On April 4, 1975, two childhood friends, Paul Allen and Bill Gates, started what is today one of the worlds leading technology companies. Inspired by the January cover of Popular Electronics magazine, they created Microsoft (then Micro-Soft, referring to microprocessors and software) to develop software for the Altair 8800, one of the first personal computers on the market.Half a century later, and after establishing its operations center in Redmond, Washington, in 1986, the company has diversified its activity, from Windows operating systems to the cloud and the video game industry, reaching a present dominated by artificial intelligence (AI). In the stock market where it listed in March 1986 it has always occupied the top positions on the Nasdaq, where it is known as one of the magnificent seven along with other major players in the digital landscape.Throughout these five decades it has only had three global CEOs: Bill Gates himself, Steve Ballmer and Satya Nadella, in an industry accustomed to the constant dance of names. But in that time it has acquired and merged with hundreds of companies, including Hotmail, Nokias mobile devices division, and more recently Skype, GitHub, Linkedin and Activision Blizzard, the latter, related to gaming, being the most expensive at $68.7 billion.But lets look back to some of the earliest milestones in the development of the organization. In 1980, Gates and Allen signed an agreement to provide an operating system for IBMs first personal computer. After presenting its MS-DOS PC in 1981, Windows came along in 1985 and, by the end of the decade, it was already the most recognized software brand on the planet. The first version of Microsoft Office arrived around that time, the productivity suite that today, under the Microsoft 365 brand, is used by more than 1.5 billion people.One of the first images of the Microsoft team, TAKEN shortly after its founding. In the bottom row are Bill Gates (left) and Paul Allen (right).MicrosoftDuring the 1990s, Bill Gates vision of the potential of the World Wide Web led to the integration of the companys products and services into the network and the creation of one of the most famous browsers in the digital world, Internet Explorer. Gates has become one of the leading gurus of the computer industry and his thinking has permeated the world through numerous lectures, public appearances and published books. In 1995 he set out a roadmap for the IT revolution in his first major text, The Road Ahead. Of the changes to come, he told Time magazine in a 1997 interview, People always fear change. People feared electricity when it was invented, didnt they? That year he created the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to address health and education issues of our time.The arrival of the new century crowned a new CEO, Steve Ballmer. Gates stepped back to let the companys first business manager continue with his strategy. Through 2013 Ballmer laid the first stones of the companys video game business with the launch of the Xbox game console, and of the cloud with the 2008 launch of Azure. It was in 2011 that Office made the leap to the cloud with Office 365, and the company too a further step in collaboration with the purchase of the Skype video calling tool. In Ballmers final years in charge the Surface line of tablets emerged.Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer during a meeting in the 1990s.MicrosoftIn 2014 comes the Satya Nadella era, characterized by a hitherto unknown acceleration of the technology industry around the planet. It stands out for the consolidation of cloud business and video games while introducing new trends, such as AI. Along the way, Windows 10, the purchase of LinkedIn, GitHub, the launch of Teams, which became the fastest growing application for the company, and the strong investment in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. His great achievement, perhaps, is to take Microsoft to a market value of $3 trillion dollars by 2024 thanks to this strategy. But it was in 2015 that he turns the technology around with a new corporate mission: To empower every person and everyorganization onthe planet to achieve more through IT.Today, Nadella leads a company of 228,000 employees spread across more than 190 countries. Supplied Art (with Permission)Paco Salcedo, head of the companys Spanish subsidiary, says, The most relevant learning in these 50 years is to have gone from believing we were a company that knew everything to wanting to become a brand that wants to learn everything. And, if we look to the future, we believe that AI can enable the next billion jobs in all parts of the economy.A marathon journeyReviewing this trajectory, Foundry consultant Fernando Maldonado says the company has adapted to change. You have to know how to rise to disruptions in time, he said, noting the companys entry into the cybersecurity sector under the premise that without protection there is nothing when hardly anyone understood this need. Also, the companys switch to embrace open source, even before its acquisition of GitHub. At the beginning, open source was the enemy and, today, we can say that it also knew how to adapt. [] A lot of its software is already open source.All this gives you an idea that it has always been able to react in time to macro-trends, Maldonado said. Although, he added, the company has taken several hits, inevitable for a company that has been around for half a century, such as the flop of the Bing search engine. If it hadnt had any friction, we wouldnt be talking about its achievements, he says. But it has worked on a very solid foundation with Office, which is the anchoring of all types of companies.Now, it remains to be seen how it fares in the still very young world of AI, with the billion-dollar investments it is making, although there is some slowdown in terms of data centers. In any case, says the analyst, it is also making a very strong bet on the future.Nadellas reflection regarding Microsofts anniversary is in line with the experts analysis: Ive found myself reflecting on how Microsoft has remained a consequential company decade after decade in an industry with no franchise value. And I realize that its because -time and time again, when tech paradigms have shifted- we have seized the opportunity to reinvent ourselves to stay relevant to our customers, our partners and our employees. And thats what we are doing again today, he said.

