Microsoft, like many big tech companies, has had a history of ups, downs, and major transitions.
And I think one of the best ways to understand a company’s history is through the lens
of their website.
I recently made a video called history of Apple’s website, and I realized that a lot
of their history intertwines with Microsoft, especially in the early days.
And that realization is what inspired me to make this video pointing out those critical
moments in Microsoft’s history, as represented by their website.
This is Greg with Apple Explained, and I want to thank Squarespace for sponsoring this video.
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Now let’s begin by discussing how Microsoft got their big break in 1980, which had everything
to do with IBM.
You see, by 1980, the personal computer market was dominated by three companies: Commodore,
Tandy, and Apple.
IBM dominated the mainframe market, and quickly recognized the importance of personal computers.
They wanted to make a model of their own, but didn’t have the operating system necessary
to make it happen.
That’s where Microsoft came in, they promised IBM a disk operating system, or DOS for short,
similar to what Apple had provided for the Apple II in 1978.
IBM accepted the offer and gave Microsoft a contract to develop what would become IBM
PC DOS, included in the 1981 IBM Personal Computer.
Now I say all of that not because it has anything to do with Microsoft’s website, but because
it kicked off a decade of legal battles with the US government that would not only effect
the company’s website, but also the future of Apple.
You see, in 1990 the Federal Trade Commission investigated Microsoft for possible collusion
with IBM to manipulate the software market.
And although Microsoft eventually settled the antitrust charges in 1994, the company
continued to be heavily monitored by the Justice Department for any signs of anticompetitive
behavior.
And this is where Microsoft’s website comes in.
But before talking about their site, I’m going to take the opportunity to mention mine,
which is appleexplained.com.
And although it isn’t full of content, it does have a very important purpose.
It allowed me to buy the appleexplained.com domain before anyone else, and therefore claim
a custom email address, info@appleexplained.com.
And I was able to claim my domain name, build my website, and create a custom email address
all with the same service.
And that’s Squarespace.
I’ve been using Squarespace for over a year now after switching between other services,
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Squarespace had the highest number of website templates to choose from and they’re all
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Their battle with the Justice Department reached a fever pitch in 1998, when Microsoft was
finally sued for abusing their power to suppress competition, particularly when it came to
their internet browser called Netscape, which became so ubiquitous that it was even shipped
as the default browser on Macintosh computers.
But Microsoft refused to stand idly by while the Justice Department accused them of illegal
monopolistic practices.
They actually used their website as a means to defend themselves in the court of public
opinion.
It began in 1998 with a relatively small side banner asking what visitors thought about
the lawsuit, but quickly adopted a more prominent position in the center of the website, as
well as more suggestive messaging.
No longer was Microsoft simply informing visitors with the title “Microsoft and the DOJ,”
they were now making an argument with the new title, “Microsoft and the freedom to
innovate.”
And as the case intensified in 1999, Microsoft began an all-out offensive against the Justice
Department’s accusations.
And nowhere was this aggressive posture more apparent than on their website, which was
completely overhauled.
The usual Microsoft software products and news updates were replaced by information
about something called the Freedom to Innovate Network.
Which claimed to be a non-partisan, grassroots network of citizens and businesses who had
a stake in the success of Microsoft.
Now it’s questionable how much of a grassroots movement the Freedom to Innovate Network was,
especially considering it was formed by Microsoft and advertised to the public through their
own website.
But it was clear that the company was trying to form a narrative that had a chance of influencing
the outcome of their legal case.
But I should mention that this had been their strategy since before the Justice Department
actually filed their lawsuit.
Because back in 1997, Microsoft made a substantial 150 million dollar investment in Apple.
And although that surprised many, it actually made a lot of sense for both companies.
Apple was guaranteed at least five more years of Microsoft Office development for the Mac,
influence over the creation of Java, and access to Microsofts patents.
But perhaps the most important aspect of the deal was ensuring that Microsoft had a vested
interest in Apple’s success.
Because as we already know, Microsoft had developed a reputation of monopolizing the
software market by either forcing companies out, or simply buying them out.
