Snowball - The Blog

I've been a Microsoft enthusiast for many years now, as many of you probably know. Honestly, I haven't worked on a Linux-based computer ever, and apart from an IPod, I haven't worked with any Apple products either. Why? I like Microsoft products, I really do. They have served me well and I have never had any feeling that I could be better off using something else. Thanks to their products, I have a great career going on. I have had countless sleepless nights because I want to try that one special thing. I even got to know my girlfriend better through the use of Microsoft's IM solution before we were together.

And still, there's a lot to look forward too. In fact, I think we are at a turning point at this moment. Many great products and technologies are on the verge of being released or are already on the market that will give Microsoft a new and improved image.

Look at Bing, the new search engine launched last week. It is a new way of searching, not a direct competition aimed at what is already out there. But it is innovative, it is fresh, it is cool. Try it, you'll be amazed with what it has to offer!

Also last week, Project Natal was shown at E3. Again a very innovative product. Not that long ago, Microsoft released the Surface, which was perhaps the start of this innovative period.

The advertising campaigns Microsoft is currently doing, sadly not here in Europe, using Seinfeld and Bill Gates were hilarious. "I'm a PC" is now a real brand. It makes people proud of the PC they are using. The more recent campaign, aimed at the lower cost for using a computer against Apple, was the second hit in a row.

Looking a bit more at the professional market, we see many great improvements being done on tools and technologies. The next version of Silverlight that will be released somewhere this year, includes some great improvements, making it a truly business-ready platform. Yes, you can build enterprise applications on Silverlight today.

The next release of Visual Studio promises another great step forward in developer productivity. Using the same tools for all technologies and projects, from BI to enterprise applications to games, it can all be done in VS2010. There are many new features in the new version that will make you do more in less time. In this time of a worldwide recession, that can't be but good news.

Finally, the biggest release that Microsoft is doing this year, is of course Windows 7. With a development cycle not plagued by any issues like Windows Vista's, the product is almost ready. Many customers already tested the new OS in what is probably one of the biggest beta tests ever. And perhaps also one of the most positive ones. Almost all feedback and reviews so far have been nothing but positive about the new OS. A lot of customers are already using it today in RC format for their production needs, which means they fully trust the project.
Although I've been using Windows Vista from day 1, I've never understood the criticism about the product. I think it was "cool to say that Vista wasn't any good". Now, the new cool will be using Windows 7!

As mentioned in the beginning, for a guy like me, the future of Microsoft has never been brighter.