that Microsoft created the Arial typeface

Yeah, I should have know this but I did not. Arial was designed in 1982 for Monotype Typography and Microsft used it so it would not have to pay for Helvetica.

Sayeth Wikipedia:

Arial is held in disregard by some professional typographers and type enthusiasts, for reasons relating to its similarity to other typefaces and the involvement of Microsoft in its development and distribution. It is reinforced by Arial's apparent status as a de facto Helvetica stand-in, but without paying royalties, or credit, to Helvetica. Arial's glyph widths are nearly identical to those of Helvetica, rather than Monotype Grotesque, on which Arial is otherwise based, and many people are unable to tell the difference between Helvetica, Arial and other similar fonts.

Some thought the SCDP (Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce) logo used on Mad Men was Arial, but the font is Akzidenz-Grotesk, which is a period-correct choice.