellate panel overturned this penalty as too severe (citing Jackson's bias, as revealed in published interviews) and sent the case back to a lower court for rehearing.

Bibliography

Andrews, Paul. How the Web Was Won: Microsoft from Windows to the Web: The Inside Story of How Bill Gates and His Band of Internet Idealists Transformed a Software Empire. New York: Random House, 1999.

Ichbiah, Daniel, and Susan L. Knepper. The Making of Microsoft: How Bill Gates and His Team Created the World's Most Successful Software Company. New York: St. Martin's, 1991.

Manes, Stephen, and Paul Andrews. Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry—and Made Himself the Richest Man in America. New York: Doubleday, 1993.

Microsoft Corporation. Inside Out: Microsoft—In Our Own Words. New York: Warner Books, 2000.

Wallace, James, and Jim Erickson. Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire. New York: Wiley, 1992.

Company Bio

Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft's mission has been to create software for the personal computer that empowers and enriches people in the workplace, at school and at home. As the world's leading software provider, Microsoft strives to produce innovative products that meet customers' evolving needs.

Microsoft products include the MS-DOS and Windows operating systems for personal computers, server applications for client/server environments, business and consumer productivity applications, interactive media programs, and Internet platform and development tools. Microsoft also offers online services, sells personal computer books and input devices, and researches and develops advanced technology software products. Microsoft products, available in more than 30 languages and sold in more than 50 countries, are available for most PCs, including Intel microprocessor-based computers and Apple computers.

Microsoft's games group is responsible for the best-selling Microsoft Flight Simulator, Close Combat and Age of Empires series, and a variety of sports titles, including Microsoft Golf, NFL Fever 2000 and NBA Inside Drive 2000.

In March 2000, Microsoft announced their intention to enter the console market with the Xbox, a platform based on advanced PC architecture. The new system launched November 15, 2001.

