Microsoft

1975–1980


First logo.

1980–1982


Introduced May 1, 1980.

1982–1987


Introduced April 1, 1982.

1987–2012


Microsoft launched its most well-known logo on January 5, 1987, and since then, has been cherished by many. It was dropped on August 22, 2012, but it's still used on older products and some portals (most notably the Windows/Microsoft Update website in Windows XP, the Microsoft Update site in Windows Vista, and the documentation page for Windows XP Professional, and some others, just to name a few). It was created by Scott Baker.

"The new logo, in Helvetica italic typeface, has a slash between the o and s to emphasize the "soft" part of the name and convey motion and speed."

As of 2012, this is now being used as a secondary logo and still used along Windows 7, Office 2010, Xbox 360 and older Microsoft products.

2011–2012


With the launch of the new slogan in 2011, the Microsoft logo was altered slightly, reducing the slant.. This logo was the shortest-lived, was only used for one year, until August 22, 2012.

Trivia

 * This logo resembles the InFocus Corporation's logo. However, the sharp between letters is straight instead of a right triangle and is located between O and C (the O is the fourth letter and the C is the fifth one while for Microsoft's, the first said letter is the fifth one and the S is the sixth).

2012–present
On August 23, 2012, Microsoft's most notable logo was retired and a new logo was commissioned. The new logo also includes four squares with the colors of the then-current Windows logo. Although this logo is, however, not completely new, a similar one was featured in Windows 95 commercials from the mid-90s, making it more complicated as Windows 95.