President Trump has pushed back TikTok's ban date again, saying that his administration has made "tremendous progress" on a deal to "save TikTok."Image Credit: lechenie-narkomanii on PixabayWhen Trump took office on January 20, he gave TikTok two and a half months to sell to an American company or face a nationwide ban. The ban was initially set to go into effect on April 5, but once again, Trump has pushed it back with an executive order, setting the new deadline to June 18."My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress," President Trump posted to Truth Social on Friday. "The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days." Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Gary (John Gries) on the hit TV show White Lotus lives in a now rentable eight-suite luxury villa inPhuket's Cape Yamu. TheVilla Amaravida is part of Phuket's Luxury Signature hamlets and rents for a hefty price (between $5,698 to $13,650 per night). Its amenities include multiple sport courts, three pools, and two rooftop jacuzzis. Guests will have access to a man-made beach and otherhigh-end features, such as a golf driving range. Architecturally, it has been described as "Scandinavian minimalism with traditional Thai flair." (h/t House Beautiful)We also featured the Thomas Phifer-designedTaghkanic House that starred on Season 2 ofSeverance and is rentable via Airbnb.

While Nintendo revealed a host of details about the Switch 2 during its recent Direct, the company was quiet about how much the console and its games would cost. Instead, the price would be later discovered through updates made to the official Switch 2 website. Notable about the pricing was the fact that, with Mario Kart World costing $79.99, it will be the first AAA game at that price without being a premium edition.According to former PR employees for the company, Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang, the company might be quite surprised at the outcry it has gotten during its Treehouse streams. For context, during the streams where Nintendo showcased the gameplay for titles like Mario Kart World, the live chat was flooded with messages asking the company to lower the price of the console and its games.Yang and Ellis believe that Nintendo is probably surprised by the reaction. In a recent video, the duo spoke about the consoles announcement. However, the fact that Nintendo didnt reveal pricing during the Direct itself was described by Ellis as showing disrespect to the consumer. Yang said that its a little bit degrading, almost, to the intelligence of the consumer.The duo also spoke about members of Nintendos PR departments likely discussing the matter in a War Room that it usually has for livestreamed events like the recent Treehouse streams.One of the things that we were joking about is this thing called the war room that Nintendo usually has at these types of events and for these big sort of moments, said Yang. We were joking around and saying things like Oh gosh, this is the worst place possibly to be, but there actually is a purpose to the war room, is that their job is to look at what is happening out there, what are people saying, what are people thinking, what is the reaction? And come up with any solutions to any issues. Theyre basically not doing their jobs at all right now.Yang also believes that Nintendo was likely caught off guard by the reaction to its games pricing. She went on to talk about how Nintendo hasnt had to do any crisis communication for quite some time now owing to the success of the Switch, and as such, its current teams might not have the experience required to handle this kind of situation.I do think that they are a bit surprised by how severe this reaction is, said Yang. The problem is, now they are kind of like, bad at doing this now, because they havent had a need to do a lot of crisis communication for eight years.The Nintendo Switch 2 is currently priced at $449.99. There is also a bundle announced that includes a copy of Mario Kart World, priced at $499.99. This would make the bundle the cheapest way to actually get the game, since on its own, it is priced at $79.99 for a digital copy, and $89.99 for a physical copy.

Nadar (born Gaspard-Flix Tournachon; 5 April 1820 20 March 1910) was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloonist, and proponent of heavier-than-air flight. In 1858, he became the first person to take aerial photographs, and during the Siege of Paris in 187071, he established the first airmail service. In 1863, Nadar commissioned the prominent balloonist Eugne Godard to construct an enormous balloon, 60 metres (196ft) high and with a capacity of 6,000m3 (210,000cuft), named Le Gant (The Giant). For publicity, he recreated balloon flights in his studio with his wife, Ernestine, using a rigged-up balloon gondola. This self-portrait of Nadar in a balloon basket was taken c.1863.Photograph credit: Nadar; restored by Adam CuerdenRecently featured: Red pandaFord Strikers Riot20222023 California floodsArchiveMore featured pictures

