The Ubiquitous Microsoft

I belong to a generation that grew up alongside the personal computing industry. In the year I was born, Apple computers officially banned typewriters from all offices. While I was taking my first step Atari games like space invaders and frogger were taking the world by storm. And by the time I had uttered my first word, Bill Gates and Paul Allen had signed a joint partnership agreement to form the Microsoft Corporation.

So at age 30, having grown up with the big M, what do I think of it? What subjective, controversial statements can I make about the organization that so clearly epitomizes corporate power, market dominance and monopolistic practices? Frankly, nothing truly disparaging springs immediately to mind.

The fact is that Microsoft and MS Products like Windows, Excel, powerpoint, and Word are not only symbols of corporate greed and a highly valued stock price. These "institutions" have marked our personal and professional growth throughout our lives. Like the door where mom and dad would fastidiously mark down your height year after year, applauding their ability to keep you safe, healthy and growing, so to did each iteration of Windows represent a change in our own lives. In 1990 when I was 11 years old, Windows 3 was released to the masses. In primary school I was proud to tap into the mysterious world of Microsoft Word, and in high school, when I prepared my first XL spreadsheet and powerpoint presentation, I began to understand what would be demanded of me in my future professional career.

Microsoft is a brand that has paved the way for a generation of copycats and naysayers, but it is also a company that has impacted how we work, live and experience information in the modern world. The ubiquitous Microsoft is so ingrained in our habits, our traditions, our daily lives, that it becomes almost impossible to seperate it out and look at it as just another big company.

Does Microsoft seek to help the world through the open exchange of information? No. But through the pure integrity of capitalism, Microsoft has taken our world into a new direction with higher function, providing the human race with tools that have serviced millions of people around the globe.