Microsoft will be turning 40 years old this week. And they have a lot to celebrate this year, from growing success of their Xbox One, to the upcoming Windows 10 operating system later this year. For this guy, Microsoft has been a cornerstone around almost every bit of computing done in some way, shape or form since the 1990’s.

It’s story-time: it all started for me when I was in the middle of grade school over 20 years ago and my class had to do a series of learning projects that used computers. Originally, the school was using Mac computers for their everyday work and the students were using them for classwork. Some of the software used were made from Microsoft. The experience with Microsoft wouldn’t come into full effect until my mother bought our first computer some years later. It was a Pionex computer with Windows 95 on it. It was one of the most basic computers you could find, but it was still a start to an exciting era. My mother originally bought the computer for her work. Whenever she needed to do some extra work outside the office, she would use the computer. I saw this device as something more than just basic Wordpad she was using. When I finally had the chance to try it out, I discovered the likes of Paint. Yes, Paint. I was into hand-drawing and sketching back then, so Paint at the time was a big freaking deal.

During this time, I also discovered that this basic computer could actually play some games that came with it. Two games that were specific for this Intel-processor with MMX were “The Third Dimension” and “Pod”. Again, because the computer was so basic, I couldn’t even run the games without extreme lag time. It wasn’t the same experience as my Super Nintendo or my Sega Genesis at the time. There was no instant on, instant load deal. Nevertheless, I still played other games along with those two, because I continued to see this Microsoft machine as a alternative gaming/drawing system.

Before the turn of the century and new millennium, I went through junior high, and the school I went to were calling for more projects to be done specifically computer-based and some as an option to handwriting long essays. The rest needed computers to be used for research outside of book-only libraries. My parents bought encyclopedia programs to help me to do research. This time would also be when I first discovered the Internet. When that happened and my folks finally installed Internet on a new computer we would get a few years afterwards, gaming systems were starting to take a backseat. This new Windows ME computer was much faster and more powerful. The OS wasn’t the greatest, considering I had preferred Windows 98 some years prior. But I dealt with what I had.

Through time, I would be more involved with more sophisticated programs such as Microsoft Office, Hyperstudio and others. I especially loved the fact that Windows Media Player and RealPlayer could be used to listen to music and watch video clips all on the computer. It was fascinating. By high school, I made the decision to concentrate in the field of computer multimedia and computer science. Though the high school I went to had a mixture of Windows 98 and Mac OS 9 computers, my home computer was still true to yet another new Windows computer: a Compaq with Windows XP on it. I could play games (retro and current) faster than ever before and I would also start getting into more…………complicated things with that Windows computer. 😀

When I graduated from high school and went to college, I majored in a computer based field at a school that primarily dealt with Windows 2000. During that period, I was using some of the most powerful and industry standard creative software available on the market. It ultimately brought me into the profession of being a multimedia specialist once I graduated from college. After this period, I bought laptops of my own and helped my parents buy Windows computers of their own, along with assistance from various family relatives and associates.

Over the years, my experience with Windows in general have been generally positive but at times, strained and frustrating (i.e. Windows Vista). But outside of Windows, there were other devices Microsoft had that grabbed my attention, like the first Xbox I received on my birthday and the Xbox 360 I bought for use with my work when I was in retail doing product demonstrating. Also during this period, I bought my first Windows phone: a Samsung Blackjack II.

Yes, Microsoft has played a major factor in various ways through the course of its existence. I believe there is more that they’ll do moving forward that will continue to be an impact in the tech world. Maybe one day, I might become Microsoft certified. Granted, it’s not my primary field, but it still would be awesome to be recognized by a company (love ’em or hate ’em) that has made a global name for itself and impacted the way we do everyday business. With that, I say………thanks, Microsoft. Here’s to 40 more.