Developed/Manufactured

Xbox, Age of Empires (IBM PC Compatible), Monster Truck Madness (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator Scenery Pack: Caribbean, Japan & Hawaii (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator for Windows 95 [Microsoft Classic Games] (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Golf 2.0 CD (IBM PC Compatible), Outwars (IBM PC Compatible), Urban Assault (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Baseball 3D (IBM PC Compatible), CART Precision Racing (IBM PC Compatible), Deadly Tide (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Entertainment Pack 3 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Entertainment Pack 4 (IBM PC Compatible), Fighter Ace (IBM PC Compatible), Fury Trial Version (IBM PC Compatible), Games Sampler for Windows 95 (IBM PC Compatible), Hellbender (IBM PC Compatible), Manic Marbles (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Golf 3.0 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Golf (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Soccer (IBM PC Compatible), NBA Full Court Press (IBM PC Compatible), Games Sampler 2 for Windows 95 (IBM PC Compatible), Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far (Hybrid PC/Mac), Microsoft Golf 1998 Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Return of Arcade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator 5.1 CD-ROM [Bonus Pack] (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator 98 (IBM PC Compatible), Close Combat (IBM PC Compatible), Allegiance (IBM PC Compatible), Links LS for Macintosh (Macintosh), Motocross Madness (IBM PC Compatible), Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome Expansion (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator: WWII Europe Series (IBM PC Compatible), Monster Truck Madness 2 (IBM PC Compatible), Asheron's Call (IBM PC Compatible), Close Combat III: The Russian Front (IBM PC Compatible), My Personal Tutor: 1st & 2nd Grade (IBM PC Compatible), My Personal Tutor: Preschool and Kindergarten (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Pinball Arcade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Golf 1999 Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Dr. Black Jack (IBM PC Compatible), Fuji Golf (IBM PC Compatible), Midtown Madness (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Baseball 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), StarLancer (IBM PC Compatible), Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (IBM PC Compatible), NFL Fever 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), NBA Inside Drive 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Fighter Ace II (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Pandora's Box (IBM PC Compatible), Close Combat Trilogy (IBM PC Compatible), Links LS 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 Professional Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Crimson Skies (IBM PC Compatible), Motocross Madness 2 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Automap Streets Plus (IBM PC Compatible), Dungeon Siege (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft International Soccer 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Links LS 2000 Add-On Courses: 10 Course Pack -- Vol. 1 (IBM PC Compatible), Links Extreme (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Baseball 2001 (IBM PC Compatible), MechWarrior 4: Vengeance (IBM PC Compatible), MechCommander 2 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2: WWII Pacific Theater (IBM PC Compatible), Links 2001 (IBM PC Compatible), Midtown Madness 2 (IBM PC Compatible), Olympic Decathlon (Apple II), Nickelodeon 3D Movie Maker (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Cinemania 97 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Automap Trip Planner (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Creative Writer 2 (IBM PC Compatible), PJ's Reading Adventure (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Money 97 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Picture It! (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Greetings Workshop (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Art Gallery (IBM PC Compatible), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores Bugs (Hybrid PC/Mac), Age of Empires (Macintosh), Microsoft Oceans (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Revenge of Arcade (IBM PC Compatible), Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion (IBM PC Compatible), Age of Empires: Gold Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Solitaire (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Plus! Game Pack: Cards & Puzzles (IBM PC Compatible), Motocross Racing 2 (IBM PC Compatible), NBA Full Court Press (IBM PC Compatible), Monster Truck Madness (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Soccer (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Complete Baseball: 1994 Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Complete Baseball Guide 1995 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Complete NBA Basketball Guide '94-'95 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Entertainment Pack 3 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Entertainment Pack 4 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Entertainment Pack 2 (IBM PC Compatible), The Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack (IBM PC Compatible), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores in the Age of Dinosaurs (IBM PC Compatible), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Lands on Mars (Hybrid PC/Mac), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus in Concert (Hybrid PC/Mac), Microsoft Entertainment Pack: The Puzzle Collection (IBM PC Compatible), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores the World of Animals (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Greetings 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Home Publishing 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft FreeCell (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Hearts Network (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Streets & Trips 2001 (IBM PC Compatible), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores Inside the Earth (Hybrid PC/Mac), Microsoft Minesweeper (IBM PC Compatible), Links 5-Course Library: Vol. 1 [Microsoft Corporation] (Hybrid PC/Mac), Links 5-Course Library: Vol. 3 [Microsoft Corporation] (Hybrid PC/Mac), Links 5-Course Library: Vol. 4 [Microsoft Corporation] (Hybrid PC/Mac), Links 5-Course Library: Vol. 2 [Microsoft Corporation] (Hybrid PC/Mac), Microsoft Ancient Lands (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Arcade (Macintosh), Microsoft Arcade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Art Gallery (Macintosh), Microsoft Automap Road Atlas (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Golf 2001 Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Soccer (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Return of Arcade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Bob (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Revenge of Arcade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Train Simulator (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Casino (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Cinemania 96 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Cinemania '95 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Cinemania '94 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Cinemania '94 (Macintosh), Microsoft Cinemania 96 (Macintosh), Microsoft Cinemania 97 (Macintosh), Microsoft Creative Writer (Macintosh), Microsoft Cinemania '95 (Macintosh), Games Sampler 2 for Windows 95 (IBM PC Compatible), Games Sampler for Windows 95 (IBM PC Compatible), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores the Rainforest (IBM PC Compatible), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores the Ocean (IBM PC Compatible), Gex (IBM PC Compatible), Metal Gear Solid (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Complete NBA Basketball Guide '95-'96 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Dangerous Creatures (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Dangerous Creatures (Macintosh), Tex Murphy: Overseer (IBM PC Compatible), Tex Murphy: The Pandora Directive (IBM PC Compatible), Tex Murphy: Under a Killing Moon (IBM PC Compatible), UltraCorps (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Explorapedia: The World of Nature (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Explorapedia: The World of People (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator 4.0 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator 2.0 (Macintosh), Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator 2.0 (Apple II), Microsoft Flight Simulator 2.0 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator 3.0 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator for Windows 95 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator 4.0 (Macintosh), Microsoft Flight Simulator 5.1 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator 5.1 CD (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Hawaii Scenery Enhancement (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Golf: Multimedia Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Home Essentials 97 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Multimedia Mozart: The Dissonant Quartet (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Multimedia Strauss: Three Tone Poems (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Multimedia Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Wine Guide (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Wine Guide (Macintosh), Microsoft World of Flight (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Works 95 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta '95 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta '95 (Macintosh), Microsoft Encarta 96 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta 97 Standard Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta 97 Deluxe Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta 98 Deluxe (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta 98 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Reference Suite 98 [DVD-ROM] (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Reference Suite 99 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Reference Suite 99 [DVD-ROM] (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe 99 [DVD-ROM] (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta 94 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta World Atlas 97 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Bookshelf '92 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Bookshelf '93 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Bookshelf '94 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Bookshelf '95 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Bookshelf 1996-97 Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Bookshelf '98 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Bookshelf 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), 500 Nations: Stories of the Native American Experience (Hybrid PC/Mac), Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Standard 2001 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Reference Suite 2001 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe 2001 (IBM PC Compatible), U.S. Open at Pinehurst No.2 (Hybrid PC/Mac), Microsoft Encarta Reference Suite 2001 DVD (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Language Learning French (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Language Learning French Deluxe (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Language Learning Spanish (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Language Learning Spanish Deluxe (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Interactive World Atlas 2001 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta World English Dictionary 2001 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Africana Third Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Reference Suite 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Africana 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Reference Suite 2000 DVD (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Africana (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Music Central 96 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Music Central 97 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Music Central 96 (Macintosh), Microsoft Expedia Streets 98 Deluxe (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Music Central 97 (Macintosh), Links Expansion Pack (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Access 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Access 2000 Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Excel 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Composer Collection (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe 99 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Excel 2000 Competitive Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft FrontPage 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft FrontPage 2000 Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Greetings 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Greetings 2001 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Home Publishing Suite 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft PowerPoint 97 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Project 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Project 2000 Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Dinosaurs: An Interactive Journey into the World of Dinosaurs (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Visio 2000 Professional Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Visio 2000 Standard Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Dinosaurs: An Interactive Journey into the World of Dinosaurs (Macintosh), Microsoft Visio 2000 Standard Edition Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Professional Edition Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta 96 World Atlas (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 Standard Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Product Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Dogs (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Version Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Dogs (Macintosh), Microsoft Windows 2000 Server (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Version Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Competitive Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Word 