How Microsoft has impacted my life and how I plan to bring a change in to the society being a Microsoft Student Associate!

9 years ago, I got my first personal computer. 9 years ago, I got my first hands-on experience on a Windows computer. 9 years ago, everything changed.

A 10-year old me would just play games on his computer, and listen to a couple of songs all day. An 18-year old me on the other hand knows a lot of ins and outs of computers as well as a lot of gadgets – and Microsoft has played a big role in shaping me into the geek I am, because almost every time I learnt something that made me the guy I am, one of Microsoft’s products has always besides me. Starting out, I used to tinker around with my Windows 98 (and XP later on) and break a lot of things. Needless to say, I had to fix them back in time if I didn’t want to get in trouble. And I did, I fixed them. Most of my knowledge about how a computer works the different aspects of software came from breaking and fixing stuff. Later on, I developed a lot of interest in blogging. Microsoft Office’s various applications were pretty useful, as they let me format my articles perfectly as well as make sure there are no typos and the grammar is perfect. I’ve helped a lot of people fix bugs within their Windows and helping things with the UI overhaul which Windows Vista brought has allowed me to know my way around different applications and find almost everything I’d ever need. But that’s not it.

I got my hands on a Windows Phone 7 device and was very intimidated by the user interface, it was the best I had ever seen. We tried to implement a similar design for TheGeekBros, a blog a friend and me founded, but never got around to publishing the new design. Later on when Windows 8 was introduced, I was excited because I love Metro UI, even though a lot of people on the internet seem to dislike it. I think that’s the time around which I realized that user interface has almost as much importance as functionality of an application. If you’ve known me for a long time, you know how I used to geek out about Windows Phone 7 and 7.5. I was equally excited when Microsoft got around launching Surface. When you’re getting a complete computing experience on a compact tablet, what else could you ask for?

But Windows, Windows Phone  and Office aren’t the only three things that are awesome about Microsoft. There are a lot of areas where Microsoft seems to excel. I got introduced to cloud storage by Microsoft’s SkyDrive (known as OneDrive now). 25GB of cloud storage and access to my files on any computer with an internet connection, why not? Sharing files with friends became easy, storing important documents became easy.

Then there’s Microsoft Virtual Academy, which has online courses ranging from HTML5 to game development and the cloud, which is pretty awesome by the way because you get to learn things you need to turn your dream about developing games into reality. You can also learn the essentials to making that app you always wanted to. Tutorials are just a click away.

Azure is another area where Microsoft lets users access the power of cloud computing. You can develop that application you always wanted to, and deploy it on the cloud and ensure uninterrupted access to your database. Heck, you can try out virtual machines on that thing. Pretty awesome.

We have entered the digital era, but not everyone is that computer literate that they’d be familiar with computers like us geeks and find their way around everything. Over time, I’ve had the chance to help out a lot of people find answers to their queries and figure out that with a computer, they can do the things they always wanted to, but they couldn't because they thought that they didn’t have the necessary resources and skill set.

I believe that the computer is a world of infinite possibilities and there are a lot of things that people can achieve through computing that would really make an impact on the world. Windows is the most user friendly computing operating system out there and it already has every resource built into it or just one download away. As a Microsoft Student Associate, I’ll spread awareness among masses about the things they can do with their computer, as well as help them figure out what the right way to do them is, whether it’s about which software they should use, or how they should go about acquiring the skills to turn their dreams to reality. This will be my first step towards making the world a better place. I’ve quite a bit of experience helping people out with their computers on a personal level, but being a Microsoft Student Associate will give me the chance to do it on a much larger scale. It will not only allow me to spread awareness and make people more computer literate, but also give me a chance to develop myself.

I hope that I’m selected for being a Microsoft Student Associate and it gives me a chance to make an impact on the society and take a step toward making the world a better place.