For many years, Microsoft placed plaques in the sidewalk for nearly every piece of software it developed. Taken as a whole, the hundreds of markers tell the story of the company’s rise to the top of the software industry in the 1980s and 1990s. It features plaques not only for hits (MS-DOS, Windows 95) but also flops (Microsoft Bob).
This drive-in fast-food restaurant is a longtime favorite of Bill Gates, and probably your best chance of catching a glimpse of the Microsoft chairman, apart from spotting him and wife Melinda on one of their nights out at the movies in Seattle.
The Microsoft chairman’s high-tech Medina mansion, built in the mid-1990s on the shores of Lake Washington, is considered notable enough to have its own Wikipedia page. Unless you have your own boat, or can somehow wrangle a personal invitation from Bill and Melinda, the best way to glimpse the property is on a boat or airplane tour of the Seattle region.
This recently revamped and relocated facility showcases Microsoft products, past and present, and offers a chance to play Xbox 360 games on a giant screen. Across the hall is the company store, also recently relocated, where the public can buy merchandise but not software or hardware, which are sold at an employee discount.
© The Geek's Guide to Seattle.
