You might find this hard to believe, but I used to be a huge Microsoft fanboy. I left the platform in the mid ’90s, when the Chicago betas coming across my desk began displaying a disturbing Apple-ization that sent running to UNIX. It’s taken nearly 20 years, but Microsoft is finally doing their own thing again. It’s time for me to head home.
Yes, I spent over a decade on Apple’s platforms. What can I say? I’ve always been a fan of the underdog. Not just for the innate satisfaction of it, either. I really do prefer the culture of openness and eagerness that teams in a disadvantaged position engender. For a long time, Apple was like that, but they’re hardly the underdogs now.
My friends in Redmond have hooked me up with a Surface and a Lumia running Windows Phone 8, as well as Parallels and Visual Studio. I simply could not be happier with the attention we’ve gotten. With the long-time focus on education that Microsoft is well known for, I’m eager to get Lemurs Chemistry in front of some students.
Not to diss on Apple. I wish them all the best, not that they need it. They’re doing amazing work, and I suspect they will continue as the market leader in mobile for a long time. If I’ve learned anything from being on their platforms, it’s that one company doesn’t have to lose for another company to win.
After all, I don’t do what I do to drive adoption of a platform, but to make the world a better place. It would be the height of narcissism to think I could even make a dent on my own. Truly, whether you love Apple, Microsoft, Google, or some crazy platform I’ve never even heard of, we are all in this together.