Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended					1 Months Ended						8 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2011 Government Competition Law Matters	Jun. 30, 2011 Antitrust, Unfair Competition, And Overcharge Class Actions	Jun. 30, 2011 Antitrust, Unfair Competition, And Overcharge Class Actions United States	Mar. 31, 2010 Antitrust, Unfair Competition, And Overcharge Class Actions Canada	Jun. 30, 2011 Antitrust, Unfair Competition, And Overcharge Class Actions Canada LegalMatter	Jun. 30, 2011 Antitrust, Unfair Competition, And Overcharge Class Actions Canada Cases Stayed LegalMatter	Jun. 30, 2005 Other Antitrust Litigation and Claims Novell LegalMatter	Nov. 30, 2004 Other Antitrust Litigation and Claims Novell LegalMatter	Jun. 30, 2008 Patent And Intellectual Property Claims Alcatel-Lucent	Apr. 30, 2008 Patent And Intellectual Property Claims Alcatel-Lucent	Dec. 31, 2008 Patent And Intellectual Property Claims Alcatel-Lucent	Apr. 30, 2008 Patent And Intellectual Property Claims Alcatel-Lucent Video LegalMatter	Apr. 30, 2008 Patent And Intellectual Property Claims Alcatel-Lucent User Interface LegalMatter	Apr. 30, 2008 Patent And Intellectual Property Claims Alcatel-Lucent User Interface Patent Infringements LegalMatter	Apr. 30, 2009 Patent And Intellectual Property Claims Uniloc	Aug. 31, 2009 Patent And Intellectual Property Claims i4i	May 31, 2009 Patent And Intellectual Property Claims i4i	Jun. 30, 2011 Patent And Intellectual Property Claims Motorola, Plaintiff LegalMatter	Jun. 30, 2011 Patent And Intellectual Property Claims Motorola, Defendant LegalMatter	Oct. 31, 2010 Patent And Intellectual Property Claims Motorola, Defendant LegalMatter	Jun. 30, 2011 Pending or Threatened Litigation Patents LegalMatter	Jun. 30, 2011 Contingencies Disclosed in Contingencies Note
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Resolution description	Since 2001, we have been subject to a Consent Decree and Final Judgment ("Final Judgments") that resolved lawsuits brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, 18 states, and the District of Columbia in two separate actions. The Final Judgments imposed various constraints on our Windows operating system businesses. The Final Judgments expired in May 2011.
Dismissal description		We obtained dismissals of damages claims of indirect purchasers under federal law and in 15 states. Courts refused to certify classes in two additional states.
Agreement description		We have reached agreements to settle all claims that have been made to date in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
Maximum value of vouchers to be issued			$ 2,700,000,000
Total estimated cost of state overcharge class action cases, minimum			1,900,000,000
Total estimated cost of state overcharge class action cases, maximum			2,000,000,000
Accrual for loss contingency, ending balance			568,000,000
Settlement payments			1,300,000,000
Number of pending claims					3	2
Case classification				In March 2010, the court in the British Columbia case certified it as a class action.	On April 15, 2011, the British Columbia Court of Appeal reversed the class certification ruling and dismissed the case, holding that indirect purchasers do not have a claim. The plaintiffs have sought review by the Canadian Supreme Court.
Number of claims dismissed							4
Number of claims filed								6										1	1
Number of patents tried												1	3
Unfavorable jury verdict - number of patents														2
Damages assessed									512,000,000	367,000,000					388,000,000	40,000,000	200,000,000
Interest on damages assessed									145,000,000							37,000,000
Remaining in dispute											500,000,000
Number of patents allegedly infringed																		21	23	9
Other infringement cases pending																					55
Accrual for disclosed loss contingencies, current, ending balance																						693,000,000
Accrual for disclosed loss contingencies, noncurrent, ending balance																						276,000,000
Amount not accrued for estimated maximum losses for disclosed loss contingencies																						$ 800,000,000