tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post112594137453559551..comments2024-03-18T12:52:48.117-07:00Comments on Mini-Microsoft: Dangerous Transitions + 1 Year = Shipped AlreadyWho da'Punkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18205453956191063442noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1128984222903760042005-10-10T15:43:00.000-07:002005-10-10T15:43:00.000-07:00Im a 10+ year vet of msft, Ive held in there, and ...Im a 10+ year vet of msft, Ive held in there, and have been fortunate to be a part of history, this WAS a great company. Today, I along with 12 of my groups dev are ill-inspired(to put it mildly). <BR/><BR/>I have to admit, we are NO longer productive in a critical component of Windows. 8/40+ have left for other opportunities, 5 or which outside of Microsoft.<BR/><BR/>...they pretend to pay us based on contributions, we'll equal that with pretending to work. <BR/><BR/>I dont Hate Bill or Steve, I think its unfortunate how delusional our senior leadership is... they had something good for so long, and remained paranoid at that...Now, it is all slipping from underneath. <BR/><BR/>And we start a new FY, there seems to be way TOOO many confused leaders at the helm.<BR/><BR/>"your potential, our confusion" might bode well for a new sloganAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127375745390192692005-09-22T00:55:00.000-07:002005-09-22T00:55:00.000-07:00There are quite a few blanket comments made here -...There are quite a few blanket comments made here - useless bugs? crappy products? hate for indians? Where is this all coming from?<BR/><BR/>If that's the case one your team, speak up. The first question I would ask people who post something like that is "did you bring this up at your last 1-1?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127371389482838132005-09-21T23:43:00.000-07:002005-09-21T23:43:00.000-07:00Code Brahmins?I'm more offended by the attitude to...Code Brahmins?<BR/><BR/>I'm more offended by the attitude to push back on fixing bugs. <BR/><BR/>If it's a real bug fix it, otherwise file bug against the tool.<BR/><BR/>Take some pride in the quality of your code. Jeez.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127178853192423282005-09-19T18:14:00.000-07:002005-09-19T18:14:00.000-07:00I was recently interviewed at Microtsoft. The inte...I was recently interviewed at Microtsoft. The interview went fine but I have to say some of the interviewers(were Indians & I am an Indian too) were really didn't come across really smart. There was one guy who I really think was smart(Indian again). But rest were not so great. I still haven't accepted the position.Someone from MS told me to see this site. I really think that majority of you guys hate Indians - probably because we are not white-programmers- or maybe you somehow believe that Indians are not asked hard problems during interview. But how can some Indian join your company when you have so much hate for indians. I used to think that since you are all intellegent and bright people,you will be color blind too. But that is not the case. I may or may not join MSFT but I will keep checking out this blog. Looks like I made a right decision by looking at this site and *saved* you people from one more "towel-head" Indian<BR/>-an indian programmerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127143228549970412005-09-19T08:20:00.000-07:002005-09-19T08:20:00.000-07:00To MarkL: from this former Microsoftie, I can say ...To MarkL: from this former Microsoftie, I can say that for Bill and Steve, there is no such thing as "friends", but only "interests". Once you are gone, you are now either the enemy or a potential enemy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127046998064335762005-09-18T05:36:00.000-07:002005-09-18T05:36:00.000-07:00The 'Code Brahmins' thing tells me one of this -a)...The 'Code Brahmins' thing tells me one of this -<BR/>a) All MSFT coders (Indians and otherwise) are so perfect that their code needs no analysis - this can't be true for majority of the MSFT programmers given they need to have a patch Tuesday <BR/>b) All MSFT programmers were busy creatively producing loads of innovative products before the 'Code Brahmins' started cutting into their time with the 'useless' bugs - there is no evidence to the former part, MSFT has always shipped mediocre products or bought the good ones<BR/>c) 'Code Brahmins' are so influential and MSFT is such a closed company where you are forbidden to voice your analysis and propose corrective action - and so the great non-Indian, creative programmers are forced to be incompetent by not discussing the uselessness of the 'Code Brahmins' with the management and get rid of them and their tools - Is this the case? I can't tell.<BR/>d) The 'creative' programmers are in fact incompetent enough to be able to out-smart the dumb 'Code Brahmins' - This one makes immediate sense to me.