Microsoft Garage
| Microsoft Garage | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Web address | http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/garage/ |
| Slogan | Do epic s--t. |
| Commercial? | Yes |
Type of site | beta testing |
| Registration | No |
| Available in | English |
| Owner | Microsoft |
| Launched | 22 October 2014 (website) |
| Current status | Active |
The Microsoft Garage is a project lab in Microsoft,[1] originally closed off to the public where employees from all divisions of Microsoft, as a part of opening up its software development to the public Microsoft launched a Microsoft Garage website where people are invited to try out the latest experimental applications developed by Microsoft, at the time of the opening up of the Microsoft Garage there were 16 different applications available for various operating systems such as Google Android, Android Wear, iOS, Windows, Windows Phone and the Xbox One.[2] In February 2015 Microsoft launched a new wave of Android and Windows Phone applications, one of them previously being a Nokia application.[3] In April 2015 the Microsoft Garage has completed over 10,000 projects by 3,000 employees.[4]
The central idea behind the Microsoft Garage is based on the fact that most tech companies were "started in a garage" and that as Microsoft is an old tech company that they need a safe space where employees can "fail fast".[5]
History
The Microsoft Garage which originated as an offshoot of Office Labs in 2009 lets Microsoft employees work on projects that bear no relation with their primary function within the company and has been compared to Google's "20% time" initiative, the physical location of the Microsoft Garage is Bill Gates' former office on the Microsoft Campus that's open to anyone at any given time and contains an actual hardware workshop as well as an actual working garage door, the Microsoft Garage's official motto is "Do epic s--t". Microsoft divisions often shut down to relocate to the garage to test their new software for example when the MSN Mobile team tested its page layout on various smartphones every time the team made a small tweak to the web portal and developed a tool to email mockups of screenshots of the phone every few minutes. Microsoft Garage projects sometimes become a part of Microsoft's product offerings and sometimes do not depending on the success achieved in testing.[6] In October 2014 the Microsoft Garage was elevated to a division without physical location that enabled all Microsoft employees to participate.
Applications
Windows
- Mouse without borders is a Windows desktop application that allows users to control up to four different computers with a single keyboard and mouse set by acting similar to a virtual KVM switch.[7]
Windows Phone
- Tetra Lockscreen was a Windows Phone application designed to work with the new lock screen APIs of Windows Phone 8.1, it had a stopwatch, weather, agenda, and maps widgets that provided information collected from the user's applications. Tetra Lockscreen served to show developers what they can do with Windows Phone's lock screen.[8]
- Join Conference (previously Nokia Conference) was originally a Lumia Beta App designed by Nokia, when elevated to the Microsoft Garage it gained Cortana integration, it works by notifying users about their coming meetings in their calendars and shows the meeting IDs and PIN codes. Upon its re-released it was no longer a Lumia exclusive, but the available markets on which application was available was reduced to 17.[9]
- SquadWatch is a friends tracker that allows users to see where their contacts are if they have registered with the service.
- DevSpace is a Visual Studio-based application that allows users to check the developments they were working on on their desktops and notebooks from their mobile telephones, it uses a two-step verification process called OAUTH.
Android
- Torque is a voice-controlled application for Android and Android Wear that can conduct searches using Microsoft Bing. Torque was originally an exclusive for Android Wear but with version 2.5 it was released to Android phones and added local events and flight status to the functionality of the application.[10]
- Next Lock Screen is an app launcher that shows users their latest appointments, most used applications, meetings, and shows the general agenda, Next Lock Screen has been criticized for offering the native lock screen capabilities of Android 5.0 rather than adding anything new.
- Journeys & Notes is a social application that connects users who are on the same route and use the same mode of transportation, and lets users write notes to each other.[11][12]
- Your Weather a Chinese application that provides the weather conditions of various cities in China, it was developed in close cooperation with Microsoft Research Asia and the China Meteorological Administration.
- Keyboard for Excel is a keyboard optimised for Microsoft Excel Mobile with a 10-key number layout for fast data entering and a tab key for easier navigation through tabs.
See also
References
- ↑ Foley, Mary Jo (25 February 2015). "Microsoft opens Garage door, shows off experimental apps.". CNet.
- ↑ Popkin, Helen A.S. (22 October 2014). "Microsoft Garage Is Now Open To The Whole Neighborhood.". Readwrite.
- ↑ Jawad, Usama (5 February 2015). "Microsoft Garage unleashes a plethora of apps for Android and Windows Phone.". Neowin.
- ↑ Cameron, Sean (17 April 2015). "Microsoft opens the Garage for the world to see, Have a little look at wonderland.". WinBeta.
- ↑ Finney, Joseph (18 April 2015). "The Microsoft Garage is a place where Microsoft employees can feel free to fail, Tools and space give talented people the right environment for invention.". WinBeta.
- ↑ Goldman, David (10 October 2012). "Where Microsoft geeks go to 'Do epic $#!+'.". CNN Money.
- ↑ Wilson, Mark (25 February 2015). "Exciting new experimental apps emerge from Microsoft Garage.". Beta News.
- ↑ Popa, Bogdan (31 March 2015). "Microsoft Pulls Tetra Lockscreen App from Windows Phone Store.". Softpedia.
- ↑ Viswav, Pradeep (25 February 2015). "Microsoft’s Join Conference App Now Available For All Windows Phone Devices.". Windows Mobile PowerUser.
- ↑ Hernandez, Pedro (7 December 2014). "Microsoft's Torque Wearable App Heads to Android Phones.". eWeek.
- ↑ Staff, Electronista (23 October 2014). "Microsoft releases three apps for Android, Android Wear on Google Play.".
- ↑ Newman, Jared (22 October 2015). "'Microsoft Garage' embraces cross-platform spirit with new Android apps.". PC World.
