Last week, students participating in the Imagine Cup traveled to Microsoft’s Redmond campus to meet with various Microsoft teams as they prepare for the 2009 Worldwide Finals in Cairo, Egypt. Team SKAN from India and Team MultiPoint WEB from the U.S. used the opportunity to network with developers and...

Given that most of us have encountered PCs from the time we were in school or college, it may be difficult to think of what it was like to discover the PC for the first time! But most adults in countries like India are new to PCs, and usually view it as a rather intimidating device. Inspired by...

Most computer applications are difficult to understand for those who are unable to read fluently. The heavy use of text in everything from menus to document content means that those who are illiterate are not able to access functions and services implemented on most computer software. According to the...

On my first trip to India, I remember going to visit a rural village near Bhopal, where the Union Carbide chemical disaster happened. The visit was prompted by stories about a large agriculture conglomerate which had placed the first PC in the village in the home of one of the local farmers. I’ll come...

Indian concept, global appeal Recently Microsoft India has experienced two very welcome “returns”. The first returnee was Amit Mital, an Indian working at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond as global head of Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential Group. The second was MultiPoint, a technology which, while...

Recently, I spent a little under a week traveling throughout India, visiting some of Unlimited Potential’s programs and partners that are working to bring increased social and economic opportunity to the region through the benefits of technology. It’s an exciting time to be in India. The economic success...

Those of you that follow Microsoft might be familiar with Imagine Cup – an annual student technology competition that Microsoft sponsors. This year Unlimited Potential has worked with Imagine Cup to add a new category -- the Rural Innovation Award . At its core, Imagine Cup is about capturing...

Hello, I’m Michael Aldridge, group manager of the Rural Incubations Team in Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential Group. Our team is chartered with the development of various emerging market strategies and incubations, primarily focusing new kinds of relevant and affordable technology and services for underserved...

I am pleased to be joining you again from the road—this week, I am in India to support our ongoing efforts to extend the power of technology to the world’s underserved populations. India’s uneven economic and social balance, with over 98% of the population living at the middle and base of the economic...