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Word 2000 Competitive Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft PowerPoint 2001 for Macintosh (Macintosh), Microsoft PowerPoint 2001 for Macintosh Upgrade (Macintosh), Microsoft Word 2001 for Macintosh (Macintosh), Microsoft Word 2001 for Macintosh Upgrade (Macintosh), Microsoft Works 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Works: Version 6.0 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Works Suite 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Works Suite 2001 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Works Suite 2001 DVD (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows Me Promotional Step-Up (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows Me (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows Me Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Money 2000 Business & Personal (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Money 99 Basic (IBM PC Compatible), Julia Child: Home Cooking With Master Chefs (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft FrontPage 2000 With Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000 Version 2.0 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office 2001 for Macintosh (Macintosh), Microsoft Office 2000 Standard (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft CarSource (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office 2000 Standard Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Multimedia Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office 2000 Professional (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office 2000 Professional Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office 2000 Premium (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office 2000 Premium Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office 2000 Developer (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office 2000 Developer Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows CE Platform Builder 2.11 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Multimedia Schubert: The Trout Quintet (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows CE Platform Builder 2.11 Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Plus! for Windows 98 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft PowerPoint 98 Macintosh Edition (Macintosh), Microsoft Project 98 Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Musical Instruments (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Learning Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Visual C++ 6.0 Professional Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Visual C++ 6.0 Professional Edition Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Visual SourceSafe 6.0 Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Visual SourceSafe 6.0 (IBM PC Compatible), Visual Studio 6.0 Professional Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Musical Instruments (Macintosh), Microsoft TechNet (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows 95 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows 95 Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows 98 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows 98 Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Word for MS-DOS (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Excel for Windows (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Bookshelf (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office CD-ROM (IBM PC Compatible), Manic Marbles (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows 3.0 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows 3.1 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows 2.0 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows/386 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows/286 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Creative Writer (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Project 98 (IBM PC Compatible), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores the Ocean (Macintosh), Age of Empires: Collector's Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Pandora's Box: Puzzle Game of the Year Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft SideWinder Game Pad (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Classic Board Games (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Return of Arcade: Anniversary Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Classic Board Games (IBM PC Compatible), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores the Solar System (IBM PC Compatible), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores the Ocean (IBM PC Compatible), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores the Rainforest (IBM PC Compatible), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores the World of Animals (IBM PC Compatible), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus in Concert (Hybrid PC/Mac), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Lands on Mars (Hybrid PC/Mac), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores Bugs (Hybrid PC/Mac), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores Inside the Earth (Hybrid PC/Mac), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores the Ocean (Macintosh), Microsoft SideWinder Game Pad Pro (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft SideWinder Dual Strike (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback 2 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft SideWinder FreeStyle Pro (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft SideWinder Game Voice (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft SideWinder Joystick (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft SideWinder Plug & Play Game Pad (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft SideWinder Precision 2 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft SideWinder Precision Racing Wheel (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft SideWinder Strategic Commander (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft SideWinder Pro (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Laptop Games Pack (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Sports Pack (IBM PC Compatible), Racing Madness (IBM PC Compatible), Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding (Xbox), Azurik: Rise of Perathia (Xbox), Fuzion Frenzy (Xbox), Project Gotham Racing (Xbox), NFL Fever 2002 (Xbox), NightCaster: Defeat the Darkness (Xbox), Zoo Tycoon (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 Professional Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer (Hybrid PC/Mac), Blood Wake (Xbox), NBA Inside Drive 2002 (Xbox), Xbox Memory Unit (Xbox), Xbox DVD Movie Playback Kit (Xbox), Xbox High Definition AV Pack (Xbox), Xbox System Link Cable (Xbox), Xbox Standard AV Cable (Xbox), Xbox Advanced AV Pack (Xbox), Xbox RF Adapter (Xbox), Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox), Links Expansion Pack (IBM PC Compatible), MechWarrior 4: Black Knight Expansion (IBM PC Compatible), Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty (IBM PC Compatible), A.I. Puzzler [Canceled] (IBM PC Compatible), Links Challenge (IBM PC Compatible), Links 386 Pro CD (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Money 2002 Standard (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Money 2002 Deluxe (IBM PC Compatible), Age of