1982—A Year in Review
2012 is an exciting year for the Microsoft Hardware group, as it marks the 30th year that Microsoft has been in the hardware business. As we look to the future and what it will bring to our business, we’d like to pause for a moment and reminisce about the year that started it all—1982.
A few years into its iconic decade, 1982 truly epitomized all that was glorious about the 80s. The mullet gained steam, Yale offered a 14-week course aimed at solving the Rubik’s Cube and Prince William entered the world. From the release of “Thriller” to the birth of Emoticons, 1982 brought us a plethora of significant milestones worth celebrating as Microsoft Hardware looks back on its first 30 years.
Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album sells 20 million copies to become the largest selling record ever—Whether you were jamming on your Walkman or cranking up the tape deck on your car stereo, it’s likely you were rocking out to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” in 1982. Selling one million copies per week at its peak, the album still reigns as the best-selling record of all-time.
E.T. Phones Home—When Steven Spielberg brought E.T. to life in 1982, he warmed our hearts and minds through the portrayal of a deep friendship between a little boy from the suburbs and a lost creature from outer space. The blockbuster was ushered into theaters with critical acclaim, and Roger Ebert heralds the film as one of the greatest films ever made, calling it an enchanting “reminder of what movies are for.”
Emoticons are introduced—Though these simple expressions of emotion now sprinkle our everyday text message and email conversations, typographical emoticons were not popularized until Scott Fahlman officially proposed the concept in 1982. Now widely recognized, Fahlman originally aimed to use :- ) and :- ( to distinguish between humorous and serious online conversations.
The Microsoft Hardware Group is born—Amid other tech, culture and pop milestones, 1982 marked the introduction of the Microsoft Hardware business. Our history truly began thirty years ago, when we committed ourselves to improving the PC experience through products that offer comfort, design, control and a better interactive experience for you, our customers. Starting with our very first mouse—fondly known as The Green-Eyed Monster—The Microsoft Hardware group has worked to stay at the cutting edge of peripheral design, and we plan to do so for years to come.
- Hardware Team
great….
1:10 pm dammanjit
Looks cool with that carbon paint.
1:11 pm Rehan Asi
i love my arc soft mouse i would love another
1:13 pm robert cioli
arcsoft by microsoft is the best
1:13 pm robert cioli
The Moon Landing!
1:21 pm Eddie Edward Suarez
I’ve been a huge fan and user of Microsoft Hardware since the beginning. I remember the “Dove Bar” mouse… probably one of the greatest designs ever! I remember the inward-curved comfort keyboard.
I still use a Sidewinder Keyboard and Mouse today. And, of course, I have an Arc Touch for my laptop.
Congratulations Microsoft! And, thanks for bringing me along for the ride.
2:21 pm Dickson
I would love to see how one of these feels
2:30 pm Gina Little
Heck the 80`s were great because i was in school and working with computers to do dos. and trying not to get in trouble because i just threw the moues across the room ..lol and back then they where hard to work with but still a great idea..
3:04 pm James Yoder
How the times have changed… great times and memories… Love mircsoft products and how they changed over time!!
4:04 pm Ryan A Franco
hi
micro soft hardware. .
i am very happy to use hardware and software company of microsoft hardware
happy happy retren of the anvercy of microsoft hardware.
thanks mazhar syed
9:04 pm mazhar syed
i love love love you microsoft hardware company. .
thanks
mazhar syed
9:09 pm mazhar syed
We Celebrate With You!
Congratulations to the Microsoft hardware team,
From hardware,to peripherals,we would deem,
Indeed added a New Dimension!
With Precision!
From time 30 years,
Encompassing our cares,
for design that’s tangible,
yet feasible,
The change is Astonishing,….
And may you go from Success to Success,
Strength to Strength!
Happy 30th Anniversary!
9:17 pm Grace Ruto
And I STILL have two Trackball Explorers. Make a replacement, please!