April 5: Feast day of Saint Vincent Ferrer (Catholicism) Pocahontas919 The Fatimid Caliphate began a second unsuccessful invasion of Egypt, then under Abbasid rule.1614 Pocahontas (pictured), a Native American woman, married English colonist John Rolfe, leading to a period of peace between the Powhatan people and the inhabitants of Jamestown, Virginia.1944 Siegfried Lederer, a Czech Jew, escaped from Auschwitz with the aid of an SS officer who opposed the Holocaust.1986 The Libyan secret service bombed a discotheque in West Berlin, resulting in three deaths and 229 others injured.2009 The North Korean satellite Kwangmyngsng-2 was launched from the Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground and passed over Japan, sparking concerns it may have been a trial run of technology that could be used to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles.al-Nuwayri (b.1279)Thure de Thulstrup (b.1848)Marie-Rosalie Cadron-Jett (d.1864)Judith Resnik (b.1949)More anniversaries: April 4April 5April 6ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

Cool FindsMetal Detectorists Unearth Ancient Dagger Decorated With Tiny Stars, Crescent Moons and Geometric PatternsFound at a beach in northern Poland, the nearly ten-inch-long artifact could be up to 2,500 years old. It had been lodged inside a lump of clay Jacek Ukowski and Katarzyna Herdzik, the metal detectorists who discovered the dagger Museum of the History of Kamie LandAfter a recent storm, two metal detectorists went searching for treasure at a beach in northern Poland. They discovered a piece of history lodged in a lump of clay: a small ornamental dagger decorated with stars, crescent moons and geometric patterns.The metal detectorists, Jacek Ukowski and Katarzyna Herdzik, notified experts at the nearbyMuseum of the History of Kamie Land. According to astatement, the museums director, archaeologist Grzegorz Kurka, met the duo at the beach to examine the artifact. Created during the Hallstatt period, the dagger may be up to 2,500 years old. Museum of the History of Kamie LandThe dagger is a metallurgical masterpiece that could be up to 2,500 years old, per the statement. Its likely connected to the Hallstatt culture, which existed in western Europe between roughly the eighth and fifth centuries B.C.E. Experts think the weapons may have been crafted in southern Europe and imported to the Baltic coast.Ukowski and Herdzik are members of a group of metal detectorists called theSt. Cordula Association for the Saving of Monuments. The dagger isnt Ukowskis first big discovery. Last year, he found a brokenpapal bulla popes engraved lead sealthat may have been linked to Clement VI.But as he tells the Polish Press Agency (PAP), the nearly ten-inch-long dagger is his most precious discovery yet.The storm had loosened the piece of clay from a nearby cliff face. The cliff was eroded, and the block must have collapsed, he adds. I entered the place with a metal detector because it started ringing there. Experts say the intricate design suggests a high level of craftsmanship. Museum of the History of Kamie LandThe weapons thin handle is decorated with sculpted rings. It extends into a blade about the width of a thumb, which narrows to a sharp point. The top of the blade is stamped with tiny crescent moons and stars, while geometric patterns run the rest of its length.The decorative stars may symbolize constellations, indicating a ritual significance in connection with a solar cult, per the statement. Alternatively, it could have been used by a wealthy warrior.A true work of art, Kurka tells PAP. I have not seen such a dagger in my experience with findings in Polish territories.Kurka thinks that the intricate craftsmanship indicates a high level of metallurgical skill, as Bartosz Kolodziejczyk of the Polish news website Interia reports.The dagger is now in the hands of museum staffers. Experts will soon conduct a metallurgical analysis, which will shed light on the daggers metallic composition and the techniques used to create it. Researchers will also attempt to detect patterns of wear on the dagger, which could provide insights into how it was used.Per the statement, the dagger is a valuable piece of the history ofPomeraniathe historical European region that encompasses Kamie.Once researchers finish studying the artifact, it will go on display in a Polish museum, according to Popular Mechanics Tim Newcomb.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

This week, Palo Alto-based startup Genspark released what it calls Super Agent, a fast-moving autonomous system designed to handle real-world tasks across a wide range of domains including some that raise eyebrows, like making phone calls to restaurants using a realistic synthetic voice.Read More

Ring founder Jamie Siminoff returned to Amazon this week, coming back to the company just about two years after he left, Bloomberg reports. Hes now a vice president at the company, and he will be heading up the Ring, Blink, Amazon Key, and Sidewalk teams.Siminoff is replacing Liz Hamren, who had taken over following Siminoffs initial departure. Hamren and the team have done an awesome job driving the business, delivering strong results, and bringing a lot of delightful experiences to neighbors, Siminoff says in an Amazon Q&A. He adds that the AI transformation happening right now is a once-in-a-generation opportunity.In the Q&A, Siminoff also says that he and Panos Panay, Amazons SVP of devices and services, have talked a lot about experiences we can create with devices that are awesome on their own, but even better together. I think youll continue to see a lot of that from us moving forward helping customers stay safe, connected, and informed as part of a magical connected experience.The day after Siminoff originally left Amazon, Siminoff sold a new company, Honest Days Work, to Latch, which he helped rebrand to Door.com. The company announced late last year that he would be moving into an advisory role in 2025.

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