In With The Old
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Microsoft didn’t have much planned for the last day of its Build developer conference, so it offered members of the media a quick tour of its campus. What can only be described as a gaggle of tired reporters shuffled onto buses outside the Grand Hyatt Seattle, whipped out their phones, and took the trip out to Redmond. Our first stop: The original Microsoft campus, which Bill Gates designed to make sure nobody was interrupted while they were coding. Everyone had an office with a door, and many of those offices had a view of this pond, where brightly colored fish could be seen meandering about.
Hello, Old Friend
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Remember when the Windows logo wasn’t a quadru of flat squares? Somebody must, because this depiction of the old logo can be found right along the main path into Microsoft’s original campus. We couldn’t tell whether this was graffiti or an official mural, but either way, the iconographic throwback reinforced the idea that we were starting our tour with the old Microsoft.
Giving Back To The Community
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The new Microsoft is too big for everyone to have their own office. We’re told that more than 40,000 employees work from the company’s headquarters. A growing number live in Seattle, but many call the towns surrounding their employer home.
Microsoft has tried to embrace its outsized presence in Redmond (and the other towns in which parts of its campus fall) by encouraging its employees to volunteer in the community. Signs like this one dotted the campus. TEALS has a simple goal–getting computer science classes into every high school. Considering the fact that it’s a tech company, it makes sense for Microsoft to support this mission, both with signs like this and via Microsoft Philanthropies.
The Shuttles Stop Here
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For those employees who live in Seattle, Microsoft offers shuttles between the city and its campus. We were told that these shuttles offer air conditioning, WiFi access, and other amenities to make the (relatively short) commute as painless as possible. Alas, our group was too large to use those shuttles, so we have to take Microsoft’s word for it on their luxuriousness. Other, smaller shuttles ferry employees around different parts of the sprawling headquarters.
No Badge? No Entry
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Once you get to the campus, you’re going to need a badge to get anywhere interesting. Only one building is open to the public; the rest are locked until an employee swipes their badge. Besides keeping out the masses (and curious journalists), the badge system also helps Microsoft keep track of where its employees are. This data is used to predict how many people are working on campus on any given day, how that number is affected by various factors, etc. All that info also helps Microsoft keep tens of thousands of people fed each day. (More on that later.)
Looking Like The Microsoft Logo Is Totally A Coincidence
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After we looked around the original campus and headed over to another building, we sat down for presentations from several Microsoft researchers. First up was Microsoft’s Chief Scientist and Distinguished Engineer, Rico Malvar, who told us how the company approaches its research. He said that Microsoft Research often has a push-pull relationship with the company’s product divisions. Sometimes the product teams push for certain research, and sometimes the research team lets the product divisions know about some cool stuff they’re working on. Here you can see him explaining how Microsoft decides where to invest its research. Stuff like HoloLens is scheduled and disruptive; the quantum computer in the top right, however, is blue-sky and non-scheduled. Malvar said it’s important for Microsoft to invest in all four groups–though perhaps not at the same amount–when it’s deciding what to research.
Water Cooling To The Extreme With Project Natick
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Later we heard from Microsoft’s Spencer Fowers about Project Natick. That project was meant to solve a complicated problem: How can Microsoft keep its data centers running as often as possible, while limiting their effect on the environment, and ensuring quick connections to consumers? Fowers said that many U.S. data centers are currently located in the center of the country because that’s where land is cheapest. Yet most people live on the coasts; this means it takes longer for data to travel between consumers and the data centers. Project Natick tries to solve all those problems by submerging a data center in the ocean. The prototype was supposed to last for 35 days, but it ran for 105 before Microsoft pulled it out of the water. Project Natick could lead to a future where data transfers are faster, less money is spent on cooling hot data centers, and Microsoft doesn’t have to swap out parts all the time. (And don’t worry about the fish–Fowers said the first prototype had a negligible effect on surrounding temperatures.)
Project Premonition Saves Lives With AI And Bug Juice
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Finally, on the research side of things, we heard from Microsoft’s Ethan Jackson about Project Premonition, which used a specially designed device and a bunch of AI to analyze mosquito blood. Jackson compared the mosquitoes to little drones capable of collecting DNA samples from animals. This in turn allowed Microsoft to analyze the DNA found within the mosquitoes to figure out what they were feeding on and what diseases they might be carrying. This all happened very quickly–Project Premonition gathered 20GB of data from 22,000 mosquitoes in just 19 hours. Microsoft’s hope is to use all this data to predict disease patterns.
Shuttle Up And Work
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Here’s one of the shuttles we didn’t get to ride. Notice how everything is on-brand; there’s no old Microsoft logo or Helvetica to be found here. It’s all new logotype and Segoe all the time. (Yes, noticing this does make us incredible nerds, and yes, you’re reading this on Tom’s Hardware, so chances are good that you would’ve spotted the same thing. Don’t judge us.)
Green, Far As The Eye Can See (Until You Turn Around)
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Just in case you didn’t believe us, here’s a roundabout for shuttles and other vehicles. Right there on the side is a Real Estate & Facilities truck with the same ol’ Segoe. But we didn’t snap this shot just to make a typographic point. We also wanted to show that Microsoft’s campus is defined by lots of green space. That’s partly due to local regulations, which prohibit buildings taller than four stories, but also because Microsoft wants to blend in with the landscape as much as possible. We suspect all that green is also welcome if you spend most of your day starting at a computer screen.
