Life at Microsoft (so far)

Coming to Microsoft was an adventure for me. I never thought I would work for them, but now obviously things have changed. For whatever reason, many people like to hate on M$, and there are probably some good reasons for that. Just like there are good reasons to hate on Duke basketball (sorry Dave). The common myths about Microsoft usually are things like lack of innovation, arrogance, bad products, etc. Unlike Apple, Microsoft in many ways does not have brand capital. These things were on my mind when coming to interview here.

The interview process was as important for me as it was for them in making a decision. I wanted to know if there was still passion for putting out a good product. Are they taking on the hard challenges and trying to win? At least in my interview, I felt that there still is that passion. Maybe not the bubbling froth that is the Apple passion, but people here care about putting out a good product. I also connected well with the hiring manager and that can't hurt.

For a long time Microsoft dominated an industry that was small, but growing like crazy. Over time new companies have emerged and have been able to not only compete in the same space, but thrive. What I have found so far is that Microsoft is in the process of changing their culture and the way they do business. However, it is a huge company (over 92,000 employees worldwide) and change isn't easy. I like what they say about the new direction. We'll see over time how it impacts the end user products.

After a day and a half of orientation, I came to my new office. There are space constraints here so I am sharing an office, but having come from a cubicle farm, this is bliss. On my desk were a bunch of boxes and a note on the whiteboard "Task 1: Set up computer." That took me a while, but can't complain too much. In the boxes were a tower (Quad core Intel, 4 GB RAM), two monitors (22" Samsung widescreen), and a Motorola Q. Since my job is to make Windows Mobile better, the phone and a plan with unlimited data are included. Not a bad perk. The tower was loaded with Windows Vista (64 bit). There has been much said about this operating system, but I like it so far. I am sure it doesn't hurt to have a loaded box to run it on.

My experience so far has been positive. There seem to be a lot of cool technology things going on here beyond just the desktop. I have never used an iPhone or a Blackberry, but my first week using a Motorola Q with Windows Mobile has been fun. Genni has already threatened to take it away a few times. It does everything I need and does them pretty well. My use is mainly focused on the business aspect (e-mail, calendar, phone calls) with a little fun mixed in (facebook, espn, etc.)

To sum it up, so far the experience has been great. My coworkers and manager have been very helpful. I mostly used non-MS tools (Firefox, gmail, igoogle, google maps, Linux) before this, so I have been test driving lots of MS stuff (IE 8, Windows live, Windows Vista). My bias will probably lean more towards giving these products a chance due to my stock awards, but I really think MS has done a good job in catching up and creating some good products. The problem they (we?) face now is changing the public's opinion. It took being employed here for me to give them a chance. The jury is still out on my final opinion, but they will get a chance now. What would it take for you? What are your opinions of Microsoft products? Would you give them a spin and see if they have improved enough for you?