MICROSOFT

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Microsoft's ambitions are anything but small. The world's #1 software company provides a variety of products and services, including its ubiquitous Windows operating systems and Office software suite. Microsoft has expanded into markets such as video game consoles, customer relationship management applications, server and storage software, and digital music players. The company has also used selective acquisitions to bulk up its presence in markets such as online advertising, mobile devices, and enterprise software. In 2008 Microsoft made repeated efforts to acquire Yahoo! but was ultimately rebuffed by that company's board of directors.

SUN MICROSYSTEMS

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Microsoft Research provides many of the brains behind the brawn of the world's leading software provider. The unit employs more than 800 scientists and researchers focused on 55 areas of research ranging from mathematics and computer science to psychology and sociology. Microsoft Research performs both academic and product-focused research in areas such as data management, network security, and hardware development. Headquartered in Redmond, Microsoft Research also operates two labs in California, one in Massachusetts, and international locations in China, India, and the UK. Microsoft founded its research unit in 1991