Empires II: Gold Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta 99: Spanish (IBM PC Compatible), Fall of the House of Usher (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft's Golf For Windows (IBM PC Compatible), Xbox Game Controller (Xbox), Microsoft Golf For Windows 95 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Works & Money (IBM PC Compatible), Upgrade Office 97 for 32-Bit Windows (IBM PC Compatible), Upgrade Office 97 Small Business (IBM PC Compatible), Links Championship Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Bookshelf '94 (Macintosh), Microsoft Fine Artist (Hybrid PC/Mac), Microsoft Creative Writer (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Creative Writer (Hybrid PC/Mac), Microsoft Fine Artist (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Fine Artist (Macintosh), Ghostwriter Mysteries for Creative Writer: The Case of the Blue Makva (IBM PC Compatible), Ghostwriter Mysteries for Creative Writer: The Case of the Blue Makva (Macintosh), Microsoft Money 3.0 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Publisher 2.0 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Publisher StyleLine Design Pack (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Publisher Design Pack (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Publisher Special Occasions Design Pack (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Works 3.0 [DOS] (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Works 3.0 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Works 3.0 CD (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Works 4.0 (Macintosh), Microsoft Works & Bookshelf '94 (Macintosh), Microsoft Windows Sound System 2.0 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft SoundBits: Hanna-Barbera (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft SoundBits: Hollywood (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft SoundBits: Musical Instruments (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Scenes: Sierra Club Wildlife Collection (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Scenes: Undersea Collection (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Scenes: Sports Extremes Collection (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Scenes: Flight Collection (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Scenes: Hollywood Collection (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Scenes: Sierra Club Nature Collection (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Scenes: Brain Twister Collection (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Pandora's Box (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Pandora's Box: Puzzle Game of the Year Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft SideWinder Game Pad USB (IBM PC Compatible), Racing Madness (IBM PC Compatible), Racing Madness 2 (IBM PC Compatible), Shenmue II (Xbox), Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe 2002 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Standard 2002 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Streets & Trips 2002 (IBM PC Compatible), Links LS Classic (IBM PC Compatible), RalliSport Challenge (Xbox), Links Championship Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Picture It! 99 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator for Windows 95 [SmartSaver Series] (IBM PC Compatible), Best of Entertainment Pack V1.0 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Money 2002: Deluxe & Business (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Money 2002 Suite (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office XP Professional: Special Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office XP Developer (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office XP Professional (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office XP Standard (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office XP Standard for Students and Teachers (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Action Pack (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade (IBM PC Compatible), 3D Movie Maker (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Windows XP Professional (IBM PC Compatible), Best of Entertainment Pack V1.0 (IBM PC Compatible), Bicycle Games: Casino (IBM PC Compatible), Bicycle Games: Board (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Office Personal Portfolio: Version 2002 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Action Pack (IBM PC Compatible), Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee (Xbox), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Bonus Pack: Series 1 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Plus! for Windows XP (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Greetings: v. 2002 (IBM PC Compatible), Nezmix (Xbox), Tenku: Freestyle Snowboarding (Xbox), Project Gotham: World Street Racer (Xbox), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus: Whales & Dolphins (Hybrid PC/Mac), Microsoft Picture It! Publishing Platinum: v. 2002 (IBM PC Compatible), Whacked! (Xbox), Windows Media Technologies 7 Jumpstart CD (IBM PC Compatible), Zoo Tycoon: Dinosaur Digs (IBM PC Compatible), Links Expansion Pack: Vol. 2 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe (IBM PC Compatible), Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding (Xbox), Blood Wake (Xbox), Fuzion Frenzy (Xbox), Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox), Xbox Controller S (Xbox), Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee (Xbox), Project Gotham Racing (Xbox), RalliSport Challenge (Xbox), NFL Fever 2003 (Xbox), Bicycle Games: Card (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Arcade PocketPak [Pocket PC] (Mobile), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus: Discovers Flight (Hybrid PC/Mac), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus: Volcano Adventure (Hybrid PC/Mac), Bicycle Games: Card [Small Box] (IBM PC Compatible), Classic Flight Collection (IBM PC Compatible), Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox), The Unseen [Canceled] (Xbox), Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Bonus Pack: Series 2 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Excel 2002 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Word 2002 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Outlook 2002 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Access 2002 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft FrontPage 2002 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Outlook 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Halo: Combat Evolved (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe 2003 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Picture It! Photo Premium: v. 2002 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Works: Version 7.0 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Money 2003 Deluxe (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Decathlon (IBM PC Compatible), Xbox Live (Xbox), Maximum Force (Xbox), Jockey's Road (Xbox), RalliSport Challenge (Xbox), Microsoft Sidewinder Precision Pro (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro (IBM PC Compatible), Links 2003 (IBM PC Compatible), Exhibition: Demo Disc for Xbox (Xbox), The 'Mech Collection (IBM PC Compatible), Xbox Live Starter Kit (Xbox), Links 2003 Championship Courses (IBM PC Compatible), Xbox: Limited