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That was the first thing I remember seeing on a computer screen. A white blinking cursor on a CRT. That was MS-DOS! The year was 2000. My first interaction with a Microsoft product. Though we’ve come a long way from when we had to type in long boring commands to transfer a file to floppy to storing data online on OneDrive, the quintessence of Microsoft remains unaffected – “Make technology touch lives”.
That made me springboard myself into the realm of computers. Before long, I started realizing almost everything I used to do on a PC revolved around Microsoft. From the bright Windows 95 boot screen to the madness on the streets of Detroit in Midtown Madness, Microsoft was everywhere. My subsequent encounter was with MS-Paint, which meant hours of doodling, but little did I know that it would be most common imaging tool I would use for a decade and a half.
What I came across next was something that I use to this very day – Microsoft Office. I am certain that every student in my age group is forever indebted to Microsoft Office. From the days when all I used to do was use “Word Arts” to make my name look fancy to using “Smart Arts” to make graphical representations look attractive. The Office suite has another one of my beloved products – Power Point. Needless to say everybody loves Power Point. It’s simple and easy to use interface makes it a joy to use. A perfect harmony of design and productivity.
As I grew up more I began discovering more Microsoft products like Encarta. The visual encyclopedia that had everything I wanted to know and more. Not only did it help me do my projects, it also provided hours of entertainment with built in games and interactive features. The time spent on playing Mindmaze remains is still some of the best ever. Though the penetration of the internet made offline encyclopedias obsolete, Encarta can still be considered to be the best there was. Microsoft games like Rise of Nations and Age of Empires had me hooked for a majority of my school years and developed my taste for strategy games. It comes as no surprise that the Xbox is the most selling 7th gen console in India.
Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Skype means one more MS product that I use every day. Unfortunately for me, college meant staying away from home. It is tough and a video call every now and then does make me feel better.
Every little thing that we do on a computer invariantly has a connection to Microsoft. The most obvious one is undoubtedly Windows. With it’s streamlined interface it has kept up with the evolving hardware trends to always provide me a pleasant desktop experience. Wizards to help out make the toughest of tasks simple. It may be setting up an AD-HOC network or burning a DVD. It makes everything simple. Such is the versatility of Windows that it’s used everywhere from ATM machines to Tablet PCs. The productivity and flexibility of Windows in the palm of my hand just shows Microsoft’s vision about the future of computing and technology alike. An example of the constant innovation and evolution at Microsoft has to be humble “Start” button. It has come a long way from the little rectangular block of pixelated colours to the plush Metro interface in Windows 8 that’s optimized for touch screens. This just shows how dedicated Microsoft is towards developing technology.
Another example of Microsoft’s commitment towards the finest of details is the Surface tablet. When I saw the keynote it was startling to see how much effort had been put on the littlest of details to come up a product where hardware and software work in perfect symphony. A masterpiece indeed.
A man is a product of his environment and the constant presence of Microsoft around me has had a profound impact on my views on technology and world alike. Microsoft has thought me to keep things simple yet functional, elegant yet productive and be better than anything out there.
I’m really glad that the Microsoft Student Associate program provides me with an opportunity to spread this ideology of being the frontrunners in tech and early to adapt. Software is something that has very limited shelf life and it’s vital to be updated at all times to extract maximum productivity. This is where I feel most of my pals are lagging. The lack of information about permeation cutting-edge technology is essentially a handicap. I would overcome this barricade by talking to people, conducting events and offering a demonstration of what they’re missing out on.
“Your potential, Our passion” is what Microsoft stands for. Bringing the best out of people using technology is what they do. I hope to be a part of this wonderful body as an MSA.
