Page 118 - Computer - 3

Microsoft, founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, rose to dominate the personal
computer operating system market in the mid-1980s, followed by Windows. As of
2015, Microsoft is market-dominant in the IBM PC compatible operating system

market and the office software suite market. Satya Nadella took over as CEO in
2014, and the company has scaled back on hardware and instead focused on cloud
computing. Earlier dethroned by Apple in 2010, in 2018 Microsoft reclaimed its
position as the most valuable publicly traded company in the world.

Apple

Apple Inc. is the largest technology company by revenue and, as
of June 2022, is the fourth-largest personal computer vendor by

unit sales and the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer.
Apple was founded as Apple Computer Company on April 1,
1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. Apple
lost considerable market share to the lower-priced duopoly of

the Microsoft Windows operating system and Intel computer
chips during the early 1990s. Over the next decade, Jobs guided Apple back to
profitability through several tactics, including introducing the iMac, iPod, iPhone,
and iPad, opening the Apple Store retail chain, and acquiring numerous companies

to broaden the company’s product portfolio.

Jobs was succeeded as CEO by Tim Cook in 2011. Apple is ranked as one of the
world’s most valuable brands.

Gmail

Gmail is a free email service provided by Google. As of 2019, it
had 1.5 billion active users worldwide. A user typically accesses
Gmail in a web browser or the official mobile app. The idea for
Gmail was developed by Paul Buchheit several years before it

was announced to the public.

Google’s mail servers automatically scan emails for multiple
purposes, including to filter spam and malware, and to add context-sensitive
advertisements next to emails. Gmail was ranked second in PC World’s ‘100 Best
Products of 2005’, behind Firefox. Gmail also won ‘Honorable Mention’ in the

Bottom Line Design Awards 2005. In September 2006, Forbes declared Gmail to
be the best webmail application for small businesses.

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