Microsoft-86-DOS

An acquisition known for its consequence in tech history as well as for its remarkably low price tag, in 1981, Microsoft bought the rights to 86-DOS, or QDOS, the Quick and Dirty Operating System, from Seattle Computer Products. Microsoft spent about $50,000 on the technology and renamed it MS-DOS, licensing it to IBM as a 16-bit OS for early PCs. The deal spurred the growth of PC sales and the influence of channel giants Microsoft and IBM. Microsoft would later succeed DOS with Windows and IBM would release OS/2.