Well the end is near, and time to say goodbye to 2007 and hello to 2008. It has been an awesome year here in Charlotte, both at work and in life. Vista launched, which was a big one for me, because it was my first software launch at the company and it was awesome. I got to see Bill Gates live and in person. Having wanted to meet him since I was 12, this was a great step forward. I remember waiting in line with Ted at like 6:30 so that we can be upfront (we got 2nd row). Now all I want to do is shake his hand one day (and I have thought up some crazy ways of trying to meet him, just ask Ted). We had a couple other launches which I was very excited for, Halo 3 (was in line at midnight) and the Zune.

Otherwise there were just so many other things throughout the year which made me realize more and more about the company and how much I really wanted to work here.

Lastly, it has been another great year because of friends and family, because without all of you, life would be pretty boring. I miss you guys up in MA, and wherever else you guys have spread out, and am loving my new friends here in Charlotte.

Here is to what has been a great year (mostly), and now just looking forward to 2008 and hoping its just as good and if not better than 2007.

Found this on the net and it is a very interesting read. It talks about how Google is getting ready to compete against Microsoft, in every space imaginable. Google believes that more and more services should be available online and pretty soon 90% of everything that you would ever want to do, can be done online. Microsoft is also under the same belief but believes that there will still be strong ties with the desktop, but is ready for changes as they come. It also goes into what challenges each side faces as well as how things are done at the companies.

Some good stuff in there and one of my favorite quotes is this

“Needless to say, we are going to do everything we can to remain the leader in this space,” he adds. “And whoever comes our way, we’ll certainly be waiting for them.” ~ Chris Capossela

Fighting words. Love it. Hopefully one day I get to make a comment like that.

Well I was in Redmond recently (okay I lie, I am writing this post from Redmond, but I am going back to Charlotte tomorrow), for a MACH graduation. MACH or the Microsoft Academy College Hire is the program that I am a part of and basically is for college hires who are new to Microsoft and to the professional world and allows for an easy transition.

Anyway's the session we had on Career stuff was okay, but the fun part was graduation. With pictures coming soon, I just wanted to post something that was really neat to see. On one of the walls were some glass prisms,

and as the title suggests it is for people who have dedicated 25 years of service at Microsoft. Now so far only a few names are up there and of course we have Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, and it was cool to see the wall lined up with prisms for many different years. It was sort of inspirational also, because it made me think about what I wanted to do in life and how this is where I wanted to always end up. I never imagined I would start my career here, but now that I think about it, if I can I want to try for that wall. I strive for commitment and dedication and you know what I want to be part of that wall more than anything. Here is looking to the year 2031, when hopefully I can celebrate a happy 25 years here at a company that I have always wanted to be at, and hopefully one that I will have an impact on as I grow here.

So who knows what will happen by 2031. All I know is that I am going to give it my best and try as best as I can for something that I know is just a long long long term goal, but it is still a goal and one that I can't wait to try and achieve and hopefully one that will keep me pumped and ready to go for the many years to come.

So reading the news for today and what do you know, I find that a new Zune commercial is making its way around the net, and what an amazing commercial it is.

This is just one of those times, where marketing has outdone themselves. According to istartedsomething, this commercial was created by a creative agency Digital Kitchen, and looking at the commercial it appears to have a close resemblance to one of my favorite shows House M.D., and that is because they did the opening sequence for that show as well.

Well enjoy the commercial, it is awesome and amazing, and just WOW.

Windows Home Server, is a new product that we recently have launched. What it is, is a computer that is running a server version of Windows for the home environment. Now the campaign that is being launched is a little different as can be seen here, however the point is that it is meant for families and individuals who want a centralized location to store and backup videos, pictures and music.

For example I will be looking towards a home server for myself so that I can have all my media on there in the future, with backups running so that I don't loose any of that stuff, plus can then access all of it, wherever I go and from any other computer.

Here are some of the features:

• Store all your data and media in one location.
• Have automatic backups running everyday so that you don't loose your files if something happens to your computer.
• Have a website where you can share photos with people that you know (check out Ted's home server site)
• Access all your machines that are connected to your server from anywhere that you have an internet connection

There are a lot of things that you can do with the home server, and the list is just going to increase as time goes by. You can buy  it from places such as Amazon and Best Buy, and all you get is the server (no monitor) and you plug it into your network at home and your computer will find it and start using the server to manage all your computers. It is pretty neat, check out the site and marketing which is kind of funny, and oh yeah we are making a children's book about this .