tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post112767235702191588..comments2024-03-18T12:52:48.117-07:00Comments on Mini-Microsoft: Mini... Is That You?Who da'Punkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18205453956191063442noreply@blogger.comBlogger143125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1128108119006516902005-09-30T12:21:00.000-07:002005-09-30T12:21:00.000-07:00to reflect one more time:"Mobile Phone as Home Com...to reflect one more time:<BR/>"Mobile Phone as Home Computer? "<BR/>--> Never!Sporty Mobilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08890842557520942590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1128008521618132872005-09-29T08:42:00.000-07:002005-09-29T08:42:00.000-07:00"Headline from MSNBC:Gates, Ballmer earned $1 mill..."Headline from MSNBC:<BR/>Gates, Ballmer earned $1 million in 2004<BR/>7-figured salaries an 11 percent increase over previous year, filing shows"<BR/><BR/>You can (and imo should) fault them for the recent performance of the company. You can I suppose, even question the optics of taking 11% increases while passing out 2.5% ones to higher performing employees. However, their overall compensations levels are among the lowest in the S&P. Indeed, that's one of the things that makes you go "huh?". They pay themselves humbly, but turn around and pay the next levels down asinine levels of compensation even though the vast majority of those individuals don't have the performance/impact to justify it and have such little confidence in the company that they lead the entire market in insider selling.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127969978131347372005-09-28T21:59:00.000-07:002005-09-28T21:59:00.000-07:00Still think we will hear more and more about it?An...<I>Still think we will hear more and more about it?</I><BR/><BR/><BR/>Anonymous, thank you for the link. It reads something like this: "and are not developing new models in its high-end Qualia electronics brand." Few paragraphs dowm, when talking about Sony's Wega flat-panel tv's, the wording is "phasing out." <BR/><BR/>It looks like Sony won't extend Qualia (for a while)...<BR/><BR/>Indeed, considering the cost controlling mesaures imposed across the board, it make sense that no more R&D can be spent on TOP concepts leading to TOP products before better operational efficiency it's being achieved, and investments in more profitable areas (e.g. cel processors and OLED screns) are made. <BR/><BR/>Qualia is craft and will be to at the top of their category for a number of years to come. Thus, I ought to qualify my previous statement and say that connoisseurs will talk more and more about it ;-)<BR/><BR/>To return to Qualia's future, in my interpretation, I think they'll stay with the handfull of models already developed--mighty plenty if you asked me.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, as I wrote before about Ken Kutaragi, instrumental in PlayStation's latest success, an astute business competitor would take this opportunity to make some Japanese over-ruled heroes a bunch of offers they cannot refuse.<BR/><BR/>Always look to the future! <BR/><BR/>Cheers, fChfChhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08007305273044171670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127968361551769982005-09-28T21:32:00.000-07:002005-09-28T21:32:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.fChhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08007305273044171670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127959476243405182005-09-28T19:04:00.000-07:002005-09-28T19:04:00.000-07:00Seems that Bill and Steve gave themselves 5.0s giv...Seems that Bill and Steve gave themselves 5.0s given the merit raises they received last year. See story below. <BR/><BR/>Headline from MSNBC:<BR/>Gates, Ballmer earned $1 million in 2004<BR/>7-figured salaries an 11 percent increase over previous year, filing shows<BR/><BR/>URL:<BR/>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9521417/<BR/><BR/>I received a 3.5 this past fiscal year compared to the 4.0 I received the prior fiscal year, even though I felt like I accomplished more significant things this fiscal year. Go figure. <BR/><BR/>My 4.0 last year got me a 2.5% raise and my 3.5 this year also got me a 2.5% raise. The word we received from HR was that Steve raised the merit increase budget this year, so I suppose that might have been a good thing if I was measured using last year's curve.<BR/><BR/>Maybe we should ask the Board of Directors to put Bill and Steve on the same review and comp plan as the employees ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127954872050048462005-09-28T17:47:00.000-07:002005-09-28T17:47:00.000-07:00"...few developers feel that it matters if they're...<I>"...few developers feel that it matters if they're up on whatever direction Microsoft is moving next. Technologies like Monad, which would once have been embraced, are given the "Tell me once it's widely deployed and the only option, but until then I'll stick with Python/Perl/WSH/Whatever..."