| Microsoft's NERD: The heart of Boston's tech scene |
| Written by Rick Silva |
| Sunday July 17, 2011 |
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It's no secret that Boston has a thriving technology scene. While 9 out of 10 unshaven hipsters carry Macs around and smirk about how alternative that makes them, the heart of Boston's technology scene actually runs through Microsoft.
Not Apple, not Google, but Microsoft. That is in large part due to hive of activity at Microsoft's New England Research and Development Center, affectionately known as "The NERD". The NERD overlooks the Charles River at One Memorial Drive in Cambridge. On almost any night of the week, you will find like-minded techies there meeting about all manner of technical ideas and tools. Microsoft generously donates three floors of meeting space to these geeky groups, both large and small. There are usually multiple events happening there at the same time. And it's not just about Microsoft products. You will find software engineers collaborating about PHP, Python, and Scala. You'll find bloggers discussing WordPress. You'll find graphic designers giving CSS3 presentations. You'll find startup entrepreneurs strategizing about bootstrapping. If you get excited about technology, as I do, Boston is a great place to be. People who live in Spunky Puddle, Ohio don't have access to a great resource like The NERD. Yet another reason I don't live in Spunky Puddle, Ohio. |
