2015年4月4日，今天，微软创立40周年。微软创始人比尔·盖茨向全体微软员工发送了一封“庆生”邮件。
40年前，在1975年4月4日，盖茨与保罗·艾伦一起，创立了微软这家公司。在这封员工信中，盖茨描述了自己对于现在微软成功的自豪，以及相信在未来微软能够有更好的前景。
以下为员工信：
明天（4月4日）是个特殊的日子：微软的40周年。
在创立公司的早期，我和保罗设定的目标是，让每个家庭的桌子上都能够摆上计算机。在当时看来这是一个不着边际的想法，很多人都认为我们没办法做到这点。从那时候开始，计算的深远发展令人感到惊讶，而我为微软在这场革命中所扮演的角色为之骄傲。
但在今天，我思考微软的未来远远多于对过去的缅怀。我认为，在未来十年计算的发展速度将是前所未有的。我们已经处于一个多平台的世界里，计算无处不在。我们正在接近那个质变的关键点，到那时候计算机和机器人将能够自主观察、移动和交互，那样将会由更多的全新用途，也会给人们带来更大的生产力。
在Satya的领导下，微软现在正处在一个绝佳的位置上，微软将成为这些进步的领导者。微软拥有推动并解决各种问题的资源，现代计算的各个方面都有我们的身影，同时我么也扎根在行业的研究工作当中。作为Satya的技术顾问，我切实的参加到了微软产品的评估工作中，而在这一过程中，我所看到的愿景和微软人才让我印象深刻。Cortana、Skype Translator和HoloLens这些产品知识微软正在进行的诸多创新中的少数例子。
接下来几年，微软将有机会与世界上更多的人和组织接触，当然对于许多人来说，科技仍旧超出了他们的接触范围，因为科技意味着复杂和昂贵，又或者他们根本没有机会接触到。因此我希望大家能够想想自己能做些什么，个人计算机的理念已经融入到各类设备当中，让更多人能够感受到科技的力量，让人们彼此连接起来，让个人计算普及到更多地方。
在公司的前40年里，我们一起取得了许多成就，各种业务的开展，让人们意识到自己的无限潜力。当现在最重要的是，我们需要知道自己下一步需要做什么。感谢大家的帮助，让微软成为一家不可思议的公司，不论是在现在还是未来几十年里。
盖茨与保罗·艾伦
（微软创始团队，给另外11人照相的鲍勃·格林伯格不在图中）
2008年，公司初期的11名员工重新聚首，并拍下了上面这张照片。30年河西，原来的12人有两人联姻，1人已经离世，世事变幻让人唏嘘。我们也看到从初试的11人身上，微软在软件行业站稳脚跟不断发展。
以下为英文原版：
Tomorrow is a special day: Microsoft’s 40th anniversary.
Early on, Paul Allen and I set the goal of a computer on every desk and in every home. It was a bold idea and a lot of people thought we were out of our minds to imagine it was possible. It is amazing to think about how far computing has come since then, and we can all be proud of the role Microsoft played in that revolution.
Today though, I am thinking much more about Microsoft’s future than its past. I believe computing will evolve faster in the next 10 years than it ever has before. We already live in a multi-platform world, and computing will become even more pervasive. We are nearing the point where computers and robots will be able to see, move, and interact naturally, unlocking many new applications and empowering people even more.
Under Satya’s leadership, Microsoft is better positioned than ever to lead these advances. We have the resources to drive and solve tough problems. We are engaged in every facet of modern computing and have the deepest commitment to research in the industry. In my role as technical advisor to Satya, I get to join product reviews and am impressed by the vision and talent I see. The result is evident in products like Cortana, Skype Translator, and HoloLens — and those are just a few of the many innovations that are on the way.
In the coming years, Microsoft has the opportunity to reach even more people and organizations around the world. Technology is still out of reach for many people, because it is complex or expensive, or they simply do not have access. So I hope you will think about what you can do to make the power of technology accessible to everyone, to connect people to each other, and make personal computing available everywhere even as the very notion of what a PC delivers makes its way into all devices.
We have accomplished a lot together during our first 40 years and empowered countless businesses and people to realize their full potential. But what matters most now is what we do next. Thank you for helping make Microsoft a fantastic company now and for decades to come.
