Yogi Land

1. Pixelated Hands Sticky Note Pads

What better way to get someone's attention than these sticky notes?

Cost: $4.99

Click here to view this gallery.

The ubiquitous hand-shaped pointer has been a part of the consumer computing experience since the early days, and is familiar to both PC and Mac users.

It’s this familiarity that has crossed it over into real life, with a variety of hand-shaped accessories — both pixelated and not — created in a homage to the iconic design.

SEE ALSO: A Brief History of the Emoticon

Take a look through our image gallery celebrating the hand-shaped pointer. Let us know in the comments which items you’d like to have at your fingertips.

More About: accessories, apple, features, Gadgets, gallery, microsoft, retro, Tech

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Microsoft’s purchase of Yahoo is gaining momentum again. According to The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is working with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Silver Lake Partners, a private equity firm, to put together a bid to purchase Yahoo.

The proposed deal includes Microsoft paying “several billion dollars,” with Silver Lake and the CPP Investment Board supplying the rest of the equity, all of which is being arranged by unnamed banks.

This is not the only group of investors who are considering a bid for the purchase of Yahoo, according to The Wall Street Journal, which says there are “at least nine private equity firms … studying a potential buyout.”

This latest information comes just a couple of weeks after the news broke that Microsoft might seek a partner for a Yahoo bid. Microsoft appears to want some control over Yahoo’s future, but might be gun shy to go it alone due to its spurned offer for Yahoo in January 2008.

In that deal, Microsoft submitted an unsolicited $44.6 billion bid (equal to $31 per share then) for Yahoo, but the prospective purchase was fended off by Yahoo management, and resulted in the two companies agreeing to a search partnership and the ouster of then-CEO Jerry Yang.

That deal didn’t work out well for Yahoo, either, whose stock price plunged from $29 just before it had refused Microsoft’s offer, down to $15 per share by this September. However, when talks heated up again in early October of this year, Yahoo’s stock started inching upward again.

Now, according to The Wall Street Journal, some private equity firms are saying the deal could be done for between $16 and $18 per share. Yahoo stock closed today at $15.94 per share.

We’ve contacted Microsoft and Yahoo for comment, and will update this post when we get a response.

More About: buyout, microsoft, Silverlake Partners, Yahoo

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Microsoft and Apple are the developers of three of the most popular operating systems in the world (Windows, iOS & Mac OS X), yet their approaches to building the infrastructure that powers laptops, tablets and phones couldn’t be more divergent.

Microsoft recently published a blog post that addressed specific issues that Windows 8 developer preview users had with the start screen.

The Windows 8 team specifically tackles the complaint that the new Windows 8 start screen, which uses the app-style metro interface, isn’t effective at organizing apps (it was originally organized alphabetically) and doesn’t display enough apps on one screen (it originally displayed about 20 apps). Microsoft dives deep into the UX issues of start menus, even calculating how many apps Windows 8 can theoretically fit onto one display at different monitor resolutions.

In the end though, Microsoft concluded that its users were right about the Windows 8 start menu and made two important changes to it as a result. First, it now supports folder-style organization of apps. Secondly, Microsoft is making the start screen denser, meaning that more apps will be visible on a single screen.

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The Apple Approach to OS Development

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Microsoft’s approach lies in stark contrast to Apple‘s approach to OS development. The notoriously secretive company doesn’t like unveiling products until they are polished. It doesn’t publish detailed stats about how people are using its products. And it rarely makes dramatic changes based on user feedback.

It’s an approach that has worked just fine for Apple (more than fine, in fact). Steve Jobs and his team have been able to develop products and features that users wanted long before users they even knew they wanted them.

“It’s really hard to design products by focus groups,” Steve Jobs told BusinessWeek in 1998. “A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”

This is why you won’t find an Apple blog that details user behavior in iOS. This is why Apple only gives developers a few months to play with new versions of Mac OS X before they get released to the public, while Microsoft will release a new version of Windows to developers more than a year before its official debut.

Both companies are wildly successful with their operating systems. Windows is still the world’s most popular OS, while Apple keeps selling iPhone and iPads by the millions. But we’re about to see what happens when these two opposing philosophies to development butt heads. Microsoft is preparing for war against the iPad, and Windows 8 is its weapon of choice.

Will Microsoft’s philosophy to development trump Apple’s approach? We don’t know the answer to that question yet, but we do know that the fireworks are just getting started.

