The year was 1998, and we were still caught up in the endless multimedia craze. Obviously, Windows 98 only accelerated that hype, but the combination of audio, images, and video wasn't enough. In October of that same year, Microsoft attempted to move into the world of telephony with the Microsoft Cordless Phone System, a device that, in addition to receiving traditional calls, could also be connected to a computer to activate additional features like voice commands and Caller ID.
October 1998. Windows 98 had been on the market for only four months, and we could already feel the “first-edition pains” that Bill Gates himself had experienced. Obviously, that didn't stop Redmond from selling more than 50 million copies and creating a whole new ecosystem of programs and accessories. Now, some of them were so ephemeral that the public didn't even know they existed, and that's exactly what happened to Michael MJD on YouTube when he visited eBay and found the Microsoft MP-900, better known as the Microsoft Cordless Phone System:
Microsoft Cordless Phone System: Yes, Microsoft made a phone in the '90s
One of the first details of the Microsoft Cordless Phone System is that the user wasn't required to connect it to a computer, and it could work fine as a conventional phone. However, its link to a PC (via a serial port) was the only way to get the most out of it. Michael had trouble finding the official CD, but one of his followers came to the rescue with an ISO image.
The main software is called Microsoft Call Manager, and it brings everything you'd expect from phone software of that era, including direct dialing, address book, and speed dial, but we also noticed secondary functions like voice commands (which turn the headset into a sort of PTT), speaker mode (the computer's audio plays the call), and some customization for recording messages or listening to incoming calls (headset, speakers, or both at once). In fact, the system tray icon can answer or hang up calls with a couple of clicks.
Needless to say, the big weakness of the whole system is that the computer had to stay on. Yes, the phone can work without a PC (less than 45 percent of American households had personal computers back then, and they weren't cheap), but at a price of $199 at launch, consumers could simply get more independent solutions with similar features. Microsoft didn't take long to cut its price, and even gave it away with the purchase of a Small Business Office license.
