14 DAY TRIAL // It shall be no surprise to see a Microsoft employee using a Windows Phone or a Surface, but you might raise an eyebrow if a Softie is actually relying on an iPhone as a primary phone.
That’s the case of danah boyd, principal researcher at Microsoft Research, who recently presented her resume in Lifehacker’s “How I Work” series of articles.
boyd explained that while she does use an iPhone as her primary phone, she actually “despises it” and explains that she has an Apple device just because her job requires her to.
“My primary phone is an iPhone, but I despise the device. I only use it because it's how I can test out apps in development. I really really really miss my Sidekick,” she said.
And still, the iPhone is not the only non-Microsoft product that she’s using. boyd revealed that Evernote is also one of her favorite services, even though we all know that Microsoft has invested a fortune into OneNote, which is currently available on basically all mobile platforms out there, including Windows 8.
“I do everything through Evernote through a mechanism of nested to-dos and collaborative to-dos. I've never liked the formal managers. I really want to have control over how my to-do list looks and feels and how I structure it and Evernote gives me that paper feel while still being networked and accessible from anywhere,” boyd explained.
Last but not least, she’s also using a Kindle, but this time, boyd cannot be accused of anything given the fact that Microsoft is yet to step into the e-book reader business. And still, you can also use a Surface to read your favorite books, although we admit that it’s not as easy as with a dedicated device.
“Probably my Kindle. I read a lot. I collect physical books and I love reading from the paper version. But I also like reading books on the Kindle. When I'm at the gym, the Kindle fits nicely on the machine stand. When I'm traveling, it's light in my bag. When I'm in bed, it has a nice backlight that doesn't keep others awake. And when I'm walking around town, it syncs to the audiobook version,” she continued.
Seeing Microsoft’s employees relying on non-Microsoft products for their daily activities should become a common thing very soon, as the company is pouring millions in bringing its services and apps on mobile platforms such as iOS and Android.
The Office productivity suite is living proof, as Microsoft already launched an iPad version and is gearing up for the Android flavor that’s also expected to debut sometime this year.