After buying DOS to enter the operating system market in 1981, Microsoft knocked out IBM and held off Apple to become the undisputed champion of the computer operating system. Along the way, Microsoft imitated and intimidated as much as it innovated, gaining a reputation as a bully - bulldozing its way to success with marketing, money, and industry leverage.
Whatever its tactics, Microsoft was successful. Windows killed IBM's OS/2, Office killed WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3, and Internet Explorer demolished Netscape. Microsoft was king of the tech world, closing out the millennium at its highest valuation ever.