Explore the key updates in Microsoft Word as it marks its 41st anniversary, including new AI features and collaboration tools aimed at improving user productivity and experience.
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On April 19, 1999, Microsoft first revealed the IntelliMouse Explorer. It was the first home PC mouse with an optical sensor and paved the way for a new era in PC mice that continues today.
April 8, 2024, marks ten years since the end of Windows XP support. Exactly ten years ago, Microsoft released the final security patch for one of the most legendary Windows versions.
On April 6, 1992, Windows 3.1 was released to manufacturing. 32 years later, it has been recognized as a major addition to Microsoft's Windows operating system lineup and paved the way for Windows 95.
On April 1, 2004, Google launched a limited public test of its web-based Gmail. A lot of people thought it was an elaborate April Fool's Day joke, but it turned out to change emails forever.
On March 17, 1988, Apple filed a lawsuit against Microsoft, claiming that Windows 2.0 copied many user interface design elements from the Macintosh operating system without Apple's permission.
On March 16, 1999, the fantasy MMO EverQuest officially launched. It became a massive hit and 25 years later it remains one of the most influential titles ever released in PC game history.
Microsoft's release of 3D Pinball for Windows - Space Cadet was the start of a long history for this game that was later bundled into many future versions of the Windows operating system.
In the 1990s, Apple decided to launch a new hardware platform, Pippin, that was based on the Power Macintosh and was supposed to lead to a new generation of game consoles. It didn't work out.
Microsoft Train Simulator was released in 2001. It was a one-and-done game, but its original development team later made a similar game for EA and went on to create its own train sim titles.
Microsoft's success with its Flight Simulator PC game franchise spawned a direct spinoff, Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator. However, the game series came to an end after three entries.
Even as Microsoft prepares to launch Age of Empires Mobile, the company has also helped in the past to launch two mobile-centric games in the franchise that ultimately got shut down.
Microsoft got itself in the middle of a physical disk war when it released an HD DVD movie disc add-on for the Xbox 360. The add-on eventually shut down due to the Blu-ray format winning that war.
10 years ago today, on Feb 20, 2014, Microsoft started a program to let select Xbox One owners test new features for the console before they were released. It evolved into the Xbox Insider Program.
On February 17, 1994, Apple officially revealed its first digital camera, the QuickTake 100. However, the camera was not a big seller. Apple ended its digital camera line three years later.
Microsoft officially launched Windows 2000 for businesses and organizations on February 17, 2000. 24 years after its launch, it has become somewhat forgotten due to the launch of Windows XP in 2001.
Microsoft's Xbox division has experienced both good times and bad times, but none were as bad as the Red Ring of Death period for the Xbox 360 console, which could have shut it down forever.
On February 5, 2001, Microsoft officially announced that the next Windows OS after Windows Me would be Windows XP. It would finally bring the more advanced Windows NT kernel to the consumer OS.
Corel Linux first launched in 1999, from the same company that at the time owned the WordPerfect word processing software. While it was made to compete with Microsoft's Windows it quickly died off.
A few days ago, an unnamed survival game in development at Blizzard got canceled. This is not the first time this has happened. Blizzard canned an adventure game, a third-person shooter, and an MMO.
In 1995, another PC operating system launched its first version around the same time as Windows 95 was released. It was called BeOS, and it tried to become an alternative to Windows and Mac.
40 years ago today, on January 24, 1984, Apple released the all-in-one PC called the Macintosh. It was an instant hit and became the company's flagship PC. It also had a massive marketing campaign.
In 2001, a company called Lindows tried to launch a Linux-based OS that could run Windows apps. Microsoft quickly filed a lawsuit, claiming Lindows was trying to confuse consumers.
Mythica was supposed to be a Norse mythology-based fantasy MMO from Microsoft Game Studios. It was first announced in April 2003, but the company canceled the game less than a year later.
Razer has used CES to show off a number of concept devices over the years that never turned into real products. There was at least one exception in Project Fiona, a Windows 8-based gaming tablet.
The OQO ultra-mobile PC was a full Windows computer with a pull-out keyboard you could hold in your hands. It was not a big success, but it showed up in a bunch of TV shows. Here is a quick look back.
In October 2001, an official Windows XP musical was performed in Israel to help promote Microsoft's launch of the operating system. The video of that musical has recently been discovered on YouTube.
On December 15, 1994, Netscape Navigator 1.0 officially launched. It was made to be the first commercial web browser, and it helped introduce many people to the World Wide Web and the internet.
There will never be another E3 show held in Los Angeles. All we have are memories of past shows, and that includes games announced at E3 by Microsoft that ended up not being released.
On December 10, 1993, id Software released the first shareware episode of the first Doom game. It remains one of the great video games of all time, and still has a community of players and developers.
For a brief period of time, Microsoft's hardware division sold home network Wi-Fi routers to consumers, and at one point they were big sellers, but the company quickly ended their production
Microsoft developed Hover, a sci-fi-themed first-person game that launched with the CD-ROM editions of Windows 95. Later, Microsoft revived the game as a web-based title for Internet Explorer.
Well before the making of a Halo live-action TV series, Microsoft tried to make a Halo big-budget feature film, and recruited talent like Peter Jackson, Alex Garland, and others. It later fell apart.
One of Microsoft's very first PC games was Microsoft Olympic Decathlon, the first version of which launched way back in 1980. It remains one of the few sports games the company has published
On November 20, 1985, over two years after it was first announced by Microsoft, the company finally released Windows 1.01. It was Microsoft's first attempt at a GUI PC operating system.
25 years ago today, a small developer named Valve Software released its debut game, Half-Life. The first-person shooter turned out to be a milestone point in the PC gaming industry.
Microsoft Space Simulator was launched in 1994 as a spin-off of sorts for the company's Flight Simulator series. While it got mostly positive reviews, its sales were not high enough for a sequel.
Long before Windows, and even before MS-DOS, Microsoft sold a Unix-based operating system it called Xenix in 1980. It was the first OS made by the company, but it eventually sold it off in 1987.
40 years ago today, Microsoft officially announced its plans to release the first edition of its Windows PC operating system. However, it would take over two years for the OS to finally launch.
The Frag Master, released by Trustmaster in the late 1990s, was an attempt to create a controller specifically for first-person shooters. It ended up being a complete and total disaster.