Check out the galleries below if you want to do a side-by-side comparison of Apple and Microsoft’s approaches to building an OS. Let us know which philosophy you prefer in the comments.

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Gallery: Windows 8

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Windows 8 Metro Home Screen

This is the Metro interface in Windows 8

Click here to view this gallery.

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Gallery: iOS 5

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New Home Screen With Notification

Notifications are a big deal in iOS 5. Taking some cues from Android, iOS has finally unified the notification system and made it less clumsy and intrusive.

Message now appear at the top of the screen (though you can choose to allow them to display in the middle) while you are using the phone and they don't interrupt what you are already doing.

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: apple, iOS, microsoft, Windows 8

Microsoft says it is “reinventing the OS” with Windows 8, the company’s next-generation operating system.

Microsoft fired off dozens of announcements and showed off countless features of the new OS at its Build conference in Anaheim, California. Features such as the Metro interface, support for touchscreens, improved performance and a Windows Store for apps are making headlines.

But which Windows 8 features are the most important ones?

We’ve scoured the Windows 8 feature list, played with Windows 8 devices (our first impressions coming soon), and come up with a list of features that we believe define Microsoft’s next-generation OS.

Without further ado, here are the top four things you need to know about Windows 8:

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Windows 8: Photos & Screenshots

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Windows 8 Devices

Microsoft demonstrated a lot of Windows 8 devices, including tablet devices, at its Build conference in Anaheim, CA.

Windows 8 Devices: A Closer Look

These are some of the devices running Windows 8 at Microsoft's Build conference.

Windows 8: Lock Screen

"Your personalized lock screen shows you unread emails and other app notifications. The image shown here is a photo of the road leading to Mt. Cook National Park in New Zealand."

Courtesy of Microsoft

Windows 8: Start Screen

"See your apps and content in a glance on the start screen."

Courtesy of Microsoft

Windows 8: Files

"Pick the files you want to send or share from one place."

Courtesy of Microsoft

Windows 8: Internet Explorer

"Touch browsing is fast, fluid and intuitive."

Courtesy of Microsoft

Windows 8: Thumb

"The thumb keyboard feels natural and comfortable."

Courtesy of Microsoft

Windows 8: Touch Keyboard

"Large buttons help you type on the touch keyboard."

Courtesy of Microsoft

Windows division President Steven Sinofsky

Windows division President Steven Sinofsky takes the stage at Build.

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1) Windows 8 Works on Tablets, Laptops & Desktops

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Perhaps the biggest difference between Windows 8 and its predecessors is that this OS is designed to work on not just laptops and desktops, but on tablets as well. Microsoft is introducing the Metro interface it popularized with Windows Phone into Windows 8. Users can access the Metro view or the familiar desktop view with a simple click or tap.

To work well on tablets, Windows 8 has been designed for touchscreens. More importantly, it has been designed to work on ARM-based processors. ARM technology runs most of the smartphones and tablets in the world. ARM chips are simply better suited for these smaller form factors due to their energy efficiency. Even the Apple A5, the chip that powers the iPad 2, contains a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU.

The result is that Windows 8 will work on almost any device you put it on. It works with keyboards and touchscreens, and it doesn’t matter if a device has an Intel, AMD or ARM processor. This makes Windows 8 a versatile OS in a world where the desktop no longer dominates.

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2) Everything Is Faster on Windows 8

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Windows 8 boasts vast performance improvements over its predecessors. The memory footprint has been reduced, the boot time has been decreased (Windows 8 boots up in less than eight seconds) and the Metro UI launches apps almost instantly. The OS also supports USB 3.0 and Hyper-V.

The result is a slick OS that’s as fast as iOS and Mac OS X Lion. Most people will be surprised by how quickly Windows 8 starts up or runs apps. We certainly were surprised.

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3) Say Hello to the Windows App Store

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Windows 8 will have an app store. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody. The rise of Apple’s iOS App Store has launched a wave of app store mania across the tech ecosystem. Microsoft also gave away its intent to launch an app store in a leaked slide deck last year.

Still, the inclusion of a Windows Store provides new business opportunities for developers. It creates an incentive for developers to build Metro-style apps that could potentially sell well on the world’s most popular OS. And it’s a clear indication that Microsoft doesn’t intend to give up any ground to Apple and its App Store.

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4) Metro & Touch Are the Future of Windows

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Windows 8 was designed with touchscreens in mind. And while the OS works just fine with a keyboard and a mouse, Microsoft touted the Metro UI as the future of the OS.

