tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post5387276551041815743..comments2024-03-18T12:52:48.117-07:00Comments on Mini-Microsoft: Microsoft FY10Q3 ResultsWho da'Punkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18205453956191063442noreply@blogger.comBlogger250125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-31574245200544650572010-06-03T20:38:30.880-07:002010-06-03T20:38:30.880-07:00"Re-interviewing: all employees below a certa..."Re-interviewing: all employees below a certain life-time review average need to re-interview."<br /><br />This seems to be a lament from Mini-Microsoft about the workers in Microsoft. At most companies these are the employees who get the work done. Sorry, but the idea that the bottom 10% of the manager ranking really reflects the true bottom 10% is just sad.<br />The reality is that the people who understand how to "Manage Up" do well at Microsoft. Try that at a small company and you usually get sacked quickly, or counselled.<br />The philosophy of "Managing Up" leads to "Exceeds" at Microsoft. At other companies, for instance, Intel, Boeing, HP, any small company, you end up in the suck up list and good luck on getting promoted.<br /><br />Having worked at a large company that did the reinterview thing, it didn't work. In fact it worked so badly that they went out of business, closed their doors and that was it.<br /><br />The fastest and easiest fix for Microsoft would be to cut back the middle management. Most people are self managing, and all managers seem to do is provide the infamuous review at the end of the year and a nice conversation once a month.<br /><br />Mini-Microsoft, are you one of the management divas? You write like one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-75529591103864675712010-05-27T04:27:17.597-07:002010-05-27T04:27:17.597-07:00"What the f**k are you talking about? I mean ..."What the f**k are you talking about? I mean a godd***ed cost-benefit analysis. Where did the smartphone thing come from?"<br /><br />Touchy, aren't we? You really give yourself away with your gratuitous use of bad language - clueless goes with classless as do peaches with cream, and I personally wouldn't hire you to so much as sweep floors.<br /><br />"I didn't say or imply anywhere that Microsoft would or should win such a cost benefit analysis."<br /><br />And rightly so, because there would be few such analyses where Microsoft products would come out on top. That's why Windows for netbooks is so heavily discounted, and why Android is going gang-busters, and why HP has bought Palm, and so on ad infinitum.<br /><br />Anyone who follows this blog can plainly see that the internal workings of Microsoft are heavily influenced by a highly politically-charged atmosphere, one of the most immediately obvious manifestations of which is that the wrong people are occupying senior positions. It beggars belief that an employee of Microsoft cannot understand that if some can ascend the corporate ladder for the all the wrong reasons, then some can also be shown the door for all the wrong reasons. No one should be surprised if what amounts to a political assassination is characterised by Microsoft as a deserved termination and the employee thereby aggrieved is transformed into an ABM'er. Some Microsofties simply cannot grasp the concept of cause and effect, and they display a pathological aversion to having this shortcoming pointed out.<br /><br />(I am not the OP).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-10416260919293105472010-05-25T19:42:17.731-07:002010-05-25T19:42:17.731-07:00Surely MS pays some overall corporate rate for emp...<i>Surely MS pays some overall corporate rate for employee healthcare.<br /></i><br /><br />MS is self insured. Pays other companies to administer the benefits.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-53736958597521775812010-05-25T19:40:57.201-07:002010-05-25T19:40:57.201-07:00"Next round coming in July. Watch out ...&quo...<i>"Next round coming in July. Watch out ..."<br /><br />That is one and half month before stock vest, not good. </i><br /><br />Please let one of the bullets hit me in this round.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-49513058635997717392010-05-25T18:49:07.017-07:002010-05-25T18:49:07.017-07:00To Anon: Microsoft is a self-insured company - MS ...To Anon: Microsoft is a self-insured company - MS pays each dollar of health cost on behalf of the employees. Premera is only used for claims management. <br /><br />I have not seen any systemic targeting of old timers due to health problems. But there is definitely an undercurrent to manage out old timers who are perceived to not have a good career growth path, which can indirectly lower health care costs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-2746203693144015742010-05-25T16:50:50.239-07:002010-05-25T16:50:50.239-07:00Arguably the biggest mistake Google made with Andr...<i>Arguably the biggest mistake Google made with Android was to initially force developers to write apps in managed code (Java).</i><br /><br />The problem with Win7 and managed code only is the arrogance at MS. Take a look at Google, say "duh stupid, no-one wants java on that, it'll be a flop" but then re-create the same mistake thinking that the problem is with Java, not the new managed API. So obviously, to their minds, that Win7 uses .NET, everything is fine. <br /><br />Dev churn is the greatest curse of .NET since it appeared (that and the BS hype that .net is perfect in every way with no performance or memory issues). Today, you might want to code C#, but is that C# for .NET 2.0, or 3.5, or 4.0? And hey, who wants to write C# anymore, that's so old and crufty. Everyone wants to code F# and parallel extensions.<br /><br />The same with the GUI, sure get rid of MFC and replace with WinForms. Oh no, stop, it must be WPF. Wait - not crufty old WPF, it must be Silverlight (that not enough people have installed).<br /><br />That's even before we start to consider old code that could have been reused and evolved, now we're all stuck with massive, major rewrites. <br /><br />The dev tools are good though. Make VS2010 flicker a lot less and use up a ton less RAM and I'll be happy with it. Good news that C++ is making a bit of a comeback in 11, I'll believe it when I see it though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-67614039971753810972010-05-25T11:25:23.608-07:002010-05-25T11:25:23.608-07:00I think we've become so insulated here that we...I think we've become so insulated here that we sometimes fool ourselves.<br />To the fired guy who suggested he wouldn't consider Microsoft products at his new company, a colleague chastised him for not having the best interests of his new company in mind.<br />Is it possible that the best solution for companies nowadays doesn't involve Microsoft products?<br /><br />Why not? MSFT please do ot be naive and keep thinking that MS makes the best products. I left MS and is currently using many google apps. There are alternatives. Many of the features MS has are not really required. So get out of that "high and mighty MS" attitude and see the world.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-72122132964104196302010-05-25T11:20:43.727-07:002010-05-25T11:20:43.727-07:00@Next round coming in July. Watch out ...