Edition Bundle (Xbox), Microsoft Windows NT (IBM PC Compatible), MS-DOS (IBM PC Compatible), Exhibition: Demo Disc for Xbox -- Vol. 2 (Xbox), MLB Inside Pitch 2003 (Xbox), Sega GT 2002/JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future (Xbox), Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight (IBM PC Compatible), Xbox Communicator (Xbox), Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding [Platinum Hits] (Xbox), Amped 2 (Xbox), Exhibition: Demo Disc for Xbox -- Vol. 3 (Xbox), NHL Rivals 2004 (Xbox), NFL Fever 2004 (Xbox), Mythica [Canceled] (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Train Simulator 2 [Canceled] (IBM PC Compatible), Xbox With Controller S (Xbox), Xbox Music Mixer (Xbox), Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection (IBM PC Compatible), Xbox Live Communicator (Xbox), Xbox Controller S [Blue] (Xbox), Xbox Controller S [Green], Xbox Live Starter Kit [2003] (Xbox), Links Championship Edition 2003 (IBM PC Compatible), Links 2004 (Xbox), Exhibition: Demo Disc for Xbox -- Vol. 4 (Xbox), Star Wars: The Clone Wars/Tetris Worlds (Xbox), Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Standard 2004 (IBM PC Compatible), Links LS 2000 [Jewel Case] (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator: WWII Europe Series [Jewel Case] (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Pandora's Box: Puzzle Game of the Year Edition [Jewel Case] (IBM PC Compatible), Exhibition: Demo Disc for Xbox -- Vol. 5 (Xbox), Xbox Green Halo Bundle (Xbox), Microsoft Sports Pack (IBM PC Compatible), Xbox Live 3-Month Starter Kit (Xbox), Xbox Live Starter Kit [2004] (Xbox), Fuzion Frenzy [Platinum Hits] (Xbox), Phantom Dust (Xbox), Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders (Xbox), Exhibition: Demo Disc for Xbox -- Vol. 6 (Xbox), Super Collapse! II [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Alien Sky [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Namco Vintage: Pole Position, Dig Dug, and Galaga [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Ms. Pac-Man [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Mutant Storm [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Guardian [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Fuzzee Fever [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Bejeweled [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Ricochet: Lost Worlds [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Dangerous Mines [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Hardwood Solitaire [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Zuma Deluxe [Xbox Live] (Xbox), AstroPop [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Xbox 360, Feeding Frenzy [Xbox Live] (Xbox), ThinkTanks [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Play & Charge Kit (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Memory Unit (64 MB), Xbox 360 Controller (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Networking Adapter, Xbox 360 Rechargeable Battery Pack [Black] (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 12-Month Premium Gold Pack (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 VGA HD AV Cable (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Faceplate (Hotrod) (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable, Xbox Live 3-Month Gold Subscription Card (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Headset (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 3-Month Premium Gold Pack (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 S-Video AV Cable (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 1 Month Gold Subscription Card (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 3-Month Premium Gold Pack (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 3-Month Gold Subscription Card (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 12-Month Subscription Card (Xbox), Xbox Live 12-Month Premium Gold Pack (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Hard Drive [20GB] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Faceplate (Silver) (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 12-Month Gold Subscription Card (Xbox 360), Microsoft Picture It! 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator X (IBM PC Compatible), Uno [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Atomaders [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Dino & Aliens [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Hamster Ball [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Orbz [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Deluxe Edition (IBM PC Compatible), Mahjong Titans (IBM PC Compatible), Purble Place (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Solitaire [2007] (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft FreeCell [2007] (IBM PC Compatible), Spider Solitaire (IBM PC Compatible), Hearts (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Minesweeper [2007] (IBM PC Compatible), Chess Titans (IBM PC Compatible), Xbox Live Vision (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Headset (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver (IBM PC Compatible), Magatama (Xbox), InkBall [Tablet PC] (IBM PC Compatible), Windows Vista: Home Basic (IBM PC Compatible), Windows Vista: Home Premium (IBM PC Compatible), Windows Vista: Business (IBM PC Compatible), Windows Vista: Ultimate (IBM PC Compatible), Xbox Live 4000 Microsoft Points (Xbox 360), Tetris Worlds [Xbox Live] (Xbox), Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Acceleration (IBM PC Compatible), Xbox 360 Wireless Controller [Black] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Controller [Blue] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Controller [Pink] (Xbox 360), Games for Windows Live (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 [Jewel Case] (IBM PC Compatible), Marvel: Ultimate Alliance/Forza Motorsport 2 (Xbox 360), Windows Vista: Hold 'Em (IBM PC Compatible), ESA Foundation Bundle (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 12 Month Messenger Gold Pack (Xbox 360), Children's Miracle Network Bundle (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Live Starter Kit [60GB HDD] (Xbox 360), Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos [Xbox Live Arcade] (Xbox 360), Xbox, Project Sylpheed: Arc of Deception (Xbox 360), Sega Superstars Tennis/Project Gotham Racing 4 (Xbox 360), Wireless Entertainment Pack: LEGO Indiana Jones/Kung Fu Panda (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Elite Limited Edition: Resident Evil (Xbox 360), Sam & Max Save the World [Xbox Live Arcade] (Xbox 360), Fallout 3: Broken Steel [Xbox Live] (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 1600 Microsoft Points (Xbox 360), Tinker (IBM PC Compatible), Xbox 360 Special Edition Halo 3: ODST Wireless Controller (Xbox 360), Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection [Jewel Case] (IBM PC Compatible), Xbox 360 Wireless Microphone (Xbox 360), Scary Football 4 (Apple II), Xbox 360 20GB Live Starter Kit (Xbox 360), Internet Backgammon (IBM PC Compatible), Internet Checkers (IBM PC Compatible), Internet Spades (IBM PC Compatible), Xbox 360 Limited Edition: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 [250GB HDD] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Controller Game Pack (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless N Networking Adapter (Xbox 360), Braid [Xbox