Yes, Windows 8 includes the familiar desktop UI. And yes, you can install your standard desktop apps (the first app I installed on my Windows 8 tablet? Firefox). However, the real magic of the OS occurs when you’re swiping through the tile interface, launching games, launching the Charms bar and interacting with the device via touch.

Microsoft isn’t allowing itself to be stuck in the Stone Age. It knows the future of computing is mobile. It knows less people will be sitting at desktops to do their work and will carry around ultralights or tablets instead.

That’s what Microsoft is betting on. If Apple’s trying to pioneer the touch-based OS with iOS, Microsoft is trying to perfect it. The company is making a radical bet with the next version of Windows. We have to give the company credit: It’s not afraid to take a big risk in order to make a comeback.

More About: features, microsoft, Windows, Windows 8

Nintendo’s highly anticipated successor to the Wii is coming in 2012.

But that’s really all we know from official channels. Rumors have been swirling around the web about everything from the console’s hardware to its price. It does apparently have a name: “Stream.”

Could the Wii 2 incorporate touchscreen technology? What will be different about this device from the original Wii? Will it be more powerful than the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3? And how much will it cost? Here’s our comprehensive guide to Nintendo Wii 2 rumors.

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Specs and Hardware

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The original Nintendo Wii was criticized for its relatively weak specs and lack of HD functionality. The console didn’t even come with a gig of flash memory space. Back in 2006, Nintendo could get away with an underpowered system — few people owned HDTVs and the device was focused on capturing the hearts of the casual gamer.

But in 2011, more than half of U.S. homes own an HDTV. Nintendo knows it will need a more powerful console to stay competitive, especially as the Xbox 360 has become the world’s best-selling console, thanks to the Kinect’s record-breaking sales.

The Nintendo Wii 2 seems to be designed to address these fundamental issues. Here are some of its key specs, courtesy of IGN:

• A revamped version of the AMD R7000 GPU architecture, as well as a triple-core IBM PowerPC chipset that will be designed to beat the Xbox 360.
• 1080p output (very likely) and stereoscopic 3D (less likely).
• Its physical size will be similar to that of the Xbox 360 and “is likely to resemble a modernized version of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).”
• Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn (the company that builds Apple’s iOS devices) will produce it, according to Digitimes.

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Controllers

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Rather than creating a new version of the Wiimote, Nintendo has apparently opted for a more traditional controller layout with two joysticks and a four-button diamond layout.

However, if you look at the photos of the mockups (leaked to Destructoid, you will notice something no other controller boasts: a 6-inch 1080p color touchscreen.

A touchscreen controller creates the potential for streaming additional content to each player, much like the two-screen system utilized by the Nintendo DS and 3DS. There is just as much potential for the controller to be a gaming device in its own right. Full-length mobile-style games could be streamed (or even downloaded) onto a controller.

These controllers seem to be an acknowledgment that Apple’s iOS has redefined gaming and made touchscreen gameplay a mainstream phenomenon. It seems like a smart move on Nintendo’s part to integrate touchscreen technology, though we wonder how awkward it will be to use. The Wiimote was a one-handed device, like a remote control, because that is easier for novice gamers to understand.

There’s also the issue of price. Touchscreen controllers won’t be cheap to manufacture. Little else is known about their batteries or how the controllers will connect to the console.

Apparently the Wii 2 will support the Wiimote, which makes us believe that this device will be backwards-compatible. This suggests Nintendo and other third-party developers will still be creating games that utilize the Wiimote and the Wii Motion Plus add-on.

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Name & Price

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Nintendo always has a codename for console projects. The Gamecube was known as “Project Dolphin” until its debut, and the Nintendo Wii was dubbed “Project Revolution.” From what we’ve learned, the new console bears the codename “Project Cafe.” That won’t be its official name, of course. The winning name seems to be “Stream,” but Nintendo apparently hasn’t made a final decision yet.

The Stream won’t be cheap, either. Unlike the Nintendo Wii, which had a $250 price point that was a major selling point for casual gamers, people should expect a price range between $350 and $400.

