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view · edit Frequently asked questions Hey, my addition got removed!! The most likely cause is because you failed to cite your addition with a reliable source, see Wikipedia:Verifiability for the official policy. This part of the article is really biased towards/against Microsoft!!! Microsoft is a very old article with lots of discussion; consider re-reading the passage in question over again before getting upset. If there's still a problem, make a note on the talk page and just let it stew for a month or so; this kind of thing is watched by plenty of people. Where's the criticism? It's interspersed throughout the article. Do not add a criticism section; it goes against the style guidelines. Various online sources say Microsoft's IPO peaked at $29.75 and ended the first trading day at $28, including Microsoft itself; however, the article states it peaked at $29.25 and ended at $27.75, what's the deal? Sources are conflicting on this. We decided to go with the older published sources. Why is there a history section when there are already 2 separate articles? Because according to various comments on featured article nominations articles need to be self contained and at least contain a summary, which is what the history section sets out to do. Why are there so many references, even on stuff that's common sense? It makes the article hard to edit! It's due to the slightly controversial nature of the subject matter; what's common sense to one person has often been called into question on this article, so everything - literally - is referenced. Unfortunately, it does make the article rather cumbersome to edit. Such is the nature of Wikipedia. The page size is really large! This is due to the heavy amount of detailed referencing with templates, as well as inline comments to editors on certain parts of the article. The actual readable prose size should actually be fairly mediocre. According to WP:LEAD there must be X paragraphs and there is only Y! Pay attention to the prose size of the article (not the size when you press edit), it isn't that long. WP:LEAD is general guideline and the gist of it is to summarize everything concisely in the article without teasing the reader about every little detail. It is one of the most refined and tightly written parts of the article. It isn't comprehensive/the article is really short/it looks like a stub! This is strictly about the company; generally we don't go beyond a general description about its products unless one is a pivotal point in the company's history as this is covered by daughter articles and simply summarized. We focus mostly on the corporate aspect of the company as those generally don't have daughter articles and are taken care of in articles about a company. What this results in is a comprehensive, heavily summarized article that goes into detail about the documented corporate affairs of Microsoft. There are no bolded names in Key people in the infobox! This is really arbitrary and has no standard, so we choose the simplest route for now - none at all. Is there anything that needs particular attention? Culture needs a restructure, probably having two subsections - user culture and business culture (sources, maybe useful); specific mentions/concerns: "The Culture section seems a bit of a hodge podge - could there be more of a narrative thread?" - From 3rd peer review "I was a bit surprised that there was not more on Microsoft's sort of decline in the recent past Apple is now bigger in terms of market capitalization (heard this on the radio this morning - NPR). Or how Microsoft was at the forefront in the 1990s with lots of software, but has not done as well with things lately (Google, or Zune vs iPod, etc.)." - From 3rd peer review; need more of a general paragraph of this as well as a sentence about apple most likely. See talk page about major edits for info about apple. Needs to mention Microsoft Puzzle Hunt in some fashion with WP:RSs'. Azure Services Platform wasn't Microsoft's first stab at cloud computing, Microsoft Online Services was - it was supposed to be released in 2006; there is like one blog in 2006 about the beta, but when did it "release"? General copyediting; it's always nice to have an extra set of eyes for it. Anything else to keep in mind while editing? Yes, make sure to follow the Manual of Style as usual, especially in regards to the use of Template:nbsp and numbers. Please remember to only make links that are relevant to the context. Also, remember that this is a stable article for the most part, so take care while editing while still being bold. Finally, avoid using Microsoft itself as a source.

This article is written in American English, which has its own spelling conventions (center, color, defense, realize, traveled) and some terms may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus.

	Microsoft is a former featured article. Please see the links under Article milestones below for its original nomination page (for older articles, check the nomination archive) and why it was removed.
	This article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on July 11, 2006.
Article milestones Date Process Result August 15, 2005 Peer review Reviewed October 14, 2005 Peer review Reviewed October 17, 2005 Featured article candidate Promoted March 30, 2007 Featured article review Kept September 22, 2008 Good topic candidate Not promoted August 2, 2010 Peer review Reviewed July 11, 2014 Featured article review Demoted November 24, 2016 Good article nominee Not listed A news item involving this article was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "In the news" column on March 19, 2004. Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on April 4, 2009, April 4, 2010, April 4, 2012, April 4, 2021, and April 4, 2023. Current status: Former featured article

This  level-4 vital article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to multiple WikiProjects.

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The following reference(s) may be useful when improving this article in the future: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/business/2012/08/microsoft-lost-mojo-steve-ballmer

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 21 January 2026 and 29 April 2026. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): REKfalcon (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by Danazzz11 (talk) 20:16, 26 February 2026 (UTC)Reply

The redirect Microslop has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2026 March 2 § Microslop until a consensus is reached. Isla🏳️‍⚧ 12:23, 2 March 2026 (UTC)Reply

I propose adjusting the wording in the Microsoft introduction. Currently, the article describes Microsoft as a conglomerate. Reliable sources such as Britannica, Bloomberg, and Forbes consistently refer to Microsoft as a multinational technology company. The term conglomerate usually applies to companies operating across unrelated industries (e.g., GE, Samsung), while Microsoft’s activities remain within the broader technology sector (software, cloud, AI, gaming, hardware). For accuracy and neutrality, I suggest replacing conglomerate with multinational technology company in the introduction.^[1][2] Adamanttoshk (talk) 12:37, 14 April 2026 (UTC)Reply

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

At my request can you add the former names to the formerly parameter on the infobox company with the following list?

• Micro-Soft (1975–1976)
• Microsoft (1976–1981)
• Microsoft, Inc. (1981–1986)

Please correct me if I am wrong. ~2026-23271-06 (talk) 14:29, 22 April 2026 (UTC)Reply

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want made. Day Creature (talk) 15:47, 22 April 2026 (UTC)Reply