</I><BR/><BR/>Microsoft is being "free softwared" out of existence at a faster rate than many understand. Whether or not all people are outright switching to a free operating system, developers are beginning to switch to free tools in general. With free languages like Python and Ruby along with a stack of free software to make those languages powerful, they are bypassing all of the squeeze points that once made Microsoft matter. When I can deliver my service in a platform agnostic manner with free tools, why would I care about Microsoft? If they stood in my way, as they do based on their poor standards support, why would I like Microsoft? The bulwark that kept me inside Microsoft's world now keeps me out... militantly so.letdinosaursdiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12837239271659014944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127947746014268002005-09-28T15:49:00.000-07:002005-09-28T15:49:00.000-07:00"Well, it seems as though you are attempting to ge..."Well, it seems as though you are attempting to get around the fact that these things need to change because obviously it was only a matter fo time before these practices began to inhibit creativity and innovation rather than applauding it."<BR/><BR/>Considering that I knowingly put my job on the line to stand up for what I thought was wrong, that's pretty unlikely. MSFT has many problems that require many different solutions. Better rewarding and empowering developers is not the magic bullet, it's simply one of many things that needs to be addressed as part of getting this company back to some semblance of its former self. With respect to management, imo there are far too many managers/VPs and collectively, you're correct that they're paid far too much. More importantly, their compensation is so loosely tied to the company and stock's performance that they've actually been making $100's of millions while growth has slowed and shareholders have gotten screwed. That said, they're not all bad and a large part of the problem is the system that allows/maintains this. Kill the people w/o addressing the systemic problems and the issue will quickly arise again. This is where the focus needs to be on senior most mgt - they control that. Plus, let's keep in mind that not all mgrs are bad just like not employees/developers are good. There's plenty of deadwood and rest and vestors (to use a dated term) in both. Again, the issue imo is fixing the system/culture that allows this to propogate and I think Gates/Ballmer needs to be front and center on embracing that. As good as this blog has been in raising the issues, ultimately real change will only occur when those two stop simply responding to the need for change (or not as the case may be) but actually drive it. Hopefully, that day is soon...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127945929396793942005-09-28T15:18:00.000-07:002005-09-28T15:18:00.000-07:00http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/portable-media/show...http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/portable-media/show-us-your-busted-ipod-nano-127927.php#viewcommentsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127945695519048722005-09-28T15:14:00.000-07:002005-09-28T15:14:00.000-07:00Well, it seems as though you are attempting to get...Well, it seems as though you are attempting to get around the fact that these things need to change because obviously it was only a matter fo time before these practices began to inhibit creativity and innovation rather than applauding it.<BR/>Mini's comments that the middle management structure is bloated and overused echo my and the majority of comments put forth by workers wh long for the days you speak of. The problem is woul dthose times have existed with VPs taking the <B>MASSIVE</B> profies while peppering the pockets of their enablers, namely the seemingly incompetent array of 3-1 ratio maanagers who still can't determine a low level process or in the worse case aren't allowed to.<BR/>My love for MS is only eclipsed by my love for independent though and the ability to innovate. Sometimes these things are in direct juxtaposition (can you say five reorgs in five years) leaving any rational person with reservations about the process.<BR/>When MS makes the creative TECHNICAL people the ost important thing maybe people will look less at competition and more at advancement of themselves, the team and the process.Christian H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16847810167041864292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127944194962533872005-09-28T14:49:00.000-07:002005-09-28T14:49:00.000-07:00"That maybe true but this board is about the curre..."That maybe true but this board is about the current and former employees of MS who have been shafted over the years in favor of bureaucracy and stack ranking."