Welcome To The Garage, We’ve Got Lots Of Toys
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Next up was the Garage. This is where Microsoft employees gather to participate in hackathons, work on personal projects, and in some cases help their kids with schoolwork. The head of the Garage, Jeff Ramos, said Microsoft encourages this free-wheeling creativity. That’s because “culture eats strategy for lunch,” he said, which means it’s more important for Microsoft to create a workplace focused on experimentation than for it to set a new corporate mission. So far the Garage has put out 70 projects, hosted numerous events, and spread to Microsoft offices around the world. You can find out more about this experimental division on its website.
This Is Microsoft’s Holodeck
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Did you notice this room in the back of the previous image? Well, this is what Ramos called Microsoft’s Holodeck. Or, at least, the room that will soon host Microsoft’s Holodeck. This is where Microsoft employees will be able to experiment with HoloLens, Windows Mixed Reality devices, and competitive products like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. The first project: A sort of virtual vacation where Microsoft takes a 360-degree scan of a city and then lets you explore it in XR. Ramos said the company plans to demo this software during next year’s Build conference.
An iPhone From A Vending Machine? Yep
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Even the Garage’s vending machines are cool. Here we have the Lend-O-Matic, which dispenses gadgets with the swipe of those nigh ubiquitous employee badges. Ramos said this machine was installed because Microsoft employees often need access to a specific piece of hardware when they’re tinkering with something in the Garage. Now, instead of having to hunt down that device or request one from the finance department, they can just use the Lend-O-Matic. Ramos demonstrated the machine’s ease of use by having an iPhone (yes, an iPhone, not a Windows Phone) dispensed right in front of the group of touring journalists.
Check Out Our Wall Of Awards
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Within the Garage is Microsoft’s wall of awards. It’s hard to see here–turns out getting a picture of etched text on highly polished glass isn’t all that easy–but the types of awards changed over the years. Microsoft is now more focused on recognizing employees’ achievements no matter what they did–whether it was improving Windows or helping defend customer privacy–and the prizes will continue to change as time goes on. This wall is basically the physical representation of Microsoft’s shift from corporate fuddy-duddy to hip tech company.
WWSM?
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The Garage also hosts a Maker Lab where employees have access to 3D printers, laser cutters, and other expensive machinery. Most of it’s open to anyone, but some parts do require safety training. Unfortunately our picture-taking abilities were limited in here by Microsoft’s request not to take pictures of its employees. (Something something “they’d have to sign a release.”) But we don’t think this picture of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and the accompanying warning not to misuse Microsoft’s resources violates the spirit of that rule, right?
We Opened Up Our Eyes And Saw The…
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We saw these signs around all of Microsoft’s campus. This one’s trying to educate Microsoft employees on disabilities; others talked about inclusiveness versus exclusiveness, the importance of listening to people, and a bunch of stuff in languages we can’t read. (Don’t bother visiting the URL; you need to sign on to Microsoft’s corporate network to access it. We tried.)
Grub Time
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After the Garage came lunch. Well, not for us, although Microsoft did offer a bunch of food samples. Instead, we were shown how a company manages to feed upwards of 40,000 people twice a day, every day, while also committing to producing as little waste as possible. Our first stop was Cafe 83, where we learned that Microsoft imports spices from India, grinds them in-house for its cafes, and then distributes them to other local restaurants. The request not to take pictures of Microsoft employees made getting a shot of the cafeteria itself hard, but we hope you can tell from the swanky branding that Microsoft isn’t running some schoolhouse cafeteria.
Does “Hydroponic” Mean “Really Cool?”
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But that didn’t stop us from sharing these hydroponic towers with you. This is where Microsoft grows various types of lettuce on-campus. The company produces 15,000lbs of lettuce and a ton of micro-grains each year with these towers. They use 90% less water than other farming methods, and they don’t have any soil inside; the nutrients are picked up directly by the roots.
For what it can’t grow, Microsoft partners up with local farmers. We were told that these farmers previously tilled 40% back of their produce back into the ground because they didn’t meet supermarket beauty standards. Nobody wants ugly veggies on their shelves even though they taste the same and, in all likelihood, are going to be chopped up anyway. Microsoft buys all that unloved greenery and uses it in its kitchens.
The Campus’ Only Public Building Had A Holo Secret
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We ended our tour with Building 92, which is the only part of the campus open to the public. Coincidentally, its basement is also where a team of employees secretly developed the HoloLens, which means Microsoft basically hid its breakthrough headset right under everyone’s feet. There’s a museum, store, and security office here; there are also offices where new employees are onboarded. We were told something like 100 employees are onboarded each week, although only 10% of applicants are hired.
Please Don’t Touch Master Chief
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Master Chief, from the Halo franchise, greeted us on our way into Building 92. We cropped it out of the photo, but a sign very politely asked people not to touch the obviously expensive models. We wonder how many people had to touch them before Microsoft decided to put up that sign. (A lot. Master Chief looks like a badass.)
Microsoft: Still Selling Software In Boxes
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Employees have their own special section of Building 92’s store. We could see boxes of software (in 2017!) which explains why nobody’s allowed to take any pictures beyond that point. (Gotta keep those license keys safe, after all.) The rest of the store had kitschy items like branded shirts, backpacks, and other accessories; toys; and other things you’d expect to find in a gift shop.
A New Mission For A New Microsoft
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This is Microsoft’s new mission statement. It used to be “A computer on every desk and in every home.” Now it’s “Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.” Sometimes that involves giving people access to more computers; other times it’s about improving the many devices they already own. We were told that Nadella changed the mission statement because he thought the old one sounded too much like a goal that could be achieved instead of something to which Microsoft could always aspire. We suspect the fact that many people now have a computer in their pockets also had something to do with it.
Out With The New
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Then, just to drive home the point about seeing the new Microsoft emerge from the old, we ended the tour in front of the company’s new logo. One of the first things we saw was a previous Windows icon; one of the last was the company’s new branding.