Google opened their UK headquarters recently. (Alright, it’s not headquarters, it’s Googleplex!). To celebrate, they ran a contest for kids. Doodle 4 Google! Kids sent in their interpretations and creations for the Google Doodle – the Google logo that you see on their website. The Google Doodle changes every now and then – according to the latest happenings.
An eleven year old schoolgirl won the competition. And that reminded me of my winning Microsoft’s Imagine the Magic Contest back in 1997.
Imagine The Magic contest was launched when Bill Gates visited India for the first time. About 40000 students (below 18 years) sent in their interpretation of “what the coolest computer would be like”. I sent in mine, and won in the 12-18 year age group from the West zone. We got to meet Bill Gates, visit the Microsoft campus in Seattle, and got a Compaq Presario loaded with applications and games. It was amazing!
This was also the event that gave me a push to do something in computers. I would have done an MBA otherwise. It is great for companies to invite ideas from students. Young people can come up with brilliant ideas.
Here’s what I had written for “Imagine The Magic”.
Imagining the magic of the coolest computer, the first thing that strikes my mind is that it will be really interactive. It could talk to and listen to me with a human touch. It would be easy to use with PnP, USB and perhaps Wondows-99 or 2000. It could tell me jokes when I am bored or teach me with real multimedia experience when I am fresh. It could play stimulating games with me. It could gather information from all over the globe within seconds through a direct satellite uplink. It could turn into a home entertainment system, comprising TV, Audio System, LD or DVD player et al. With such a computer at home, I could go to college or anywhere without leaving the home, in virtual reality; and meet and interact with friends in real time 3D environment. It could adjust with me automatically using Artificial Intelligence. It would be helpful to my parents also. And connected to printers, scanners and so, it can do miracles. It could do all this and more without harming anybody. In short, such a creativity booster could be my friend, philosopher and guide.
30th January 1997
Nirav V. Mehta
I also made a painting for the contest. The painting was great, I wanted to post it here, but could not find it.
And I think what I imagined in 1997, is mostly in place 8 years hence! My Microsoft visit was fantastic too – I met people working on IE4, Streaming audio, MSNBC, Microsoft Games and a whole lot more! The interaction with Bill Gates was memorable too.. May be I will write about it some other time.