<BR/><BR/>I cannot understand that it would be so hard to dump such a counter-productive concept after discussing it on a drawing board and providing facts and figures - Hey, here is how much time we (the creative) developers spent of fixing these 500*1000 bugs. Here is what benefits or disadvantages they brought in, the sum of which is negative - and so we got to dump this like we dumped the beer vending machine from the floor - it caused productivity and money loss and brought no benefit so it has to go.<BR/><BR/>Being a programmer is it that hard to qualify, quantify and present things objectively to people who matter? For some one who wants to actually do something, I would think it's not. And practically I work for a mid sized service company where this is certainly possible - we have forums for doing such things and people have to logically take decisions on such conflicts and explain/justify them before they choose to go one way or the other.<BR/><BR/><BR/>In the extreme case if these bugs are so much repetitive and fall in the same pattern, I would have written a bug parser and a auto fixer and would have just reviewed the auto-fixes made by the tool instead of whining, or better yet simply avoided creeping those bugs in the first place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127000150704713132005-09-17T16:35:00.000-07:002005-09-17T16:35:00.000-07:00For the record. I do not hate Steve Ballmer or Mic...For the record. I do not hate Steve Ballmer or Microsoft. See below for a copy of my resignation email sent to Steve, Jim, and Eric.<BR/><BR/>Steve decided to take this issue to the courtroom where a different set of rules are in effect. You can not lie, you can not hide the truth. Those are the rules. <BR/><BR/>After Steve's explosion, I discussed the situation with Sergey, Larry, and Eric asking if they still wanted me to join knowing that the war Microsoft is waging on Google will likely intensify as a result. All agreed that we should proceed and allow me to help Google do whats right for our users.<BR/><BR/>As someone said earlier in the comment stream, if I hated Microsoft, you would see a reflection of that in my blog. I loved Microsoft for a very long time and made significant contributions along the way. I did not often agree with decisions made by the senior leadership team (SLT) and was very vocal from time to time. I did all that I could to effect change from within and when I finally decided that it was a lost cause I left.<BR/><BR/>I love what I am working on at Google, but more importantly, I love the energy, the ability to quickly deliver compelling value to our users. The ability to dream up an idea, rally around it, and deliver it.<BR/><BR/>In accepting the position with Google, I wrote: <EM>"I like your corporate values and ethics. I like your passion for delivering value to your customer base. I like your vision, your people, your technology, and the electric work environment."</EM><BR/><BR/>Google is a great environment for me. Very similar to the environment at Microsoft long ago. It might be right for some of you, but who knows. I don't know what you are really looking for in your careers. <BR/><BR/>And finally, my resignation letter to Microsoft leadership:<BR/><BR/><EM><BR/>All,<BR/><BR/>Thank you for spending time this week with me discussing a very difficult topic. I have carefully thought through all of your comments and advice. I have come to the conclusion, that what is best for me, professionally, is to move on. <BR/><BR/>We have been family for that past 16 years. While we will now compete on a professional level, I hope, that on a personal level, the relationships we grew over the years remain strong, and that we can still be friends.<BR/><BR/>-markl<BR/></EM>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126511459545498712005-09-12T00:50:00.000-07:002005-09-12T00:50:00.000-07:00MBS needs to spin off again.MBS needs to spin off again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126414205335061932005-09-10T21:50:00.000-07:002005-09-10T21:50:00.000-07:00who have at least shipped real products (valentine...<I>who have at least shipped real products (valentine, alchin)</I><BR/><BR/>Allchin? Are you crazy? Spend 5 minutes in a meeting where he's present and you quickly realize that he's a delusional megalomaniac incapable of rational thought.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126393185303844432005-09-10T15:59:00.000-07:002005-09-10T15:59:00.000-07:00On a related topic, maybe I'm being an msft elitis...On a related topic, maybe I'm being an msft elitist or whatever but I'm always cynical of new execs being hired directly into VP positions (eg Belluzzo) versus the folks who've actually worked "real" positions at msft and then got promoted up the ranks (eg brianv).