<BR/><BR/>No, it's about making the company better and more efficient which, among other things, likely includes changing the current review/ranking system. Big difference. BTW, I'm a former high performing employee (and current shareholder) who was asked to leave because I refused to ignore what I saw as wrong. I say that so you won't confuse me with someone who hasn't seen MSFT at its worst as well as its best. Still, I'm here because I would like to see the company improve and Mini has created an excellent forum for doing that. Those who simply want to bitch or (worse) rejoice in the company's (now obvious to all) problems, should go to the Yahoo MSFT board. You'll find no shortage of kindred spirits there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127943199413748712005-09-28T14:33:00.000-07:002005-09-28T14:33:00.000-07:00"hey, this fch guy is making a good point about th...<I>"hey, this fch guy is making a good point about the $70 covers for ipod. if that's not fetish what is it? if we agree on this point then spare the talk about ipod not being about emotions!"</I><BR/><BR/>That maybe true but this board is about the current and former employees of MS who have been shafted over the years in favor of bureaucracy and stack ranking.<BR/><BR/>When I started at MS (my whole time was in the Windows division) I felt like a 3 year old at XMas, but after 2 or 3 years, the "process" wore on me greater than the weather.<BR/>Sure, this all may have the end effect of producing less "cool" widgets, but tyou can't address that without addressing root causes. In this case, mismanagement and favoritism in place of work ethic and creative spark.<BR/>I, unfortunately was one of those "career" 3.0s who knew nothing of stack ranking only of favoritism and mismanagement. Not to mention the 3X more work that I did than other teammates, some of whom were on paid vacation. This prevalence of "Imperial right" is extending throughout the industry now and it's amazing anything gets done.<BR/><BR/>MS needs to take the reins and be true to the 1000s of "unsug heroes" who innovate while other "politically-moticated" individuals gum up the works and make for bloated department sizes and a general lack of efficiency. <BR/>How much money is saved by having 3 competent team members vs 10 who do the work of 3 competent members?<BR/>How efficient is it to accept direction from people who can barely defrag a hard drive vs those who sleep with Steve McConnell and Martin Fowler texts under their pillow.<BR/>Software is neither political nor emotional, and that is the message that is escaping the upper echelons of "Microsoftie-ness."Christian H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16847810167041864292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127942006089094432005-09-28T14:13:00.000-07:002005-09-28T14:13:00.000-07:00hey, this fch guy is making a good point about the...hey, this fch guy is making a good point about the $70 covers for ipod. if that's not fetish what is it? if we agree on this point then spare the talk about ipod not being about emotions!<BR/><BR/>do i have an ipod? sure i do, my wife got it for me. do i like it? since she doesn't know what i'm riting here i can say NO! too many restrictions with those damn itunes...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127941177677785242005-09-28T13:59:00.000-07:002005-09-28T13:59:00.000-07:001.) It's not about emotions. I just explained why ...<I> 1.) It's not about emotions. I just explained why the iPod/iTunes combo is selling--superior function and design. It's that easy. iPods are simply the best music players out there.</I><BR/><BR/>I don't think I can lend myself to a quasi-religious war by taking the conversation beyond this point. I respect you perspective, and wish you well and happy iPod-casting!<BR/><BR/><I>2.) Calling over 80% of the market "dumb" strikes me as bitterness over a succeeding competitor. Apple made portable digital music easy, accessible, and fun. Something nobody else was interested in doing. While people market "WMA-based FM-tuner digital media player with Napster-To-Go capability," Apple markets "portable music player." I think you're not recognizing the point of why I mention that. Everyone else is selling crappy geek devices that look ugly and are cumbersome to navigate. Apple was the first with the non-geek music player. </I><BR/><BR/>You are missing an important point. I have NO stake in any one of the players involved in the conversation. My only stakes are as consumer and business professional. As consumer I started being comfortable with such players only with the most recent iteration in Sony minidiscs. I had not liked ANY one of the players on the market before that, and think that even Sony has some way to go. If you really want to see cool from looks to speeds and feeds, check out Sony's Qualia! We'll hear more and more about it, I am sure. <BR/><BR/>In any event, we've strayed away a bit and I do value the conversations centered on MSFT, in the given context. You think so strongly about these things? Drop me a line and let's capitalize on such ideas in the context of a business!<BR/><BR/>Cheers, fCh.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127937714535483012005-09-28T13:01:00.000-07:002005-09-28T13:01:00.000-07:00That's because it's all about emotions. Simple des...