Flop: Zune (2006)
Five years after Apple came out with the iPod, Microsoft tried its hand in a portable media player with Zune. Although not a complete failure, it was clear Microsoft had taken too long to release it...
View ArticleHit: Windows 3.1 (1992)
Reaching three million sales only after two months, Windows 3.1 led us to naming Microsoft the "Most Innovative Company Operating in the U.S." that year and also sealing Microsoft's dominance as the...
View ArticleFlop: Microsoft Bob (1995)
Intended to make Windows easier to use with talking cartoon animals, Microsoft was much derided by the press and failed to attract customers.
View ArticleFlop: Kin (2010)
Microsoft's short-lived mobile phone for social networking. The home screen worked as an aggregator for all your social network accounts. Sales did not do well and the phone was quickly shelved.
View ArticleHit: Surface (2012)
Microsoft's answer answer to Apple's iPad won mostly strong praise from tech pundits for its hardware, but continues to suffer for its limited selection of apps.
View ArticleFlop: Internet Explorer 6 (2001)
Internet Explorer 6 was the default web browser shipped with Windows XP and labeled by some as the "least secure software on the planet."
View ArticleHit: Xbox (2001)
Xbox was Microsoft first entry into the competitive console market--and its first big jump into hardware. It was far from certain whether Microsoft was going to be able to compete with the likes of...
View ArticleFlop: Microsoft ME (2000)
The last Windows 9x series OS released, Microsoft ME suffered from serious stability issues.
View ArticleHit: Office 365 (2011)
Microsoft's Office 365 brought all the usefulness of the company's Office products to the cloud. Now you could sync up all documents on your computer to your mobile devices.
View ArticleFlop: Windows Vista (2006)
Near the end of his tenure, Steve Ballmer said one of his biggest regrets was Windows Vista during his 14 years as CEO of Microsoft. Despite spending half a decade in development, the final product was...
View ArticleHit: Windows XP (2001)
Released in 2001, Windows XP proved popular enough to last a good decade. It was Microsoft's first mass-market OS to support Windows NT, a powerful multiprocessing, multi-user OS.
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