The “Lunch Break” video series, starring Microsoft’s Vice President of the Enterprise Client & Mobility (ECM) Brad Anderson, has always been about lunchtime discussions with thought-leaders and influencers of the tech world. The series was featured on WinBeta not too long ago, and this week, the guest is none other than WinBeta’s Editor Kip Kniskern.
A light joke on “WinAlpha” being our biggest competitor (hint: they don’t exist) complemented some info on Kip’s career at WinBeta, started since 2004. Having been a Microsoft MVP since the first iPhone was introduced, Kip has a long history of watching the technology industry, and Microsoft’s story in particular, unfold over the years.
It’s this experience he reflected on to comment about Microsoft’s transition from a laser focus on absolute closed-up, locked-down business data to a more balanced position of corporate security and customer empowerment (which he remarks is partly due to the popularity of smartphones in general), a sentiment shared by Brad. When faced with the question of what he would do for a living if there’s no news writing, Kip revealed his love for camping and cooking (hopefully a tasting session is in order).
We asked Kip what the experience was like, aside from getting a tour around Redmond in a brand new Tesla:
When Microsoft first contacted me this summer about being interviewed by Brad, they said “think (Jerry Seinfeld’s) Comedians in Cars getting Coffee”. I thought they meant lighthearted and casual, and was surprised to find the Tesla lined up complete with Go Pros and a follow car. It was a lot of fun, and a good discussion, too.
The video closed out with some sneak peeks on next week’s episode, which seems to be about being a Microsoft enthusiast (something we can all relate to). For more episodes, interesting talks and info, follow the series on YouTube’s Microsoft Cloud Platform channel.