<I>That's because it's all about emotions. Simple design and such are a posteriori rationalizations. I would not give Apple credit for how dumb their customers are--just look at the (pink) leather covers that sell for $70. Anybody recalls the Razor craze of the late '90's?</I><BR/><BR/>1.) It's not about emotions. I just explained why the iPod/iTunes combo is selling--superior function and design. It's that easy. iPods are simply the best music players out there.<BR/><BR/>2.) Calling over 80% of the market "dumb" strikes me as bitterness over a succeeding competitor. Apple made portable digital music easy, accessible, and fun. Something nobody else was interested in doing. While people market "WMA-based FM-tuner digital media player with Napster-To-Go capability," Apple markets "portable music player." I think you're not recognizing the point of why I mention that. Everyone else is selling crappy geek devices that look ugly and are cumbersome to navigate. Apple was the first with the non-geek music player.<BR/><BR/><I>At Sony, the top guy is a new guy (Stringer). He may be able to put the whole industry in order--some steps have already been undertaken if you look at Sony's latest MD-players/recorders. For example, you could get for $150 a recorder that uploads (alas, once) the content you take in via a mic-line. Better battery life/cost, and the ability to burn 8 CD's into a minidisc at higher quality than top MP3. Now, the icing on the cake is that it plays natively WMA and MP3! I would not even go into speeds and feeds, but only mention its HI-FI amplifier and 6 band equalizer. Sorry for all this story, SNE is not even my customer...<BR/></I><BR/><BR/>Haha, sure, Sony's going to put the industry in order, after they let go of 10,000 of their workforce. I'll let you in on a secret--consumers don't care about any of the things you just listed.<BR/><BR/>I think the fact competitors continue to believe people only buy iPod because of its "look" or due to "emotion" illustrates why they continue to fail, and why Microsoft is close to completely losing the battle for the living room.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127932369583654762005-09-28T11:32:00.000-07:002005-09-28T11:32:00.000-07:00"MSFT has messed it all up with its DRM (and so ha...<I>"MSFT has messed it all up with its DRM (and so have others) and has never had a clear digital strategy going forward. Or, if it has one, it is probably the result of a thousand constraints placed by industry "partners". Have a look at the FOO media player bar, and you'll get my point. But that's Robin Hood, I know ;-)"</I><BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>You can actually insert (almost any MS tech) in place of DRM. It's not that the talent isn't there, it's that bureaucratic necessity requires that your mgr's buddies have more input into the direction of architecture than the people who were hired to innovate.<BR/><BR/>And then you have to navigate through cultural and social hurdles that prevent good ideas from being properly explored and\or implemented. All in all, MS is a mess and it's no one's fault but those in charge.Christian H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16847810167041864292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127931888219604322005-09-28T11:24:00.000-07:002005-09-28T11:24:00.000-07:00"...while Apple markets a "portable music player."..."...while Apple markets a "portable music player." The iTunes Music Store doesn't even mention the word "AAC" or "bitrate" anywhere--you just download music tracks. God, just compare the iTunes interface to Windows Media Player."<BR/><BR/><BR/>That's because it's all about emotions. Simple design and such are a posteriori rationalizations. I would not give Apple credit for how dumb their customers are--just look at the (pink) leather covers that sell for $70. Anybody recalls the Razor craze of the late '90's? At Sony, the top guy is a new guy (Stringer). He may be able to put the whole industry in order--some steps have already been undertaken if you look at Sony's latest MD-players/recorders. For example, you could get for $150 a recorder that uploads (alas, once) the content you take in via a mic-line. Better battery life/cost, and the ability to burn 8 CD's into a minidisc at higher quality than top MP3. Now, the icing on the cake is that it <B>plays natively WMA and MP3!</B> I would not even go into speeds and feeds, but only mention its HI-FI amplifier and 6 band equalizer. Sorry for all this story, SNE is not even my customer...<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, if servers sold like shampoos, Cindy Crawford would have been in MSFT's payroll!<BR/><BR/>"Apple is steering digital media and has therefore threatened Microsoft's push into the living room, so some bitterness is to be expected."