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123 Comments
- blhack, on 10/12/2007, -7/+52and obviously if a company tries to be very very successful at something, they're evil.
Why don't you complain about Boeing(airplanes), or Pioneer Seed(hybrid corn), or Apple Computers(ipod), or IBM(ppc)?
Please just realize that as a geek, you have got a natural bias against microsoft. They are the bad guy. They are NOT evil, they are just successful. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+44Judging by your logo i'm tossing between envy and fanboyism.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -18/+48idiot? Better than being a sandle wearing linux hippie who has no knowledge of UI design and makes most of his money from selling pot
- alienfluid, on 10/12/2007, -3/+24I think you are an idiot.
What spectacular applications have you personally worked on? What applications have you produced that have been shipped to millions of people? Do you even keep up with the market for gaming systems - do you realize that it's soon going to be bigger than the movie market? Perhaps then you'll care.
By the way, the world will go on without you as well - that's a moot point. - alienfluid, on 10/12/2007, -2/+21what does web design have to do with programming? why is a better design needed when you can do the job with static html? you must be one of the newbies who considers himself an "html programmer".
- JoeWall, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20i agree that MS is also guilty of being over-succesful. it is always good to stand against the big guy.
- Crustibooga, on 10/12/2007, -5/+23I for one applaud Mr Gates for all his charitable work/donations and by the sound of it, the encouragement to all employees to do the same... This is NOT evil! By the way, just to clarify, I'm a total Mac head, I dislike MS products (so far), But I am open minded. I think the perception that MS and Billy boy are evil is due to them insistent on competing (well trying to change/copy/challenge perfectly good software using there own proprietary methods...). Well wake-up! people are the ones buying all this, it's their choice and as much as I like the idea/image of Bill & Steve being Borg leaders controlling all these lemming consumers, they do not. People are lemmings! But it is their free will that makes the purchasing decisions, no matter how bad. I do not like Microsoft, I have no need for their products other than for testing websites. I do need them though, MS are needed because without them the world of tech would be boring. After all, who else fires up so much hate? If you dislike/hate/despise MS, it's simple... Don't buy, then you have no worries. Failing that enjoy this article and enjoy their products! ;o)
- EmSixTeen, on 10/12/2007, -7/+25That's a nice wee insightful read.
- JoeWall, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18a programmer is not a designer. different skills required
- LR2_, on 10/12/2007, -3/+19Hey kool, this guy is on the team that is working on backwards compatibility for the Xbox 360. His xbox360 page talks about how hard it is to actually make the 360 backwards compatible.
His Xbox360 page: http://www.qbrundage.com/michaelb/pubs/essays/xbox360.html - Xiol, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14"I don't know where you've heard that, but it's simply untrue,"
It really isn't. I've heard the same thing as well. You're "allowed" to use Linux at Microsoft, but you're in no way allowed to look at any form of GPL code, in anything from apps to the kernel.
MS just can't risk any GPL code being copied into their software, than having MS and the GPL taken to court - which could force MS to open up the code.
Even without being able to cite sources (just woke up, too lazy to Google), you must realise it makes sense. - Mudcrutch, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15um hes a programmer... whats that got to do with design?
- whiteguysamurai, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16"Even looking at GPL'd code is strictly forbidden over fears you may accidently put elements of it in Windows and cause a legal nightmare."
I don't know where you've heard that, but it's simply untrue, - faulkner, on 10/12/2007, -4/+17"Companies (countries, races, etc.) are not "evil" or "good", and they do not have "intentions." "
o rly?
i'll buy the parens, but companies, at least in capitalist societies, seem to intend to earn money. - DigitalDud, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11I spent a summer interning there and it was pretty awesome. They say that Microsoft is the best company to intern at and I can say that's probably true. For a college CS student it's basically a dream come true. It's not like working at a company at all. It's like going to college, except there's no classes and you get paid, a lot. And with the 900+ interns down there from all different schools it gets to be a lot of fun. You'll probably learn more in a 3 month MS internship than a couple years taking CS courses. Plus you get to work on cool features that actually make it into the products, unlike most companies that make the interns do all the dirty work.
If you're in CS go for it. - kazsymonds, on 10/12/2007, -5/+15I love this because its unbiased, coming from a mac user and it shows how ignorant mac fanboys can be sometimes.
Oh and didnt MS win an anti trust case?
Somehow i think you would see it very differently if you were the worlds richest man and everyone was calling you evil just because you wanted to make money (even thought you quite literally SUPPORT several charities with your own cash).
Somone change the track with the whole MS is evil part, without MS 95% of people wouldnt know how to use a computer i know that. - Ace25, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Agreed (original poster is a dumbass). I would love to work for a large company that has the stability and offers above average salaries. Where I live (in California) you would be extremely lucky to find a job similar to his and make $65k. If MS offered me $150k I would be there tomorrow. I know his salary is speculation but more than likely pretty close. I have worked for so many tech startups and even well established companies (a couple with over 80 years in business) and all except Dell have all gone out of business. Even when I worked for Dell 95-98 I saw the writing on the wall at the end and quickly got a govt job for the stability. Not a month after I left Dell layed off over 5000 people (This was when the bubble was bursting).