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Burning Questions

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We have a few questions we want answered before the console’s supposed debut at E3 this June:

• What kind of support will it have for online gaming? The Wii is severely lacking in this functionality.
• What kind of interface will it boast? Will it be the casual, “cutesy” interface of the Wii?
• Will the Stream be able to court hardcore gaming titles? Halo has been magnificent for Microsoft; can Nintendo give birth to a similar franchise?
• Will it be backwards compatible?
• Can the Stream controllers play games independently?
• Can the Nintendo DS or 3DS be used as controllers for the Nintendo Stream?

Would you pay $400 for this console? Would touchscreen controllers be a smart move by the gaming giant? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Nintendo Stream: Advertising Mockup

This is a reportedly leaked mockup of the new Nintendo device, codename "Project Cafe." It's about the size of the original Xbox 360 and is described in style as a "retro-style SNES."

Nintendo Stream Controller

The new Nintendo Stream controller includes a 6" touchscreen interface. The Stream is also reportedly backwards-compatible with the Nintendo Wii motion controllers.

Nintendo Stream Mockup

Another mockup of the device itself.

Nintendo Stream Controllers

Another look at the rumored controllers of the Nintendo Stream.

Mockup: Stream Controller

A mockup of a potential Nintendo Stream controller by IGN.

stream-controller-mockup_0

More About: iOS, iphone, kinect, microsoft, Nintendo, Nintendo Stream, nintendo wii, Nintendo Wii 2, playstation, playstation 3, sony, stream, touchscreen, Wii 2, Xbox 360, Xbox Kinect

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Microsoft is hopping gingerly aboard the local deals bandwagon; its first test market is Sweden, where it is launching Lokaldealen, a service that is exactly what it sounds like.

The service is a result of the software giant’s partnership with Lokaldelen (see what they did there?), a Swedish business directory.

Lokaldealen’s offers are exactly what you’d expect to find on any Groupon clone’s site: Users purchase limited-time-offer vouchers for discounts of popular goods and services.

For example, the current deal in Stockholm is 30 pieces of sushi for 140 kronor, a discount from the normal price of 285 kronor. The deal is running for 32 hours longer; so far, nine people have purchased vouchers.

In addition to the partnership with an established brand, the service is getting a social boost via a Facebook tie-in.

Microsoft will market the deals on the Swedish version of the MSN portal, in Hotmail and via Live. Microsoft told Swedish business newspaper Dagens Industri that Lokaldealen currently employs a 300-person salesforce and is preparing to do business in 12 districts in Sweden. The service is now available in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö.

Groupon has already established a presence in Sweden and is Microsoft’s main competitor in that country for daily deals. If the Lokaldealen is a hit in Sweden, the rest of Europe is next on Microsoft’s list.

Check out the official promo clip for the new service, and in the comments, let us know if you think Microsoft’s first foray into local deals will fly or flop.

More About: -local, deals, location, lokaldealen, microsoft, sweden

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Google and Mozilla have both announced new browser initiatives that will allow users to opt out of having their activities tracked by online advertisers. These developments are at least partially in response to the “Do Not Track” lists proposed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

In December, the FTC released a 122-page report [PDF] outlining the concept, which has been called a “Do Not Call” list for online behavioral advertising. Rather than make calls for legislation, the FTC has pushed for browser makers and advertisers to self-regulate.

Although targeting the same problem, Mozilla and Google are are approaching opt-out online behavioral advertising from different directions.

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Firefox: Do Not Track HTTP Header

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On Sunday, Mozilla formally announced its plans to build a do-not-track feature into future versions of Firefox. Alex Fowler, the global privacy and public policy leader at Mozilla, explained the proposed feature on his blog:

“When the feature is enabled and users turn it on, web sites will be told by Firefox that a user would like to opt out of OBA. We believe the header-based approach has the potential to be better for the web in the long run because it is a clearer and more universal opt-out mechanism than cookies or blacklists.”

Mozilla’s Sid Stamm has written his thoughts on the proposal and he explains why the HTTP header approach was chosen fro Firefox:

“Currently, to opt out of online behavioral advertisements, you have to get a site to set an opt-out cookie so they won’t track you. There are various web sites that help out (NAI, IAB UK) and there are Firefox add-ons (TACO, beef taco, etc.) that can streamline this process. But this is a bit of a hack; it’s nearly impossible to maintain a list of all the sites whose tracking people may want to opt-out from. It would be more attractive if there was one universal opt-out signal that would tell all sites you want to opt out.”

Instead, Stamm proposes the use of a HTTP header that is transmitted with every HTTP request and that lets ad networks know a user does not want to bee tracked.

