About Me

Here’s some stuff about me.

My Work

I worked at Microsoft Redmond some 25 years ago as a Software Engineer on the Visual Basic UE team. This was followed shortly thereafter in a role as the Technical Manager for the brand new Microsoft subsidiary in India.

Then, for better or for worse, I was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug.

I spent 6 years, running a leading web design, development and ecommerce company called Trisoft Design. We were amongst a handful of better known companies that were operating in India at that time. During the hey days of the boom, we built a few large and very successful Internet Portals. Those were fun times where we felt like we were floating on air. And perhaps we literally were! Which is why we all crash landed in 2001.

I then changed tack and for the next 15 years, built many enterprise software solutions across different verticals on .NET. I also saw the potential early with SME’s and created a reasonably large Microsoft Dynamics practice.

I am presently working on a collaborative SaaS product for SME’s and Enterprises on Microsoft Azure which I hope to launch sometime in 2015.

My Gadgets

I own only Windows PC’s at home and at work. Most run Windows 8.1, some older ones run Windows 7. My tablet of choice is the Dell Venue 8 Pro. And as our family PC at home, we recently got ourselves a HP Envy Recline 23” Touch All-in-one AND I would highly recommend it to anyone considering a device for a home with kids.

My personal phone of choice for the past two years has been the Nokia Lumia 920. The other members in my immediate family also own Lumia phones (720/525).

We were probably the last of our friends to purchase an iPad, which we did in 2014. And, my wife has recently upgraded her 2 year old Lumia 720, another excellent phone, to the iPhone 6.

Have also owned (in the 1980s) a Sinclair ZX-81, Atari 800, and Atari 1200XL. Have used BBC Micro’s and the Commodore 64 as well.

I do spend an inordinate amount of time browsing through PC’s sections at electronic stores, supermarkets and in shopping malls with my kids. Also, for fun, I regularly visit Asia’s largest market for PC’s and Accessories i.e. Nehru Place, New Delhi. In the past when I’ve often assembled my own PC’s and tinkered with accessories, my visits to Nehru Place were more frequent than they are today.

Gaming.

I’ve owned the XBOX 360 since 2007 and bought the XBOX One Day One Edition in India. I’ve been Flight Simming since the days of Flight Simulator on DOS and have spent way too much time playing Age of Empires in its heyday. My first gaming experience was on the ZX-81 (with the excellent Flight Simulator) and then later on the Atari’s.

I don’t get too much time to spend on my consoles but when I’m with the kids, we’re usually playing co-op on one of the Lego franchises (Marvel Super Heroes, The Hobbit, India Jones, Star Wars). When I’m alone its Forza Horizon 2. Though I’m tempted, I haven’t yet bought the new Call of Duty, Titanfall, Far Cry 2, Assassins Creed, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and other shooters/RPG’s…perhaps when the kids are a little older.

Interests

Musically speaking: 60’s and 70’s British Rock, 80’s Pop. Some current stuff too. Also generally everything Star Wars, Lord of the Rings/Hobbit, Marvel. Anxiously waiting for Star Wars Episode 7, Marvel Avengers 2 & James Bond 24.

To all you film critics: I WILL watch every new film with ageing action stars – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Van Damme & Bruce Willis, so write all you want about their acting skills, or the poor plot or whatever…it doesn’t bother me in the slightest.

Play some guitar, drums, will learn the piano if I ever get the time. Have been trying to learn a third-language – German, for many years with little to show for it.

Passionately keep up with the latest news in the world of automobiles and motorcycles. Someday I’ll be brave enough to ride a motorbike around the Himalayas, through the Thar Desert and perhaps on to Goa and Kerala. For now, it’s just a little tinkering around short distances on borrowed bikes in New Delhi India, which is where I live and work.

That’s it for now. Thank you for reading and please leave your comments if you’d like me to focus on any particular aspects or interests.

Hemant C. Sharma