The model built by Bill Gates and Paul Allen remains decades later. What’s changed is how Microsoft responds to a flop.

Pocket computers. Sort-of smartwatches. Motion-sensing game controllers. None of these big ideas are as memorable as Windows or Office, but we think they're standouts in Microsoft's 50-year history.

Microsoft celebrates its fiftieth anniversary on April 4, 2025. How did it get here? We've picked 25 moments that shaped ...