As far as the article, yes, its old, as so many are on this site. I wish people could get over that fact instead of having 50 posts that all say "old!". Does anyone else remember the "other" site/blog from a MS employee that wasn't quite so positive? He was fired within days of him posting his experience. Or the person that took the pictures of all the Apple G5s on MS receiving docks for the Xbox Dev kits? Fired as well. Seems the moral of the story is, if you work for MS and post something online about working there, you better be possitive or else have an offer letter from another company. - jer2eydevil88, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11Honestly people are so biased, it would be great for anyone in any field to get the kind of freedoms the Microsofties enjoy. Look at my picture and you know I have no love for Windows, but Microsoft is more than just about an operating system. The trials of time have impacted Microsoft but overall it has fared far better than anyone could have imagined.
Hey Bill, Steve or anyone over there on planet Redmond if you are reading this and want to hire me for $200,000 to program stuff in Xcode on the Mac don't be a stranger. - lilrabbit129, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10programmer != web page designer
People forget that there are web designers and web programmers. designers create what you're going to see, programmers make it happen. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12lots of MS software is very good. MS SQL, visual studio, .net to name some.
the problem is windows and with their constantly positioning their monopoly to wipe everyone out.
the other problem is also bill gates ego, and his fundamental malfunction when it comes to OSS.
ms is a great place to work, i know 2 people who did interns there and they both said the same thing. RTFA it's a comment on what it's like to work there not MS's business tactics (which stink) - cyrix, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10I know my previous comment might seem off topic, but the parent had posted that it wasn't working for him and asked if he needed IE. I assume he edited his comment since then.
- Agret, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8cause the xbox360 has been around for YEARS and the backwards compatibility was announced YEARS ago
- cyrix, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10No. It works in Firefox as well. And I just tried it in Opera too, works fine.
- Barlo_Mung, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8You don't need to work at MS to do that. Linux is an open OS so get to work.
- majorbabu, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8i actually like his simplistic approach. not the prettiest, but a nice deviation from other blogs out there; although his really isn't one according to him, and i have to agree with him on that.
http://www.qbrundage.com/michaelb/pubs/essays/this_is_not_a_blog.html
he explains key shortcomings in the way blogs are set up. trueness. - ajb2015, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Geek comment of the day:
"I love source code. I love reading it, writing it, thinking about it." - mtdna, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8For a more amusing (fictional) account, check out Douglas Coupland's "Microserfs" - it's hilarious.
Amazon link is here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060987049/sr=8-1/qid=1145423398/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-1656081-3476636?%5Fencoding=UTF8 - kaje, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11Why did you post this comment twice? Are you trying to look like an idiot x2?
- skyshark88, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Wow, really cool read ............ Digg
I am really happy that this guy and many others who work and intern at Microsoft's campus enjoy and love there jobs. It's just to bad that Microsoft's premier operating system XP really just sucks.......... Microsoft has broken more laws than your average Ax murderer... Destroyed more companies than one can count.... Taken your and my freedom to view and listen to our legally purchased media in the manor we see fit, and making alot of us criminals in our own homes in the mean time ....
So I really would like to digg this story...... a big hole and toss a ton of horse ***** on top of it!!!!! - kalleanka, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9I work for Microsoft as well, and one detail is incorrect.
"(for) new employees, vacation time has been cut from three weeks to two"
This is incorrect, I still got my 3 weeks of vacation, and I started working here last month. - DEFSMAC, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6if you want an interesting insight on what it's like to work at microsoft read the minimsft blog.
http://minimsft.blogspot.com/
lot more up to date and interesting than this article. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+11I truly love folks whose vocabulary frequently contains "capitalist" or "antitrust" (or similar derivatives)...damn right funny in fact. It must be nice to have no need for a home, food, transportation, showers, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. But I digress.
As mad as I've gotten as MS software over the years (mostly because of buggy products), I still maintain that we should be proud of this treasure, because it is among a dwindling group of great American companies. Were I qualified and able, I'd sure for them.
Oh, I just noticed---"sell out". That's another great phrase, meaning, "...decided to be somebody & make some bucks instead of being a satisfied loser like me." - cappslite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5He must have created his site with FrontPage.
- DigitalDud, on 10/12/2007, -6/+10You won't be touching Linux at MS. Even looking at GPL'd code is strictly forbidden over fears you may accidently put elements of it in Windows and cause a legal nightmare.
- newfly, on 10/12/2007, -14/+18Not that each of 60000 employees is evil, but hey, each of those antitrust suits are real.