But this wasn’t a sustainable business model for Microsoft, they knew the Justice Department
was eager to file a lawsuit which had the potential of breaking up the company.
Something they wanted to avoid at all costs.
So Microsoft needed Apple to succeed as much as Apple themselves.
If not, it’d be very hard for Microsoft to argue against having a monopoly over the
software market, considering about 95% of all personal computers ran Windows at that
time.
But there were more benefits for the company than simply strengthening their position in
a potential legal battle with the Justice Department.
Microsoft was also released from a longstanding lawsuit from Apple over stealing the look
and feel of the Macintosh operating system, their Internet Explorer browser would ship
as the default on every Mac, and they actually made a substantial amount of money from their
investment as Apple became profitable.
Now in 2000, the judge overseeing the case ruled that Microsoft had to be broken up into
two separate entities.
One to make the operating system, and another to make other software like the internet browser.
But as you can imagine, Microsoft fought the judgment by filing an appeal and making another
argument on their website with an article titled “Microsoft urges court to dismiss
government’s breakup proposal.”
And again, they were successful.
In 2001 the Justice Department announced that they were no longer seeking to break up Microsoft.
Instead, they decided to pursue a less serious antitrust penalty.
Now as that legal battle came to an end, Microsofts website quickly returned to normal.
Featuring news like the demise of clippy and preorder availability of Windows XP.
And when that operating system actually launched, Microsoft’s website was slightly remodeled
to reflect the design language used in Windows XP.
Now at this point Apple had been enjoying profitability for about three years and despite
working closely with Microsoft in some areas, Apple had a very different way of doing business.
And those differences could be seen by simply taking a look at each company’s website.
Back in 2001 Microsoft’s homepage was very text heavy with few photos and very little
white space.
It was clear they were trying to squeeze as much information on the page as possible.
Compare that to Apple’s site during the same period, which dedicated almost the entire
homepage to just one product, the iPod.
Rather than providing links to as many news articles, products, and pages as possible,
Apple instead directed visitors attention to just one thing.
Ensuring a clear message that anyone could understand in just seconds.
And as we learned in my previous video, that approach to web design was pretty revolutionary
at the time, but it quickly became the industry standard.
Just take a look at how Microsoft’s website changed by 2004, suddenly they were featuring
less text links in favor of banner images with a clear message.
This is when Microsoft began thinking of their homepage as a storefront rather than a site
map with endless links.
And that shift makes sense when you consider the company’s focus on hardware during this
time.
They created the Xbox in 2001 which became one of the best selling consoles in the country.
But their second major product, the Zune music player, wasn’t as successful.
It launched in 2007 and was featured on Microsofts homepage, which was redesigned yet again with
an even greater focus on banner images.
But the Zune never caught on and was dominated by the iPod until it was discontinued in 2011
after just four years on the market.
Now it was during this period when Microsoft entered a number of markets including smartphones
and tablets, in addition to rebranding of their logo, products, and operating systems.
It was all centered around their new Metro design language that debuted on their smartphones,
and you can see how this new style influenced their website.
By 2012 Microsoft’s homepage looked like a completely different place.
It adopted a responsive design and prominently displayed hardware, like the Surface tablet
or Windows Phone, which was a big change from the software-centric approach they took just
a year earlier.
And that change in web design coincided with Microsoft’s changing business strategy,
primarily driven by new hardware.
They introduced the Kinect, Microsoft Band, Surface Book, and Microsoft Surface Hub all
within four years.
Many of which were featured on the company’s homepage during their release.
Now Microsoft has stuck to this responsive, modern website design for the past few years,
and they’ll likely continue using it for many years to come.
But their focus may be shifting from the consumer market to the business and government markets.
They’ve recently worked with Toyota, the US military, and 17 American intelligence
agencies, providing various technology to improve and streamline their operations.
So while Microsoft may not be experiencing much success in the consumer market, they
are making a substantial profit from other companies and government agencies, which could
become the main focus of Microsoft’s business strategy, and homepage, going forward.
Alright guys thanks for watching and I’ll see you next time.