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Comment by rradu | Hacker News Reader

Notably absent from the list: Microsoft.com

I noticed that as well. I was kind of surprised by it. Microsoft was well on its way by 1991 when they finally registered their domain name. The only thing I can figure is that back then, no one was really thinking, "This Internet thing is going to be the center of the computing universe in 10 years." Microsoft released Windows 3.1 in 1992, just a year after their domain was registered.

Windows for Workgroups 3.1 (1992 release) was Microsoft's first operating system where the fact that the computer was intended to connect to a network was front and center. Maybe Microsoft didn't see the internet as a logical imperative at this early stage of computing.

Microsoft didn't realise how important the internet was going to be until after Windows 95 was released, and built their own online service called MSN that was comparable to AOL.

They famously made a quick u-turn after Netscape Navigator became massively popular, and Windows 98 was much more internet-focused.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSN#MSN_Classic

MSN was originally conceived as a dial-up online content provider like America Online, supplying proprietary content through an artificial folder-like interface integrated into Windows 95's Windows Explorer

http://www.internet-story.com/microsoft.htm

Bill Gates almost missed the opportunity provided by Internet. At one time, he even considered it to be merely a passing fad. However, once Microsoft had realised Internet’s potential, the company not only rapidly caught up but overtook its competitors

These domains are older than Microsoft.com. SCO.com was registered in 1987 while Microsoft.com wasn't registered until 91.

Microsoft had their IPO in 1986. So, they could have registered a .com (since they had been in existence for many years before then).

Great news about their IPO in 86. But it was _registered_ in 91. Vote me down for stating a fact. Maybe I'll bash a multi billion dollar company we all hate because we like to "think different" and then I'll get voted up.

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