12:25 am Chris J. Breisch
1982年我开始成长，那时候还不知道电脑是怎样的，到了1997年开始接触电脑，那时候是好奇，都不知道电脑是要来干什么，只是看见别人用自己就玩玩。到了2000年，那时候还是98的天下，有一天看见公司里的电脑师傅在电脑上看AV，才发现原来电脑可以这样用。为了能看AV，我开始了懵懵懂懂的学电脑历程。在电脑师傅后面悄悄地看他怎么操作，等他一离开电脑，自己就上前是试试。慢慢地学会了浏览网站，学会搜索，懂得下载，知道怎么安装软件,能操作Microsoft Office，学会网络，懂得硬件，最后成了网吧管理者。
12:59 am 朱伟明
love Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse
1:30 am Teddy
Everything is changing
1:54 am Chuck Jen
usually use the mouse from micro,it’s better than the logitech’s
2:24 am zhengde
还有个原装的滚轮鼠标，以前玩CS最eggache了
3:46 am liuxionghui
Tnx 2 d invention
7:03 am Abdullahi Haruna
Wow, really? ONE mouse? Microsoft with all its billions can only afford to give away ONE of its mice?
Oh, wow. Talk about PATHETIC.
9:18 am WorstGiveawayEver
I bet I could make good use of this. Go Microsoft!
10:48 pm Tracy Verlin
In 1982 I was employed by a little company call Microsoft. I had one of those little guys. I think I still have my Microsoft phone system, ahead of its time.
12:13 am Stephen Marrero
I loved the 80′s because you had a turbo button on your xt machine which made all games fly like crazy
3:53 pm Kurt Gesquiere
Going to the roller skating rink! Wow so long ago!
4:39 pm Lisa S
The 80′s were great, but I have to say I love the rock music and the big hair!! The 80′s were wild, even though I was just a child!
4:39 pm Kristinejustin Tolle
Who could forget Mt St. Helens blowing her stack. I was living in East Wenatchee at the time and just after 8 in the morning I scolded my two sons, (5 & 3) for jumping out of their bunk beds. Of course we found out later that it was a volcano irruption, later that afternoon the skies went black and a fine powder that smelled of sulfer came raing down on us. Some think I will never forget.
4:53 pm George Kain
Love MS Hardware … have used MS mice for MANY years. However, not as long as the photos above!
6:12 pm Keith Kolodsick
Back in the 80s modems were ‘acoustic couplers’ that would ‘plug into’ your old style phone set. Oh, those were the days.
6:14 pm Keith Kolodsick
@msfthardware Eek-A-Mouse & U-Neek… You’re The Only One I Need… #MSHWturns30
7:44 pm HonYin Kok
82′ was the year I struggled with vibrato on the violin, the year I considered for the first time the concert flute instead (got it next year!), the year I suffered from temperamental episodes from going through high school, studying english, training for a professional swiming team, learning violin, and not eating properly due to poverty. Lost weight, in fact transformed myself from a chubby kid into a rather slim teenager. It was the year I told my brother that Michael Jackson was going to be a great success after hearing Billy Jean for the first time, I also got the first tastes of Jean Michelle Jarre on electronic music. The most technology I had at the time was a couple of speakers (the cones only actually, no boxes!) which I used under my bed to listen to music for sleeping, or my own recordings tracking my progress on one of 3 cassettes that I could call my property at the time. Those tapes were recorded easily three hundred times per year! A computer was at the time something that was only found inside a bank, a company, or a laboratory. Laser technology however was already been explained to me by one of my older brothers, robotics, binary code, octal and hex were barely in the horizon for me at that time. It was also the year I swam with wild dolphins in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. Memories, yes! Quite a few indeed!
12:50 am Octavio Cortes
I forgot!, the next year was the year I tried Microsoft Flight Simulator for the first time, I managed to land it the very first time I tried at the now closed Meigs Field Airport in Chicago. Have been a fan since, but only managed to really get into it since 1998, have not skipped any version since.
12:58 am Octavio Cortes
Congradulations microsoft harware team! You were also being the best ane will be the best!
10:05 am chanaka