True to Microsoft’s latest tagline, “Empowering us all,” this company – since it was started on April 4^th, 1975, 41 years ago to be exact – has been empowering idea people from all corners of the earth with its technology.

The company got its start thanks to Bill Gates and Paul Allen, two childhood friends who combined their knowledge and expertise to create a company that made computer software in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The production of microprocessors and software sprouted the name for the company, “Micro-Soft.”

Though that name looks like a company that we know today despite that little hyphen, it only took three years for the hyphen to be dropped from the name. But, the hyphen wasn’t the only thing that dropped out. In fact, Gates dropped out of Harvard and Allen left his programming job in Boston to pursue their newest venture.

As with any new business, the first few years proved to be a whirlwind. In those years, the innovative duo both launched and licensed their MS-DOS operating system to IBM. Unfortunately, just as there were many highs, there were also a few lows in the beginning. One of which was the medical reason that forced Allen to leave the company.

But, despite these hurdles, Gates and Microsoft forged on and in 1985, the company unveiled their Windows operating system and went public with their announcement.

Almost instantaneously, the company stock and sales took off to over $60 million, which made Microsoft the world’s largest personal computer software company at the time.

It’s safe to say that both Gates and Allen have, in some respects, created and paved the way for the technological advancements that follow their revolutionary idea of Microsoft.

Just take Davison client Eddie Porter, for example. Porter utilized our very own mobile app service to turn his idea into a reality – the Coach’s Whiteboard app!

Thanks to innovative thinking and a passion for basketball, Porter was able to combine these two factors and work alongside our team at Davison to create a an app to help coaches everywhere draw up new plays or call up old plays to lead team members, now available on the Apple App Store.

It’s innovative thinking and a creative spirit like that of Gates, Allen and Porter that validates the notion that if you have an idea and put in the effort, you too can make things better each day.

Copyright Davison, 2016

Images:

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/thisdayintech/2011/04/gates_and_allen_450px.jpg

The inventor of the Coach’s Whiteboard app has not received a net profit through the development of his app. Davison charges fees for services.

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Companies like Microsoft, Samsung and Sony are making moves in an effort to have their innovative inventions come to life.

Here is a glance at what these companies are currently working on!

Microsoft- The most recent patent filed by Microsoft leads people to believe that “Kinect Glasses” are ahead. Microsoft filed a patent titled, “Multiplayer Gaming With Head-Mounted Display.” This new patent for a head-mounted display would help recognize a second player in a multiplayer game, receive verbal cues to participate in that game and then use eye tracking in order to display images with the glasses. In addition, the program also will work with both players’ perception in an effort to create an integrated visual experience.  What this means is what one person sees from one point of view will be matched by the perception of his or her opponent.

This device would require processing a great deal of separate data points like eye tracking, vocal cues and movement tracking, in order to create an immersive experience; although, this seems to be a very ambitious endeavor for Microsoft, we are very excited to see if this idea comes to fruition.

Samsung- At the beginning of August, we wrote a blog about wearable technology, and talked about the up and coming invention of smartwatches. Since then, on July 29, Samsung filed a U.S. Patent for a device called the Samsung Galaxy Gear.  This invention is described as, “wearable digital electronic devices in the form of a wristwatch, wrist band or bangle capable of providing access to the Internet and for sending and receiving phone calls, electronic mails and messages.” This description leads one to believe that Samsung is, in fact, working on its own version of a smartwatch.

Sony- You have probably been there before. You are taking pictures and you are constantly switching the camera from portrait to landscape. At the beginning of August, Sony filed a patent that describes a camera with a sensor that will rotate independently of the camera. In addition, the system will include an LCD screen on the back of the camera that will rotate in a similar manner and can control the orientation of the sensor inside. If Sony ever follows through with this patent and creates a real-life invention, switching the orientation of a photograph will no longer require any rotating of your camera itself.

Only time will tell if Microsoft, Samsung and Sony will follow through on their most recent patents. If they do, these inventions will transform the world of technology and add more fuel to the fire for companies to continue filing patents for future inventions.

Copyright Davison 2013

Sources:

http://gigaom.com/2013/08/06/samsungs-trademark-filings-tip-galaxy-gear-smartwatch/

http://gigaom.com/2013/08/02/microsoft-files-for-patent-for-head-mounted-display-are-we-about-to-see-kinect-glasses/

http://petapixel.com/2013/08/05/sony-patent-shows-a-camera-sensor-and-lcd-screen-that-rotate-together/

Pictures:

http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/2/4581692/kinect-glasses-project-microsoft-patent-application

http://gigaom.com/2013/08/06/samsungs-trademark-filings-tip-galaxy-gear-smartwatch/

http://petapixel.com/2013/08/05/sony-patent-shows-a-camera-sensor-and-lcd-screen-that-rotate-together/

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A data-holding subsystem holding instructions executable by a logic subsystem is provided. The instructions are configured to output a primary image to a primary display for display by the primary display, and output a peripheral image to an environmental display for projection by the environmental display on an environmental surface of a display environment so that the peripheral image appears as an extension of the primary image. — United States Patent Application 20120223885

If you think this abstract from Microsoft’s 2011 patent application sounds like a bunch of tech mumbo jumbo, we don’t blame you. On the flipside of the mind-numbing legalese used to describe what Microsoft is calling the Immersive Display Experience is a gaming platform that might just take home entertainment to the Next Generation. Anna Leach of The Register has already compared the immersive display to the “Star Trek” holodeck.

By filling your game room walls with the very same environment created by the game, Microsoft wants to push Xbox games beyond the screen and put them all over your house. So instead of playing “Sonic and Tails,” gamers could imagine games like “Sonic and You.” The patent describes a situation in which you “may turn around and observe an enemy sneaking up from behind” while playing a game.

According to The Register, “the peripheral image would be created by a 360-degree projector and would adjust as the gamer moved around in the game, and in the room. Eye-tracking tech would ensure that the scene shifts as the user looks around it. A special built-in mechanism would avoid shining light into the user’s eyes.”

Games of the “Future” from the Past

The Nintendo Power Glove — The first peripheral interface controller to recreate human hand movements on a television or computer screen in real time. The Power Glove was not popular and was criticized for its imprecise and difficult-to-use controls. — Wikipedia

Time Traveler or Hologram Time Traveler – A stereographic laserdisc FMV arcade game released in 1991 by Sega and designed by Dragon’s Lair creator Rick Dyer. It is called the “World’s First Holographic Video Game,” because it uses a special arcade cabinet that projects the game’s characters. — Wikipedia

The Virtual Boy — A table-top video game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was the first video game console that was supposed to be capable of displaying “true 3D graphics” out of the box, in a form of virtual reality. — Wikipedia

Sega Activator — A 1993 peripheral based on a musical instrument called the Light Harp conceived by musician Assaf Gurner. Marketed as a new type of martial arts simulator, it is an octagonal device that lays flat on the floor and reads a gamer’s physical movements. As the player moves, infrared laser beams translate the movements into game inputs. – Wikipedia

Gnilley — You navigate the suspiciously Zelda-looking backgrounds with your keyboard and destroy enemies by screaming at your computer as loud as you can. The louder you scream, the faster they die. Yelling at different intensities allows you to bypass certain obstacles, and … yeah, that’s pretty much the whole game. If you get stuck, don’t worry: This is the only game where getting frustrated actually helps you. – Cracked.com

It’s not likely that Microsoft’s Immersive Display Experience will ever end up on a “worst-of” list like the aforementioned butts of jokes. But if it does, we’ll scream if the list leaves out Gnilley!

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