Providing ubiquitous desktop software for decades, Microsoft has come in for jibes, mockery and even loathing even as it has helped millions of people get things done.
Every design decision is felt around the world for better or worse — often staying with people for years as a fond memory or a meme.
Here are a few of the ways Microsoft has marked computing culture:
Blue Screen of Death
A fixture since the very first versions of Windows — if mercifully much rarer these days — the Blue Screen of Death, or BSOD, is displayed when Microsoft’s operating system encounters a fatal error in a programme, or the application becomes unresponsive.
It has most commonly been a full blue screen with white text — originally composed by Steve Ballmer, who later went on to head the company — warning of the problem.
Some versions of the screen include error codes to help power users figure out what has gone wrong.
More recent editions of Windows have added a sad-face smiley in an apparent bid to sympathise.
While it has often offered the option to continue working by closing the programme or restarting the computer, many users have found the only way to escape it is by manually turning the machine off and on again.