Live Arcade] (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 4000 Microsoft Points [2009] (Xbox 360), Lips: Number One Hits -- Colbie Caillat [Best Buy Exclusive] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Special Edition: Final Fantasy XIII [250GB HDD] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Core System (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Arcade (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Pro (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Elite (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Elite: Games of the Year Bundle (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Elite [Holiday 2008] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Pro [Holiday 2008] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Arcade [Holiday 2008 Bundle] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Arcade [2009] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Elite [Holiday 2009] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 [Holiday 2007 Bundle] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Elite [Holiday 2007] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Special Edition: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction [250GB HDD] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 250GB Hard Drive (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Elite: Forza Motorsport 3/Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360), Game Room [Xbox Live Arcade] (Xbox 360), Microsoft Entertainment Pack: The Puzzle Collection (IBM PC Compatible), Microsoft SideWinder X4 Keyboard (IBM PC Compatible), Kinect Sensor (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 [250GB HDD] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Headset [Black] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Limited Edition: Halo: Reach [250GB HDD] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Arcade [Spring 2010 Bundle] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Kinect Bundle [4GB HDD] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Halo: Reach Wireless Controller (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Halo: Reach Wireless Headset (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 [4GB HDD] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Fable III Limited Edition Wireless Controller (Xbox 360), Flowerz (IBM PC Compatible), Flowerz (Windows Phone 7), Xbox 360 Wireless Controller [Glossy Black] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Play & Charge Kit [Silver] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Controller With Play & Charge Kit [Silver] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 ChatPad (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Controller With Play & Charge Kit [Black] [2010] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Headset [Black] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Play & Charge Kit [Black] [2010] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Controller [Black] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Limited Edition Halo 3 Wireless Headset (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel [2007] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless N Networking Adapter [2010] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Messenger Kit (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Pro [HDMI] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Quick Charge Kit (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Quick Charge Kit [Black] (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 12-Month Gold Subscription Card [2009] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Headset [2007] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Rechargeable Battery Pack (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Kinect Special Edition [250GB HDD] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 [250GB HDD] [Holiday 2010 Bundle] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Elite [2009] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Arcade [Sega Superstars Tennis] [2009] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Hard Drive Transfer Cable (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 3-Month Starter Kit (Xbox), Xbox Live 12 Month Messenger Gold Pack + 400 Microsoft Points (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Controller With Play & Charge Kit [Red] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Controller With Play & Charge Kit [Black] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 120GB Hard Drive (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Play & Charge Kit [Black] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 250GB Hard Drive [Xbox 360 S] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Standard HDMI Cable (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 12-Month Gold Membership (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 3-Month Gold Membership (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Triple Pack (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Limited Edition: Gears of War 3 [320GB HDD] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Speed Wheel (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows [Black] (IBM PC Compatible), Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows (IBM PC Compatible), Xbox 360 Limited Edition Gears of War 3 Wireless Controller (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Limited Edition: Kinect Star Wars [320GB HDD] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Headset with Bluetooth (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Media Remote (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 [250GB HDD] [Matte Finish] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Limited Edition: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 [320GB HDD] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Limited Edition Wireless Headset (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Limited Edition Wireless Controller (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Hard Drive Transfer Cable [Xbox 360 S] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 320GB Media Hard Drive (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 4000 Microsoft Points [2011] (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 1600 Microsoft Points [2011] (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 3-Month Gold Membership [2011] (Xbox 360), Xbox Live 12-Month Gold Membership [2011] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Kinect Holiday Bundle [250GB HDD] (Xbox 360), Kinect Sensor [Bundle] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Holiday Bundle [250GB HDD] (Xbox 360), Game Room (IBM PC Compatible), Kinect Sensor [Holiday 2011 Bundle] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Rechargeable Battery 2-Pack [Black] (Xbox 360), Kinect for Windows (IBM PC Compatible), Xbox 360 Kinect Special Edition (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Controller [White] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Controller: Chrome Series Special Edition [Silver] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Controller: Chrome Series Special Edition [Red] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Wireless Controller: Chrome Series Special Edition [Blue] (Xbox 360), Xbox 360 Essentials Pack (Xbox 360)

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