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Microsoft Celebrates 46th Birthday With A Nostalgic Spin On Its Very First Logo
By Mikelle Leow, 06 Apr 2021
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Image via ricochet64 / Shutterstock.com
Microsoft was founded in 1975, during the dawn of personal computers. Co-founder Bill Gates would later reveal he wanted to put “a computer on every desk, and in every home, running Microsoft software,” which pretty much came true.
The tech behemoth turned 46 on April 4, 1975, and as a nod to its heritage, it dug up a gem from its archives—its first-ever logo—and rebooted it as its new social media profile photo and banner.
The revamped logo is a throwback to the 1970s on steroids. It sports Microsoft’s original, funky wordmark against a brown background and a five-tone rainbow. And to tie past and present, the logo is washed in Windows’ iconic colors.
Microsoft was founded on April 4, 1975. #NewProfilePic and banner to help us celebrate our 46 years in style. 🎉 pic.twitter.com/oWym4uDi2R
— Microsoft (@Microsoft) April 4, 2021
Worth mentioning is the separation of “Micro” and “Soft.” It’s a wink at a time when the company was known as Micro-Soft, short for microprocessors and software.
For good measure, the company shared a piece of trivia describing how co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen were inspired to develop PCs:
Fun fact: Bill and Paul noticed the Altair 8800 on the cover of Popular Electronics Magazine. The Altair had an Intel 8080 microprocessor as its brain, and that meant that people could write real software for it. pic.twitter.com/p4IS9BB5wp
— Microsoft (@Microsoft) April 5, 2021
An amusing touch is Microsoft’s new Twitter bio reading, “We’re just a small start-up looking to change the world,” harking back to early days.
Screenshot via Microsoft
Groovy. Microsoft’s first logo was introduced in 1975. pic.twitter.com/dsPGidN4wP
— Microsoft (@Microsoft) April 5, 2021
Very early Microsoft stationery, possibly dating from the brief period when it was known as “Micro-Soft.” https://t.co/Zu5IBzQQh7 pic.twitter.com/wiZF9RhOoX
— Harry McCracken (@harrymccracken) April 5, 2021
[via Microsoft, images via various sources]
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