Concept

Microsoft Works

Summary
Microsoft Works is a discontinued productivity software suite developed by Microsoft and sold from 1987 to 2009. Its core functionality included a word processor, a spreadsheet and a database management system. Later versions had a calendar application and a dictionary while older releases included a terminal emulator. Works was available as a standalone program, and as part of a namesake home productivity suite. Because of its low cost (40retail,oraslowas40 retail, or as low as 2 OEM), companies frequently pre-installed Works on their low-cost machines. Works was smaller, less expensive, and had fewer features than Microsoft Office and other major office suites available at the time. Mainstream support for the final standalone and suite release ended on October 9, 2012 and January 8, 2013, respectively. Microsoft Works originated as MouseWorks, an integrated spreadsheet, word processor and database program, designed for the Macintosh by ex-Apple employee Don Williams and Rupert Lissner. Williams was planning to emulate the success of AppleWorks, a similar product for Apple II computers. Bill Gates and his Head of Acquisitions, Alan M. Boyd, convinced Williams in 1986 to license the product to Microsoft instead. Initially it was to be a scaled-down version of Office for the (then) small laptops such as the Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 100 which Microsoft was developing. As laptops grew in power, Microsoft Works, as it was to be called, evolved as a popular product in its own right. On September 14, 1987, Microsoft unveiled Works for DOS. The initial version 1.x of Works ran on any PC with at least 256k of memory. Works 2.x, introduced in 1990, required 512k and 3.x, introduced in 1992, required 640k. In 1991, Microsoft issued the first Windows version of Works, titled MS Works for Windows 2.0. System requirements consisted of Windows 3.0, a 286 CPU, and 1MB of memory. Works 3.x in 1993 moved to requiring Windows 3.1, a 386 CPU, and 4MB of memory. Subsequent releases were for Windows 95 and up and the final version was Works 9.
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