<BR/><BR/>MSFT has messed it all up with its DRM (and so have others) and has never had a clear digital strategy going forward. Or, if it has one, it is probably the result of a thousand constraints placed by industry "partners". Have a look at the FOO media player bar, and you'll get my point. But that's Robin Hood, I know ;-)<BR/><BR/>Cheers, fCh.fChhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08007305273044171670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127930184739006782005-09-28T10:56:00.000-07:002005-09-28T10:56:00.000-07:00Nice comment about the SmartWatch.When I first saw...Nice comment about the SmartWatch.<BR/><BR/>When I first saw that thing, I said to those around me, "Has anyone ever been into a bedroom and looked at what people put there - do they want a <I>watch charger</I> on their Ethan Allen dresser?"<BR/><BR/>The watch was HUGE and clunky and shouted "I AM A GEEK WHO WILL WEAR ANYTHING."<BR/><BR/>I don't know if it's failed yet. But what's it done recently? <BR/><BR/>It's the MS Bob of hardware, I suppose.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127929429851468602005-09-28T10:43:00.000-07:002005-09-28T10:43:00.000-07:00Wow, I really wish MS wasn't so fucked up. It's re...Wow, I really wish MS wasn't so fucked up. It's real funny how I used to tell people about there sorry, non-existent mgmt abilities ( in a "respectful" way of course). Even in the Core Wndows division, there was enough mismanagement and laziness to make me think they were all the ghetto children they complain about.<BR/>Maybe MS should think about putting some money into the American school system and outsourcing won't be necessary. Our kids are being turned into hip hop idiots while Bill sits and wonders where all the talent went.<BR/>Uhh, Bill they said fuck this company. If you think you can do it without hard workers, <B>GOOD LUCK.</B> Even more amazing is that people are now realizing how little freedoms American workers really have. What good is Freedom Of Speech if you get fired for it?Christian H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16847810167041864292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127927612243411502005-09-28T10:13:00.000-07:002005-09-28T10:13:00.000-07:00"The intention of this blog is to create a more ca..."The intention of this blog is to create a more capable Microsoft with a smaller head count?"<BR/><BR/>That's Mini's goal. I'm not sure the two are necessarily linked. Yes, MSFT as currently envisioned is not growing fast enough and is too bureacratic and slow to respond. Cutting back on headcount would probably help that short-term if done right, but the risk as always is that it won't be done right and instead the cream will leave. However, I think there's a reasonable argument that MSFT is in enough either large or potetentially large markets that it could support an even bigger aggregrate headcount - if only it were actually hitting on all cylinders. Given that, the better choice imo would be to spin MSFT into seperate baby MSFT's. Once untethered from the mother ship, each would very quickly be forced to make the changes required to get focused and get more agile - or risk failing. That might mean massive headcount chops in some or perhaps just mgt changes in others. It would also give each the freedom to self-maximize vs toe the party line - the latter in some cases is becoming an increasing burden. As importantly, it would unlock a ton of sharholder value since currently, all of the emerging businesses combined are effectively valued at $0 in MSFT's price AND are taking away from EPS. It wouldn't be easy and there would be a lot of duplication, but in the end, I think the sum of the parts would be more succesful that the current whole.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127926673507191582005-09-28T09:57:00.000-07:002005-09-28T09:57:00.000-07:00Companies like Apple, Google just can't do any wro...<I>Companies like Apple, Google just can't do any wrong right now. For eg, <BR/>- how many average joe iPod users out there know about the class action settlement?.</I><BR/><BR/>Well, it just wasn't big news.<BR/><BR/><I>- what about when they find security holes in OS X, and news articles bluntly write in their defence that "Any complicated operating system is likely to have bugs".</I><BR/><BR/>It's true; any complicated operating system is likely to have bugs. But Windows is the one with "Patch Tuesdays" and several unpatched vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer. It's Windows that had two-thirds of the world's computers rebooting in one week because of a boneheaded RPC implementation. It's Windows that has so many open ports that it has to include its own firewall on by default, and insists that you install resource-sucking anti-virus and anti-spyware software too, to protect yourself from the system. It's Windows that is so accident-prone that it has to take snapshots of itself for you to revert to when the registry breaks or a trojan hits. Honestly, this is ridiculous.<BR/><BR/>How many updates do you see on Windows Update that say "This could allow a malicious hacker to take over your computer"? You could make it into a drinking game, for Pete's sake.