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126369121072366772005-09-10T09:18:00.000-07:002005-09-10T09:18:00.000-07:00MBS is such an abortion. We have to can Doug Burga...MBS is such an abortion. We have to can Doug Burgam and Satya Nadella and all managers one level below Satya. Doug has been a no-op from day one, protecting his hatchlings in Fargo instead of doing the right thing for the business and culling the dead wood. The fact that Burgam is even in an exec VP position smacks of nepotism (of a sort?), he and Ballmer are old school buddies you know. Satya is a charasmatic useful idiot. He has as much business sense as an old boot. The new branding campaign is the 4th time they've renamed the grand unification of the disparate code bases we bought. Um, hello, we failed for 5 years to make something happen in MBS. How much longer do we let a 2.5 billion dollar investment in Navision, Great Plains, Solomon dilute the stock? Time to cut bait. Instead of whacking execs from across the company, pull in some of the cronies from Windows who have at least shipped real products (valentine, alchin) to fix up MBS, make them work for a living, and hold them accountable to revenues generated. Longhorn doesn't need the cadre of execs that it currently has. Fire all managers in MBS at the director level and above, reorg with real talent from the company, sell the Fargo and Vedbaek campuses (give people there a one time option to be *interviewed* for a job in Redmond), really write a single ERP solution and quit fucking around with branding campaigns.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126290857763410052005-09-09T11:34:00.000-07:002005-09-09T11:34:00.000-07:00Just read about the MBS comment, on the rebranding...Just read about the MBS comment, on the rebranding exercise.<BR/><BR/>I work in Operations.<BR/><BR/>We have a similar major rebranding exercise for release.<BR/><BR/>This division has such serious problems, beginning with the complete lack of transparency from the executives. <BR/><BR/>Solution: waste a bunch of time and money on rebranding. <BR/><BR/>Great. Nothing solved. Customers more confused than ever.<BR/><BR/>Looks similar doesn't it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126282815841196372005-09-09T09:20:00.000-07:002005-09-09T09:20:00.000-07:00"Bash Ballmer, Gates, any exec you want, odds are ..."Bash Ballmer, Gates, any exec you want, odds are they are worth hundreds of times what you are."<BR/><BR/>Odds are they pay themselves hundreds of times more than me but worth more? Let's see now, what kind of review score would you get for this performance?:<BR/><BR/>http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=5y&s=MSFT&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=<BR/><BR/>And gee, how much corporate credibility has been lost and $ paid out due to their support for what proved to be illegal behavior?<BR/><BR/>And then lets get to their unwavering support for Burgum/Alchin/etc despite YEARS of the latter's overpromising and underdelivering.<BR/><BR/>Wake up. MSFT management is no longer a competitive differentiator and in many cases it's actually an impediment. Responsibility for that has to lie at the very top. At this point, to take this company to the next level (and maybe even to ensure survival), MSFT needs new [outside] blood at the top.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126277188906506762005-09-09T07:46:00.000-07:002005-09-09T07:46:00.000-07:00"Do you want to have "Web developer" on your resum..."Do you want to have "Web developer" on your resume? I don't - this position does not pay much."<BR/><BR/>I love the arrogance. Most of the "cool stuff" happening on the internet today is being done by "web developers" -- Google Maps would be a great example of this. Most people these days really don't care about client code vs. web code; they just want it to work. But good luck with that attitude, hope it works out for you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126248541630423342005-09-08T23:49:00.000-07:002005-09-08T23:49:00.000-07:00Ouch but it is true. "Oh look, another 500 prefix ...Ouch but it is true. "Oh look, another 500 prefix bugs arrived the day before we merge VBLs!"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126247601514753202005-09-08T23:33:00.000-07:002005-09-08T23:33:00.000-07:00Who are the Code Brahmins?The disproportionately I...<I>Who are the Code Brahmins?</I><BR/><BR/>The disproportionately Indian contingent within Windows and probably other orgs who think they know better than everyone else how to write code, and have managed to snowball execs into sharing this misguided opinion, who have unleashed said Indians on the creative developers in those organizations. Once unleashed, these Indians write all sorts of nominally useful code analysis tools and because of their elevated status, get to file scores of must fix bugs which randomize the creative developers.<BR/><BR/>As an added bonus, these code brahmins are also given a pass to write complete crap like WTT and also force that on everyone else who is trying to actually ship a product. And they even win engineering excellence awards for that garbage, continuing the vicous cycle which perpetuates their destructive influence.