From Microsoft’s best deal and the decision in the browser war (PCGH-Retro, September 28)

…1980: It is a historic decision: on September 28, 1980 at Microsoft, Bill Gates, Paul Allen and Kay Nishi decide to sign the contract with IBM – the document obliges Microsoft to supply applications and the operating system for IBM’s forthcoming personal computers, and signifies the entry of the small company into the highly lucrative operating system market. Only a few weeks earlier, Microsoft had no operating system on offer, but at short notice the CP/M clone DOS was bought from Seattle Computer Products in order to be able to offer something to IBM (see also “Microsoft’s Road to Power” Part 1, Part 2, part 3 and part 4).

…1998: The first big browser war between the pioneer Netscape Navigator and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is in full swing. The competitors are constantly outdoing each other with new versions full of innovative functions. Netscape had previously been the market leader, but the tide turned on September 28, 1998: According to usage statistics, Internet Explorer – then current: version 4 – replaced Netscape Navigator as the most common web browser for the first time on that day. It is a preliminary decision in the browser war: A few years later, Microsoft achieves a market share of over 90 percent, Netscape sinks into insignificance.