- esac, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I have worked for Microsoft since 2000, and after reading this guys post/opinion, he is 100% on the money with everything, ESPECIALLY the managers. I have had 4 different managers in 6 years (that is actually really good here), however there are 9 managers on a team of about 30 people .. that is just a little too many if you ask me.
The other thing that hits the nail on the head though is influence. I didn't realize this until I wrote a tool and got it published with one of the resource kits. It was then that I got email from people all over the world asking questions, thanking me for making their lives and jobs easier, etc.. that I realized that my tool simple as it was really changed how people interacted with the product. - bloo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"idiot? Better than being a sandle wearing linux hippie who has no knowledge of UI design and makes most of his money from selling pot"
Yeah! Wait. You holdin'? - kden, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4After reading that, I want to know what it's like to work for Apple or Google.
- DrMindHacker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Companies (countries, races, etc.) are not "evil" or "good", and they do not have "intentions." "
o rly?
i'll buy the parens, but companies, at least in capitalist societies, seem to intend to earn money.....
what the heck is that supposed to mean? is there something wrong with *earning* money? how
do you live? do you steal your money? that is the *essence* of business - making / earning
money! do you work? don't you *intend* to earn money by working ? - anamanaman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4It really depends on the group and division at MS. I've spent some time contracting in several groups and aside from a few similarities (food, drinks, campus), they might as well be different companies.
- dipswitch, on 10/12/2007, -1/+48. Take your Linux flames and MS arrogancy somewhere dark and narrow.
- kalleanka, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4As a programmer.
But all SDE, SDET and PM starts with 3 weeks vacation.
4 weeks after 6 years, and 5 weeks after 12 years. - esac, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5"Whose to stop someone to telecommute while naked,surfing porn and smoking pot."
Nothing, and that's the beauty. Actually Microsoft Policy explicitly states that there will be no RDTs, and that as long as it doesn't affect your work (and you don't do it at work), then it is not an issue.
As for setting your own hours, you can't just say " I want to work from 8am to Noon today" or "I prefer to work from midnight to 8am". Although I can come in at 7am or 11am, I generally have to be there within reason and to the respect of the rest of my team.
Finally, if you have an issue with Microsoft being evil and you being 'forced to pay hundreds of dollars', then stop using it! I'm sorry but FOSS is finally good enough where you have no excuse. - newevilmind, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I wonder what the difference between
"Microsoft gives software developers a lot of personal freedom over both the work and the work environment."
and
"you've got all the ingredients for poor work/life balance"
is.
It seems like if they basically get to make their own work schedule they should have plenty of time for friends and family. - wolfzero, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7He's SO right about the free sodas. Although I wish there was free bottled water so I didn't rot my damn teeth out. I'm always thirsty, and I don't really like anything but the soda they have. I work for Microsoft Game Studios, which is off-campus in Redmond. Our parking lot isn't full of brand new luxury cars, although there are some. Most of them are what I've come to expect at a community college. Lots of beaters and souped up sedans, a few sports cars but no rows of brand new 745s.
- newevilmind, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3He says that companies by definition cannot be evil.
I beg to differ.
About 3 years ago I worked for a company who spent all day trying to rip off their competitors.
There was also a corporate culture of fear.
We were supposed to make those under us afraid that they might lose their job at any moment, therefor supposedly increasing productivity because they thought they had to work harder to keep their job.
It was all *****, and it was an evil company, in my opinion. - sideral, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I wondered how it was to work for a company that is hated by so many people. I must say that I'm impressed to know that it is in overall good. I though it could be very frustrating to receive such worldwide criticism for every thing that its not done right. Personally, I think the guys at Microsoft do a good job.. to develop world wide software can't be easy.
- mutz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2hmmm is it me that i smoked too much pot or is microsoft using his ip-range to begin modding the world to their shape?
mod me down... ;) - zumpiez, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2He might be talking about the rapper.
- krahzee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Digg is amazing....
This guy writes about HIS experiences and HIS opinions in relation to Microsoft and tries to give an honest assessment and we still get : "M$ is evil", "he must be brainwashed", etc......
When are the Linux/ Apple fan boys going to wake up to the fact that it's this kind of attitude and these kind of statements that make people think twice about "switching"?
Just like every negative MS article reinforces the "MS is evil mantra", Every ignorant, zealot rant by these morons makes people think twice about wanting to switch for fear of being associated with these lunatics.
I can't tell you guys how many mac users (mostly graphic artists) I know who quickly point out to me that they also own an XP box, like they're afraid of being labeled in with the rest of the Apple crowd.
I personally don't give ***** what you run, on what processor, motherboard you run it, or if you type with your toes, just stop clogging up every thread with you fan boy *****. It sadly takes away from the many useful/ insightful opinions others may offer.
Oh, and if I offended any of you fan boys, flame on *****, flame on. I can take it, and you'll only prove my point. -
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