Microsoft Releases - A Rollup of Microsoft's Biggest Hits and Flops

Microsoft just announced on Thursday, March 27 Office on iPad by CEO Satya Nadella, in the company's "mobile and cloud - centered approach" event in San Francisco. Nadella, who is observed by analysts as having a clear focus on what is already being successful, did mention the company had had its falls and it is now grounded in such reality.

Microsoft has indeed endured numerous failures in the past and is amazingly coping with the challenges. Its new CEO is determined to gear it towards where the future is heading. To reckon, here's a backtrack of Microsoft's biggest hits and flops as compiled by Forbes.

MS-DOS (1981) - Hit

Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS - DOS) served as the main OS for personal computers manufactured by IBM during the 80s to middle of 90s.

Windows 3.1 (1992) - Hit

Windows 3.1 sold three million in just two months, and is credited for Microsoft label being the "Most Innovative Company Operating in the U.S.". It likewise sealed the company's dominance as the most used operating system for a long time.

Microsoft Bob (1995) - Flop

MS Bob was made to make Windows easier to use via talking cartoon animals. However, the press derided it and the customers were not attracted.

Microsoft ME (2000) - Flop

Microsoft ME was the last in the Windows 9x series OS but it suffered stability issues.

Internet Explorer 6 (2001) - Flop

Named the "least secure software on the planet", Internet Explorer 6 was Windows XP's default browser.

Windows XP (2001) - Hit

Windows XP was such a great hit to last for a decade. It is the company's pilot mass-market operating system to support Windows NT, a multi-user powerful multiprocessing OS.

Xbox (2001) - Hit

Microsoft entered the competitive console field with Xbox, far from certain if it can cope up with PlayStations 2's domination of Sony. Xbox then became among the major console players. Now in its current third generation Xbox One, Microsoft seems to make the right decision though analysts believe it is losing $2 billion yearly on the division as the console business is quite difficult to make money with.

Windows Vista (2006) - Flop

Windows Vista is said to be an expensive endeavor by the company that despite its development for half a decade, its final product was still clunky mess. Former CEO Steve Ballmer said that Windows Vista was one of his biggest regrets during his 14 years of tenure.

Zune (2006) - Flop

Microsoft tried portable media with Zune, five years after iPod was released. It was not a complete flop but the company took too long to release it and to significantly compete with Apple.

Kin (2010) - Flop

Kin was a mobile phone intended for social networking. Its home screen functioned as an aggregator for all social network accounts. Sales were not good and it was shelved quickly.

Office 365 (2011) - Hit

Office 365 brought all the usefulness of Microsoft's office products to the cloud. Now, it makes it possible to sync docs on the computer to the mobile device.

Surface (2012) - Hit

Surface was the answer to iPad. Its hardware won the praises of tech pundits but it suffered for its limited apps selection, heavy built and short battery life.