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126247181210107152005-09-08T23:26:00.000-07:002005-09-08T23:26:00.000-07:00Who are the Code Brahmins?What is Microsoft Busine...Who are the Code Brahmins?<BR/><BR/>What is Microsoft Business Solutions? Obviously it's some solution for businesses...<BR/><BR/>What is Microsoft Dynamics? Is that something in Longhorn...? Who knows?<BR/><BR/>Sounds like a brilliant branding decision to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126242100293108162005-09-08T22:01:00.000-07:002005-09-08T22:01:00.000-07:00If this stuff is so easy, why didn't MS ship it ye...<B>If this stuff is so easy, why didn't MS ship it years ago?</B><BR/><BR/>Well, for the record, we wrote it in 2000, localized it into 27 languages, got it ready to ship and then cut it because of internal politics.<BR/><BR/>Honestly, Microsoft is one of the coolest companies to work for, but all too often, when someone at the VP level gets involved in decision making the company takes a shot into its virtual foot.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126236841786336282005-09-08T20:34:00.000-07:002005-09-08T20:34:00.000-07:00PS is anyone else having trouble connecting to the...<I>PS is anyone else having trouble connecting to the comments on Scoble's weblog?</I><BR/><BR/>Umm..maybe you could ask Scoble himself (he's listed like 200 ways you can get hold of him).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126235412868166512005-09-08T20:10:00.000-07:002005-09-08T20:10:00.000-07:00Bash Ballmer, Gates, any exec you want, odds are t...Bash Ballmer, Gates, any exec you want, odds are they are worth hundreds of times what you are. Who's the real idiot?<BR/><BR/>STFU and go fix some prefix bugs that the code brahmins filed against you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126232236972691462005-09-08T19:17:00.000-07:002005-09-08T19:17:00.000-07:00This and other candid Microsoft blogs ARE putting ...<I>This and other candid Microsoft blogs ARE putting pressure on management</I><BR/><BR/>Yeah, well, the Tiananmen Square protesters looked like they were making a difference too but look what happened to them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126227991504307562005-09-08T18:06:00.000-07:002005-09-08T18:06:00.000-07:00Wow, I was considering applying to the 'soft with ...Wow, I was considering applying to the 'soft with a view to starting work after I graduate next year, but I don't think I will after reading this stuff! It sounds really genuinely written by an insider, but could it conceivably just be a very well informed shareholder or journalist?<BR/><BR/>What do you guys think of Scoble's Bill Gates interview? Another softball one, to be sure, but then I suppose it had to be.<BR/><BR/>PS is anyone else having trouble connecting to the comments on Scoble's weblog?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126206852883660522005-09-08T12:14:00.000-07:002005-09-08T12:14:00.000-07:00"Anyone who thinks the MBS executives are not comp..."Anyone who thinks the MBS executives are not complete idiots needs to ask any MBS person about Doug Burgum's rambling, incoherent speech at the MBS Open House a few weeks ago. This is the guy that's leading us."<BR/><BR/>No, they are completely useless but not idiots. Idiots are Ballmer and Gates who continue to leave these assholes in place so that they can continue to earn exhorbitant salaries and exercise $M's in stock while simultaneously fucking up on virtually every dimension that might reasonably be applied to assessing their "progress" to date. <BR/><BR/>In the words of salesforce.com's CEO - a CRM company that actually is taking share - "[Microsoft's] CRM efforts to date have been a major failure, perhaps the worst in Microsoft history," he told CRN via e-mail. The company's "enterprise activities" also have failed, "especially the purchase of Great Plains,"<BR/><BR/>http://www.crn.com/sections/breakingnews/breakingnews.jhtml?articleId=170701391<BR/><BR/>And how about that about-face on offering a direct hosted service? MSFT mgt = Keystone cops.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126199406657678012005-09-08T10:10:00.000-07:002005-09-08T10:10:00.000-07:00>In other news, poor Kai-Fu Lee >says that Bill ye...>In other news, poor Kai-Fu Lee >says that Bill yelled at him and >used "the F-word"... <BR/><BR/>Of course Bill should yell at him. "Poor" Kai-Fu Lee earned more than 5 millions USD in 4 years, not bad huh? Microsoft has put a huge bet on this guy and strategy in China, and this guy actually fucked up that strategy. Bill is right IMO.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1126168085386525402005-09-08T01:28:00.000-07:002005-09-08T01:28:00.000-07:00God, thank you for punishing the evil empire. I a...God, thank you for punishing the evil empire. I am so happy to see MS sinking into the muck of mediocrity. It is awesome.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com