Month: February 2014

February 3, 2014

Readers may be familiar with Sarah Churman from a 2011 viral video in which she activates a hearing implant and hears for the very first time. In the video here, you can learn more about Churman’s story and how Microsoft technology enabled her to receive an Esteem Hearing implant and experience the laughter of her children in a whole new way.

February 3, 2014

Mystery Skype is a classroom game that challenges students to use technology in innovative ways and to develop global perspectives. Scott Bedley, a fifth-grade teacher, is excited to connect his students with other kids from all over the world.

February 3, 2014

Harold Lasko thought his painting days were over when he lost his eyesight. But his PC and Microsoft Paint have enabled him to keep creating. A former typographer, Lasko, 96, calls the computer a “marvelous instrument.”

February 3, 2014

“Just by using your hands in front of the Kinect you can actually control your x-ray without scrubbing out,” says Eric Vallieres, a general thoracic surgeon at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, Wash. “I can correlate what’s happening on the patient with what’s happening on the images, so there’s better flow of surgery, and that translates into better care for my patients.”

February 1, 2014

What better way to rev up before the big game than by playing “Madden NFL 25” on Xbox One? That did the trick for Seattle Seahawk Earl Thomas and Denver Bronco Knowshon Moreno, who visited Loft One in New York City to grind it out on the virtual gridiron.

February 1, 2014

Five-year-old Braylon O’Neill was born without tibia and fibula bones in both of his legs, but that hasn’t stopped him from engaging and interacting with the world in much the same way other kids his age do. “We use Microsoft technology to analyze Braylon’s gait mechanics,” says Treacy Lewander, Braylon’s physical therapist. “We’re able to slow down his movements and watch them, or track where his joints are in space to make any suggestions we may have for his prosthetic alignment, or where he may need more strength.”

February 1, 2014

In February, Microsoft will join 2,700 of the world’s leading big data scientists, CIOs and other executives at the Strata conference in Santa Clara, Calif. Quentin Clark, corporate vice president of the Data Platform Group, will give the keynote address.