This approach of using a Do-Not-Track HTTP header differs from some other opt-out online behavioral advertising solutions, which utilize either opt-out cookies or an opt-out registry. Michael Hanson from Mozilla Labs has posted a technical analysis of Mozilla’s proposal on his blog.

One advantage of using a header and not a cookie to carry opt-out information is that even if user clears his or her browser cache, the opt-out settings will still remain in place.

As The Wall Street Journal points out, however, for Mozilla’s tool to work, “tracking companies would need to agree to not monitor users who enable the do-not-track feature.” As of this writing, no companies have publicly agreed to participate. Mozilla will have to convince advertisers to comply with its header proposal for this idea to actually gain traction.

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The Google Approach

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Meanwhile, Google has released a new extension for Google Chrome called Keep My Opt-Outs. The Google Code page for Keep My Opt-Outs describes the extension as a way to “permanently [opt] your browser out of online ad personalization via cookies.”

The extension works with Google-served ads as well as with ads from companies that have signed up with AboutAds.info.

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Other Initiatives

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Last month, Microsoft announced that IE 9 will include a way for users to create lists of sites or companies that are blocked from tracking their data. This is significant because of reports that Microsoft previously removed similar features from Internet Explorer 8 at the behest of online advertisers.

The features and plugins proposed by Google, Mozilla, Microsoft and others are a good start in making it easier for users to opt-out of online behavioral ads; however, these solutions will only work if advertisers and browser makers can work together in a cohesive way.

Photo courtesy of swanksalot

More About: advertising, Browsers, chrome, do not track list, Firefox, FTC, Google, IE9, microsoft, mozilla, privacy

Microsoft’s Dean Hachamovitch, the corporate vice president of Internet Explorer, discussed IE9, the browser market, privacy and more at the AllThingsD event at CES today.

Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal led off with the plummeting market share of Internet Explorer, specifically concerning reports that Firefox has overtaken IE in Europe. Hachamovitch sidestepped the issue by saying that Mirosoft is actually trying to drop the market share of IE6, IE7 and IE8 because it wants people to switch to a more dynamic web with IE9.

The majority of the discussion focused on user privacy, though. It was clear that Hachamovitch wanted to focus on the issue; he wore a shirt with the word “private” emblazoned on the front combined with the IE logo.

The first part of the conversation focused on tracking. Hachamovitch made sure to differentiate between two types of tracking: “expected tracking” and “creepy-stalking tracking.” Some tracking is good, he said, citing Pandora as an example. By tracking what songs you listen to, it can create recommendations and customized playlists, one of the big selling points of the streaming radio service. Microsoft wants to have that type of tracking while giving users the option to opt out of certain types of tracking.

Mossberg and Hachamovitch then dived into the ways Microsoft intends to protect user privacy in IE9. One of those features is a button users can click on almost any webpage that will block tracking and cookies from that website. In addition, companies and users can create do-not-track lists.

“We think it’s important to have people exercise judgement in making those lists,” Hachamovitch said. In addition to the feature, called Tracking Protection, Microsoft is organizing a roundtable of industry leaders with the University of California, Berkeley, to talk about web and browser privacy.

No browser can fully protect from one type of tracking, though: Flash cookies. The only way to stop Flash cookies is to turn off Flash for that specific website, an “extreme move” that many users won’t be willing to do in order to stop tracking.

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Reviews: Firefox, Internet Explorer, Pandora

More About: AllThingsD, Browsers, ces2011, Firefox, Internet Explorer 9, microsoft

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A group from the University of Southern California has created the coolest Xbox Kinect hack yet: gesture-based spell casting and controls for World of Warcraft.

USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies has created and released FAAST, or the Flexible Action and Articulated Skeleton Toolkit. It’s a middleware toolkit that helps integrate full-body motion controls for games via the Kinect’s sensors. Essentially, ICT makes it possible to map full-body gestures to different keyboard commands.

A YouTube video demonstrating and explaining the technology has already generated over 350,000 views. In it, an ICT team member demonstrates how its hack can target enemies, cast magic spells, control the camera and move across the World of Warcraft landscape using only body movements like leaning forward or moving the left hand side to side.

Currently FAAST is only available for Windows, but the Institute intends to develop a Linux version. It also plans to open-source the project so other developers can create more dynamic projects with the toolkit. The Institute hopes that FAAST will help open a whole new world of healthy gaming.

