Take it as read: you can’t escape emerging technology.
A year or so ago – try mid first century – King Alfred accidentally let the cakes burn while he pondered the problems of his country. Fast forward a year or two – say around 2000 – and you might wonder what aspect of domestic life suffers as the guys at Microsoft ponder how to get us all wired up; increasing so. Could they also be pondering whether connectivity should be universally wireless?
Whatever, Frances Steel, a services executive with Microsoft, had quite a story to tell members of SeniorNet Eastern Bays at their November meeting. She touched on the megatrends – the cloud, big data, mobility and social connection. What they were, what they did and what they meant to us and to the lives we lead. Then it was a swing into how Microsoft considers those trends and how the IT megagiant caters for those who use its product.
From there, Frances moved to discussion of how consumers of Microsoft’s innovation influence continuing design, development and presentation.
Perhaps references to IT development in partnership with the health sector were particularly significant to an audience aware that increasing age can have more than its share of spanners in the works. Once, trips to the family doctor might have helped clear up the works but expect before long to be consulting your doctor through Skype so that, from a time and motion point of view, both patient and practitioner benefit. That’s just for instance.
Many other references to recently introduced or developing technology were touched on as Frances supported her discussion points with videos demonstrating both Microsoft focus on tools for the 21st century – and beyond – and its place in society as a good corporate citizen.
Early this year Satya Nadella, with more than 20 years’ experience at Microsoft, was named as chief executive of the company. Frances quoted one of his tenets but the quote given prominence in a backgrounder to his appointment is worth repeating here as it sums up pretty well what Frances conveyed in just an hour of presentation time.
“Our industry does not respect tradition – it only respects innovation,” Nadella says. “The opportunity ahead for Microsoft is vast but, to seize it, we must move faster, focus and continue to transform. I see a big part of my job as accelerating our ability to bring innovative products to our customers more quickly.”
But innovation does, at times, ruffle the consumer’s feathers, especially when downstream effects seemingly sabotage a perfectly good system. And that’s what a long-standing SeniorNet member and tutor noted for his IT prowess put to Frances, bringing her face to face with end-user frustration.
If there’s a moral in that, dear members, just remember the tutors can’t always second-guess what the system might do when the computers are booted up for a class.
NB: the meeting on November 19 was the last for 2014. Imagine what new device or piece of technology you’ll have acquired by the time SeniorNet gets underway again next year.