It might not surprise anyone to learn that not all Microsoft employees use Windows Phones and PCs in their personal lives, but Lifehacker’s interview with the Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research, danah boyd (and no, I didn’t forget to hold down shift) shows that it’s not all-Windows all the time. When asked about her current mobile device, danah admitted that her “primary phone is an iPhone, but I despise the device.” She only uses it to test apps in development and she really misses her old-school Sidekick.
As for her computers, she has two: a MacBook Air and a Lenovo. The strangest thing about these proclamations might be the fact that they don’t seem so strange in 2014. Business Insider notes that not only does danah own multiple Apple devices, she also prefers Kindle and Evernote to Nook and OneNote, both competitors with heavy Microsoft involvement.
It’s probably not a coincidence that this openness has come to a head as Steve Ballmer made his way out the door. Satya Nadella wants Microsoft to continue its expansion throughout the tech industry in tandem with the other major companies, from release of Office for iPad to the possibility of bringing the digital assistant Cortana to more platforms in the future. Microsoft even joked about the ubiquitous nature of the MacBook Air at the unveiling of the Surface Pro 3.
The culture is changing at Microsoft, however subtly, and it will only help the company grow as Nadella begins down a new path.