Manager...@Next round coming in July. Watch out ...<br /><br />Manager's turn NOW. <br /><br />Great! It should include the directors as well and also operations. We have directors and senior managers who talked the most and spent time playing politics.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-68549690421092678102010-05-25T11:00:19.279-07:002010-05-25T11:00:19.279-07:00Learning politics FREE OF COST in EXD-LPO, MSIT, I...Learning politics FREE OF COST in EXD-LPO, MSIT, India.<br /><br />Rajesh Sampath, you are the boss. Hats off to you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1975802280227490332010-05-25T08:22:34.775-07:002010-05-25T08:22:34.775-07:00"Most troubling for Microsoft CEO Steve Ballm..."Most troubling for Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is surely the fact that his company has, amid considerable fanfare, introduced a series of products that turned out to be also-rans or outright flops while rival Apple launches blockbuster after blockbuster including, most recently, the million-unit selling iPad. <br /><br /><b>An open question is how long Ballmer himself will continue to receive a pass from Microsoft's board and institutional investors.</b>"<br /><br /><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/handheld/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=225200043&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_News" rel="nofollow">Microsoft Flops Stir Shakeup Talk <br /></a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-82450120521857336912010-05-25T08:02:22.001-07:002010-05-25T08:02:22.001-07:00Gap between AAPL and MSFT market cap $6bill today....Gap between AAPL and MSFT market cap $6bill today. AAPL up 17% YTD, MSFT down 14%. How can Ballmer still be CEO?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-57268212886236082552010-05-24T23:52:29.001-07:002010-05-24T23:52:29.001-07:00What are the possible outcomes of the rumored E&am...What are the possible outcomes of the rumored E&D reshuffle?<br />1) WinPho to Windows?<br />2) WinPho gets a real business model? Maybe building the phones in-house?<br />3) Kin gets euthanized?<br />4) ERod's projects get folded down?<br />5) Natal exodus?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-29236971705467554222010-05-24T19:31:50.523-07:002010-05-24T19:31:50.523-07:00So who's up to bat to replace J as Visionary(t...So who's up to bat to replace J as Visionary(tm)?<br /><br />"Plucked her eyebrows on the way<br />Shaved her legs and then he was a she" to quote Lou Reed.<br /><br />I'm thinking about shaving my head, dropping a few letters from my 1st name and hiring a personal PR guy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-2992392531742534032010-05-24T14:15:40.194-07:002010-05-24T14:15:40.194-07:00Re Older employees and employees with health issue...Re Older employees and employees with health issues costing the company more (in terms of health insurance)<br />Is this just speculation or does anyone have proof to back it up?<br />Surely MS pays some overall corporate rate for employee healthcare.<br />Does the health care provider really insist on a breakdown of ages and health conditions before setting the annual price?<br />Maybe they do, but unlikely to go into that mucg detail ?<br /><br />NB We are only discussing employers healthcare costs here.<br /><br />Could also argue about the 'costs' of other factor's such as attendance, hours worked, productivity and perceived commitment etc<br /><br />I for one admit to slowing down and losing my edge as I've got older.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-26573667697247525992010-05-24T12:20:21.405-07:002010-05-24T12:20:21.405-07:00A historic week. Apple should become more valuable...A historic week. Apple should become more valuable than MS. It's been quite a decade.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-46936326446677937212010-05-24T12:02:00.389-07:002010-05-24T12:02:00.389-07:00Apple's market cap is almost about to surpass ...Apple's market cap is almost about to surpass MSFT's. MSFT 233 to Apple 228. Look at what the selected 20 percent HiPo & ExPo people did to this company. We are going down the drain.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-15728022443846481032010-05-24T01:24:44.627-07:002010-05-24T01:24:44.627-07:00"I suspect a big part of the [MSNBC.com] prob..."I suspect a big part of the [MSNBC.com] problem is the site is overloaded with Flash animated advertisements which ...."<br /><br />Which is why many of us use Firefox extensions such as Flashblock which will only allow a user-selected clicked-on Flash component to run.All other Flash components are blocked.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-89999505148933027472010-05-23T18:51:10.954-07:002010-05-23T18:51:10.954-07:00>Both products are no doubt contributing massiv...>Both products are no doubt contributing massively to Google's bottom line.<br /><br />Hahaha, thanks. I needed my daily dose of idiocy. Have you any idea where say 90-95% of Google's revenue comes from? Any ideas why they are so desperate to find alternate income streams?