<BR/><BR/>All of us were hoping the Longhorn project would be the final rewrite to get rid of the security problems and aging design. It's really too bad that's not the case, due to poor management that required a reset. Microsoft will market Longhorn as "the most secure Windows yet" like they do with every release. It will be a little more secure, but things just seem to keep cropping up, month after month, despite Gates' much-publicized Trusted Computing goals.<BR/><BR/><I>- The press fall over themselves when talking about the nano and its selling like hotcakes even when it has 20% of the capacity of an ipod at 80% of the cost. Why? Because the real issue here isn't so much what's practical but what's cool. </I><BR/><BR/>Smaller and easy to use <B>is</B> practical.<BR/><BR/>As for price, let me know if you can find a 4GB flash drive less than $200.<BR/><BR/>Apple ("R&D South") just has a way of merging functionality with design. It's not part of MSFT's design culture to approach things this way. While everyone else has ugly clunker players obviously designed by engineers who wanted to overload it with buttons and seams and curves, Apple took the route nobody else did and simplified everything and didn't approach it as this big geeky auxiliary computer device that would make you look dorky, but as a ubiquitous lifestyle device that looked pretty neat to have around. The competitors market a "WMA-based digital music player," while Apple markets a "portable music player." The iTunes Music Store doesn't even mention the word "AAC" or "bitrate" anywhere--you just download music tracks. God, just compare the iTunes interface to Windows Media Player.<BR/><BR/>Apple is steering digital media and has therefore threatened Microsoft's push into the living room, so some bitterness is to be expected.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127926430993490812005-09-28T09:53:00.000-07:002005-09-28T09:53:00.000-07:00"Now, I realize this is a tiny complaint amongst s..."Now, I realize this is a tiny complaint amongst some really intelligent posts, but I see this word being misspelled all over the place and it really makes me crazy: it's REINS, as in "I'll take the REINS".. it's an equestrian reference. Now, if you want to play royalty, and REIGN over your domain, then go for it!"<BR/><BR/>I think he was talking about ending Ballmer's reign and taking over the reins. To which I say go for it. Hard to believe he could do a worse job.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127922601634429002005-09-28T08:50:00.000-07:002005-09-28T08:50:00.000-07:00"You know what? I'll do the CEO gig. I'm 4 years a..."You know what? I'll do the CEO gig. I'm 4 years at the company, and would love to take the reigns..."<BR/><BR/>Now, I realize this is a tiny complaint amongst some really intelligent posts, but I see this word being misspelled all over the place and it really makes me crazy: it's REINS, as in "I'll take the REINS".. it's an equestrian reference. Now, if you want to play royalty, and REIGN over your domain, then go for it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127920750096262162005-09-28T08:19:00.000-07:002005-09-28T08:19:00.000-07:00I don't know how you can say that people want to a...I don't know how you can say that people want to avoid the changes in the Linux kernel. If I want to stay with a particular kernel version I can pay someone to suppport / fix any problems with that version for however long I want. No one and no factor can force me to continue upgrading.<BR/><BR/>If I go with any version of Windows, what happens when the product is sunsetted? Who do I pay to keep the security updates coming for it? Have I just accidentally taken the bait of a troll?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127920610567859822005-09-28T08:16:00.000-07:002005-09-28T08:16:00.000-07:00The folks here who want to talk about Microsoft's ...<I>The folks here who want to talk about Microsoft's products are strongly encouraged to form their own blog/site and take part in such discussions. You guys are constantly eroding the core intention of this blog.</I><BR/><BR/>The intention of this blog is to create a more capable Microsoft with a smaller head count?<BR/><BR/>If talking about Microsoft's products shows what happens when a company grows so large it outstrips the capacity of the planet to produce software developers, then I would say that anything that discourages people to not waste their lives getting squashed by some insecure middle management yob is right on target.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1127919082285391732005-09-28T07:51:00.000-07:002005-09-28T07:51:00.000-07:00"The folks here who want to talk about Microsoft's..."The folks here who want to talk about Microsoft's products are strongly encouraged to form their own blog/site and take part in such discussions. You guys are constantly eroding the core intention of this blog.<BR/><BR/>By Anonymous, at 1:29 AM"<BR/><BR/>Who do you think you are? The anonymous consciousness of minimsft? Give everyone a break and let us write here what elsewhere would get us fired.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com