While the World of Warcraft hack only allows for basic controls, it’s still amazing to behold. We can see a world where gaming is done through dynamic motion controls, rather than through the mouse and keyboard.

More About: Activision Blizzard, gaming, kinect, microsoft, video, world of warcraft, xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Kinect

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Everyone has a dream job. Whether it’s a company you’ve been pining to be a part of or a new product you’re dying to throw your creativity into, there’s always a line of work that seems like the perfect fit.

Though recognizing your ideal position is easy, actually getting the job is the hard part. For those looking to start a career at tech giant Microsoft, the sheer size of the company makes the hunt seem even more overwhelming. Resumes can get lost in a sea of applications, and finding the right contact to reach out to can be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

But that doesn’t mean you should give up on your dream of working at one of the most successful and dynamic corporations in the world. Here are some tips and resources from the company’s recruiters and employees for landing a job at Microsoft.

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Getting Started

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With so many locations and products, the first step in starting your Microsoft job search should be deciding where you want to work and what you want to create. Visiting the Microsoft Careers website can help answer these questions. There you can look for a specific position in the navigation bar or choose a country from the drop-down menu. On the Find Your Fit page, details on the company’s various professions and technologies are laid out to help you explore opportunities.

Once you apply by uploading your resume to a specific job posting on the site, it’s up for review. So how do you get that resume noticed?

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Standing Out

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Many recruiters use keyword searches to pull up resumes — but that doesn’t mean every other word needs to be “motivated” or “team player.” Be sure to list the names of certain technologies and programming languages you’ve used in each project you include. This will allow a recruiter to see what you know and how well you know it.

When putting together your resume, think about how you affected your environments and less about the basic facts of what you did. “Often, applicants write their resumes like a list of job tasks, but it’s even more important to call out your major achievements and the difference you made: what you did, how you did it, and why it mattered,” said Gretchen Ledgard, communications manager for Microsoft Recruiting.

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Doing Your Homework

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Microsoft is known for its difficult interview process and obscure questions. The best way to nail it? “Do your homework on us,” Ledgard said. Candidates who come in with knowledge about the role, team and location tend to already have an idea of how to frame their answers and are ready to ask solid questions.

Thom Mitchell, a Microsoft account technology strategist who was hired earlier this year, couldn’t agree more. He researched each person who was interviewing him and read up on the products he would be responsible for in the role and the competition for those products. He even prepared a short PowerPoint presentation about Microsoft products in case he was asked to present something on the fly (he wasn’t). When Mitchell asked questions, they were substantive and role-related — not “How are the health care benefits?” or “Is there a gym reimbursement?” More importantly, when he didn’t know an answer to a question he was asked, Mitchell simply said so and didn’t try to talk around the issue or come up with a fake answer.

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Following Up

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If you have questions after submitting your resume, many Microsoft recruiters are open to being contacted via social media, Ledgard said. Microsoft Careers is also open to connecting through social networks and has resources for potential job candidates on its advice hub JobsBlog.

But how do you strike a balance between keeping your name on the radar and being a nuisance? For Mitchell, the key was checking in as needed. He followed up with the recruiter after each screening interview and sent brief thank you notes to the hiring manager he interviewed with in person — but not to each person who interviewed him. Mitchell said his recruiter let him know what would happen every step of the way, so there wasn’t a need to over communicate.

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Finding a Fit

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There’s a big focus on not only job fit, but also company fit at Microsoft. Recruiters look for people who go above and beyond in everything they do, whether that’s taking the most difficult computer science courses or working on extracurricular projects, Ledgard said.

Still, there’s no fool-proof formula for landing a job at Microsoft. Even though the position you’re applying for might feel like the perfect match, sometimes it’s just not. Microsoft’s recruiters and hiring managers are the experts on what type of person will be a good fit for both the job and the company culture. The best advice? Relax. If it’s meant to be, it will.

Have you scored a job at Microsoft or are you trying to? What has your experience been like? Tell us in the comments below.

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More Job-Related Resources from Mashable:

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- 19 Resources to Help You Land a Job in 2011
- The Future of Human Resources and Social Media
- HOW TO: Score a Job Through Facebook
- 5 Ways to Get a Job Through YouTube
- HOW TO: Use Twitter Hashtags to Boost Your Job Search

Images courtesy of iStockphoto, Tomazl; Flickr, Pawel Niewladomski

More About: advice, careers, hiring, how to, interviewing, job recruiting, jobs, microsoft, resume, social media

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