This Microsoft Garage intern shares how she refused to let fear define her

In high school, Kristen Laird experienced terrible burns as a result of a lab experiment explosion.  She struggled for years with fear of flames, and decided to turn it around by looking her fear straight in the face and becoming an EMT (emergency medical technician) and a volunteer fire fighter. Through this experience, she has learned to experiment, explore, and….

In the Microsoft Garage, community “making” sparks curiosity in students

It’s just before 9am on a Monday morning, and the team at Microsoft Vancouver is placing the finishing touches on a room full of circuit boards, laptops and, comically, sunglasses (winter is the rainy season, after all). Moments from now, almost one hundred middle-schoolers will descend on this state-of-the-art-facility for innovation, training, and software development, to rub shoulders with engineers….

The napkin disrupted: meet Ink to Code, a Microsoft Garage project

Urban legend has it that some of the greatest ideas in history started with a napkin. The Gettysburg Address, the poem that gave way to the U.S. National Anthem, and the premise of the Harry Potter series—each were reportedly born into the world through the medium of sketches on scrap paper—and when app creators put pen to paper for their….

How to use hacking culture to find your mojo

Mike McCarter was ready to leave the company. He had goals and dreams, and his everyday work wasn’t getting him there. He looked to his life-long affinity of tinkering and hacking on physical objects and found new ways to bring these skills to the workplace.  His journey from reinventing his team culture to applying his skills to making a difference….

Our newest Garage project just might be your favorite lock screen

Favorites Lock Screen, a Microsoft Garage project, is now available for Android in India. Favorites Lock Screen is a lock screen app built around fans and the celebrities and interests they care about. It’s also our fourth lock screen project in as many years. Here’s why we’re fans of the overlap. Curious…Another Lock Screen? Since releasing its first batch of….

Sports Performance Platform crunches data to optimize training for the Seattle Seahawks

DeShawn Shead, a 28-old Seattle Seahawks cornerback, hasn’t been able to play for a year due to a torn ACL and meniscus injury suffered during Seattle’s 36-20 divisional round playoff loss to the Atlanta Falcons in January, but he’s just about ready to head back onto the field. In fact, he’s returned to practice. Technology and science – sports science….