microsoft facts

• Brian Eno Composed "The Microsoft's Sound" ...

Pioneering musician Brian Eno was the musical brains behind Window 95's start up tune, dubbed "The Microsoft Sound."

The influential musician, who has worked with the likes of David Bowie and U2, told the San Francisco Chronicle that making such a short piece of music was "funny" and "amazing." Eno likened the process to "making a tiny little jewel."

Other musical trivia from the launch of Windows 95 is, of course, the use of The Rolling Stones "Start Me Up" in the ad campaign, while a related Eno fact is that he also composed the music for the computer game Spore.

• Microsoft's Fave Food Is Pizza. ...

Although not quite at Google's level of snack-tastic, free-for-all wonder, Microsoft does offer free drinks. Over 23 million gratis beverages are downed on the corporate campus each year.

Apparently the top two drinks of choice for Microsoft staffers are milk and OJ. There's also free candy on the Microsoft campus shuttle.

As far as food goes, Microsoft has around 35 cafeterias (one of which is pictured above) serving around 37,000 people each day. Pizza tops the list of most popular meal.

• Microsoft's Uses Codenames. ...

Ever since the company's first operating system, Microsoft has worked on its projects under codenames, of which Wikipedia has a long list. Apparently Gates was ready to launch Windows under the name "Interface Manager" before he was persuaded to change it by an employee.

Past codenames include "Longhorn," "Lone Star," and "Vienna." While you might be tempted to add "Mojave," to that list, it's actually part of a Microsoft ad campaign. The "Mojave Experiment" was a marketing exercise that battled Vista's poor PR by presenting the software to new users as a fresh product.

• Microsoft Has a Huge Art Collection

No, we're not talking about Clip Art. Microsoft is one of the largest corporate collectors of artworks with over 5,000 contemporary pieces including painting, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, ceramics, studio glass, and multimedia works. Microsoft gathers arts from local artists, up-and-coming artists and big names such as Cindy Sherman, Chuck Close and Takashi Murakami.

A large proportion of the works are on display at more than 150 of Microsoft's many campuses, as the company subscribes to the belief that art in the workplace reduces stress, increases productivity and encourages discussions and expression of opinions.