26th January 2001 is a very important day of my life. This very day, I got my first computer (I would rather say, my mom bought herself a new computer). Since my mom was a computer teacher, I had the privilege of learning how to operate a computer easily (though I had hardships in moving the mouse pointer to the place I wanted). She was the one who taught me how to switch on/off the computer. Though I predominantly played in the computer, I found the computer to be a Pandora’s Box. Now, let share my experiences with Microsoft with respect to my timeline.
At the age of 9
Yes, this was the age when I was introduced to a computer (especially
to computer games!!). I was one among the lucky ones to boast myself at
school, that I had a computer in my house. I would endlessly brag about the
computer and its functionalities to my friends. I also used to talk about
certain technical terms which I had known then (by overhearing my mom speak
about it), such as Windows 98, MS-Paint, etc. Those made me feel
like a ‘genius’ (!) among my friends in school.
This was the time when I also used to paint using MS-Paint
for several hours. Like most of us, I had difficulty in using the pencil to
draw a free-hand diagram and color a box correctly without spreading it all
over the page. MS-Paint has definitely been a starting point and encouraged
many people to draw and design in the computer.
From 10 - 15
The presence of MS-Office has been bliss for many
firms and Organizations and in particular to me, it has been a tool to write my
assignments. With the help of Word, I used to type my assignments and
take a print-out of it and submit it to my teacher whereas my friends used to
write the entire assignment with great difficulty to write straight in the
unruled paper. The assignments which I completed with the help of Word had page
borders and perfect diagrams which used the drawing tools present in word.
PowerPoint has provided me with the means to express
my views on a particular topic. For instance I made a PowerPoint presentation
for my parents wedding anniversary and my mom and dad’s birthday. Thanks to the
animation effects and transition effects which gave my presentations a grand
finish.
From 15 - 18
This was the age, when I started surfing the internet for my
assignments (Psst., That’s what my parents though), and playing games (which
I did all the time !). I used Internet Explorer to surf the internet.
Which is the standard browser for Internet. This was the time when I started
learning about the Operating Systems and how fascinating Windows XP was
with a new enhanced GUI when compared to Windows 98.
I started playing PC games like Age of Empires and Flight
Simulator. These two games are still my favorite games. I never find it
boring when I start playing these two games. Especially, with Age of Empires, I
have played for hours together. During my holidays I spend almost 8 hours
playing AOE-II at a stretch (though I take my meals at the right time!?!).
The fascinating thing about Age of Empires is that it makes me feel as I am a
king and it allows me to take my own strategy to win a game. This has
particularly cultivated my leadership skills and decision making skills.
From 18 - Till present
Now, I have started generating revenue, thanks to Microsoft
for providing me such an opportunity via Windows Phone Apps and Windows 8
Apps. I started developing mobile applications during the 2nd
year of my U.G. Now I have published over 52 Windows 8 apps. and 34 Windows
Phone Apps. In the process of developing applications I developed my
designing skills with the help of Windows Expression products such as
Expression Blend and Design. I used the IDE in the form of Visual
Studio to code my C# based applications. The various versions of
Visual Studio brought in new features which made developing applications more
fun.
Thus, my life is enhanced and improved by Microsoft,
which I proudly call as my “Virtual Mentor”. I cannot imagine a day
without me using a Microsoft Product. It has given me opportunities to exhibit
my potentials to the society. I would like to use the Microsoft Student
Associate program to the benefit for both the society and myself. With the
stage well set to explore the latest trends and sharing the knowledge with my
friends I am at a yard’s distance from attaining my goal as a Microsoft
Student Associate.