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-23632466777718350732010-05-23T08:41:22.653-07:002010-05-23T08:41:22.653-07:00"broad perception is that career growth for S..."broad perception is that career growth for Senior IC's (outside of what was once WEX) is about 0."<br /><br />Another blithe slanted statement about the Windows org from a Mini dittohead... <br /><br />This applies at the lead/manager level as well - here you're lucky if you haven't been demoted in a flattening out. :) Junior ICs are in better shape, they just need to wait 18 months to 3 years between promotions. <br /><br />There was a generalization of COSD as being over promoted and undisciplined, thus the hammer came down on the org as whole, even the strong (or once strong) groups. It's like in Star Trek when some alien species comes and decides that your planet must die.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-19289630730149100502010-05-22T21:42:10.955-07:002010-05-22T21:42:10.955-07:00>> how is it, exactly, that Android and Chro...>> how is it, exactly, that Android and Chrome <br />>> are each 'massively contributing' to anything<br /><br />Umm, ads? What do you think is the default search engine in Chrome and Android?<br /><br />Folks have to click on ads only a couple dozen times (or even once, depending on the bid for the ad) to make Google as much revenue as Microsoft is going to make from WP7 license sale.<br /><br />And I'm not even counting impressions-based brand advertising here.<br /><br />Do a simple experiment - if you have anything you want to sell (a piece of software you wrote, or your own resume), sign up for both Google AdWords and Microsoft AdCenter and compare the two. AdCenter is an embarrassing failure in comparison.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-45828845866454503192010-05-22T14:15:17.848-07:002010-05-22T14:15:17.848-07:00Choice titbits from WSJ:
- "Microsoft seems ...Choice titbits from WSJ:<br /><br />- "Microsoft seems to have lost so much relevance that no one even cares to insult it anymore."<br /><br />- "Increasingly, it seems that Microsoft is fighting yesterday’s battles, while Google and Apple are squaring off over the future."<br /><br />http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2010/05/21/google-admob-we-miss-you-microsoft/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-64079760805370722112010-05-22T13:33:26.453-07:002010-05-22T13:33:26.453-07:00We have a test manager who's usually in from 1...<i> We have a test manager who's usually in from 10-4 on the days he decides to show up. He offers zero technical input to the team - I've never seen him discuss a bug or quality metric or a schedule in the last three years.</i><br /><br />Those test managers are pretty common at MS, since they view themselves mainly as people managers. Moreover, care about quality or not, they usually have guns pointed to their heads by PM/Dev to release on time followed by many hotfixes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-74132008883128673192010-05-22T11:40:12.808-07:002010-05-22T11:40:12.808-07:00"Just write a review rebuttal if you disagree..."Just write a review rebuttal if you disagree with the assessment after you get the review results."<br /><br />I nearly spat coffee through my nose laughing when I read this comment. It's so deliciously naive.<br /><br />Yeah, go ahead. Attach a rebuttal to your review -- and flag yourself as a troublemaker with the HR folks, and with your currrent (and future) management chain. In the next cycle of layoffs, you'll quickly discover that you've become part the "dead weight" crowd.<br /><br />It doesn't matter how well you think you've done. It frequently doesn't even matter how well you've done by objective standards. What matters is whether you have a manager who is willing to champion you in the political hurricane that is stack-ranking; whether you have (favorable) visibility with your skip-level (and preferably double skip-level) boss, and whether these upper-level managers are viewed favorably by the levels above them.<br /><br />The key to surviving and prospering at Microsoft is finding a sweet-spot in the management hierarchy and carving out a niche for yourself. The quality and quantity of your work are almost irrelevant.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-13359334667002246342010-05-22T11:34:16.154-07:002010-05-22T11:34:16.154-07:00J Allard out. I'd applaud a little evidence o...J Allard out. I'd applaud a little evidence of accountability at the executive level, but it sounds like he is leaving of his own accord.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-85584130477168566432010-05-22T06:43:11.852-07:002010-05-22T06:43:11.852-07:00"Next round coming in July. Watch out ...&quo..."Next round coming in July. Watch out ..."<br /><br />That is one and half month before stock vest, not good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com