BBC News - Viewpoint: How PowerPoint changed Microsoft and my life

Some historical insights from PowerPoint's inventor

"Microsoft recently reported the first quarterly financial loss in its history. The reason was a big acquisition gone sour. Microsoft had to write off more than $6bn (£3.8bn) that it had spent to acquire Aquantive, an online advertising business.
By contrast, Microsoft's earliest acquisition, PowerPoint, has been a financial success. Microsoft bought PowerPoint 25 years ago, on 31 July 1987.
The result may have been more valuable to Microsoft than any of the more than 100 acquisitions it has made since."

BBC News - Viewpoint: How PowerPoint changed Microsoft and my life