Image gallery: Microsoft Word turns 25

Benj Edwards, PC World   Today’s Top Stories   or  Other Desktop Applications Stories  

From upstart to market king

If you've been using Microsoft Word for the past quarter of a century, it can seem like Word has always been the top dog of the word-processing world. And for years, it's been incorporated into Microsoft's Office suite. Today, Microsoft's domination is so complete that, from the public's point of view, there is almost no "word-processor market." (Does anyone remember Lotus Manuscript?)

In fact, Microsoft's word-processing program got off to a shaky and awkward start in October 1983, and it didn't become all-consuming until at least five years later. Even as Word adopted the market-leading position, it suffered its share of stinging criticisms and setbacks. This is the story, briefly, of how Microsoft Word evolved on its 25-year journey from obscure upstart to Absolute King of the (Software) World.

(Benj Edwards is the founder and editor in chief of Vintage Computing and Gaming.)

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