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1987 - 2009
Microsoft Works
“The homework suite that came with the family PC.”
- Birth year
- 1987
- Shutdown year
- 2009
- Lifespan
- 22 years
- Peak era
- 1987–2009
- Company
- Microsoft
- Category
- Software
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What Was It?
Microsoft Works combined everyday writing, spreadsheets, and database tools in an approachable productivity package. It often filled the gap between a basic text editor and the more expensive Office suite.
An integrated suite offered a practical collection of everyday tools in one familiar package. For home users, the value could be completing ordinary writing and organizational tasks without learning a larger professional suite. The software became part of the background of household computing.
Its retirement also left a familiar legacy problem: a document can outlast the application used to create it. Remembering Works includes the experience of opening old files and recognizing the software environment in which schoolwork, letters, and personal records were first assembled.
Things You Probably Forgot
- Works was a separate product from Microsoft Office.
- It combined several household productivity tasks in one package.
The Story
- 1987 Microsoft Works combined everyday writing, spreadsheets, and database tools in an approachable productivity package.
- 2007 Works 9 becomes the final major version in a long-running line of home productivity software.
- 2009 Microsoft stopped selling Works in 2009. This date marks the product’s commercial retirement, not an online shutdown or the end of support for every edition.
How It Died
Microsoft stopped selling Works in 2009. This date marks the product’s commercial retirement, not an online shutdown or the end of support for every edition.
What Replaced It?
Memories
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