Bill Gates set to leave Microsoft

Microsoft is sure to witness a major event on 27 June 2008 when Bill Gates, founder, will leave his dream baby. Probably he will continue with his social service activities. As Microsoft's biggest shareholder, Gates will remain chairman and work on special technology projects. His 8.7 percent stake in Microsoft is worth about $23 billion.
I just got some interesting facts about Microsoft; thought I will list here.

Important Dates

Date	Event
1975	Microsoft founded
Jan. 1, 1979	Microsoft moves from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Bellevue, Washington
June 25, 1981	Microsoft incorporates
Aug. 12, 1981	IBM introduces its personal computer with Microsoft's 16-bit operating system, MS-DOS 1.0
Feb. 26, 1986	Microsoft moves to corporate campus in Redmond, Washington
March 13, 1986	Microsoft stock goes public
Aug. 1, 1989	Microsoft introduces earliest version of Office suite of productivity applications
May 22, 1990	Microsoft launches Windows 3.0
Aug. 24, 1995	Microsoft launches Windows 95
Dec. 7, 1995	Bill Gates outlines Microsoft's commitment  to supporting and enhancing the Internet
June 25, 1998	Microsoft launches Windows 98
Jan. 13, 2000	Steve Ballmer named president and chief executive officer for Microsoft
Feb. 17, 2000	Microsoft launches Windows 2000
June 22, 2000	Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer outline Microsoft's .NET strategy for Web services
May 31, 2001	Microsoft launches Office XP
Oct. 25, 2001	Microsoft launches Windows XP
Jan. 15, 2002	Bill Gates outlines Microsoft's commitment to Trustworthy Computing
Nov. 7, 2002	Microsoft and partners launch Tablet PC
Jan. 16, 2003	Microsoft declares annual dividend
April 24, 2003	Microsoft launches Windows Server 2003
Oct. 21, 2003	Microsoft launches Microsoft Office System
July 20, 2004	Microsoft announces plans to return up to $75 billion to shareholders in dividends and stock buybacks
June 15, 2006	Microsoft announces that Bill Gates will transition out of a day-to-day role in the company in July 2008, Ray Ozzie is named chief software architect and Craig Mundie chief research and strategy officer
July 20, 2006	Microsoft announces a new $20 billion tender offer and authorizes an additional share- repurchase program of up to $20 billion over five years
Jan. 30, 2007	Microsoft launches Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office System to consumers worldwide