Eight signs of evil in high-tech companies
,----[ Headings ]
| 1. Arrogance Is Bliss
|
| 2. For Me to Win, You Must Lose
|
| 3. You Compete More Often in a Courtroom Than in the Marketplace
|
| 4. You're Not Joining Alliances and Coalitions Anymore -- You're the Company
| Forging Them
|
| 5. You Ignore the Customer and Bow to The Street
|
| 6. You Can't Help Noticing That Everyone Is Stealing from You
|
| 7. You've Become Much More Secretive and Thus Inspire Loads of Rumours
|
| 8. You Become Too Grandiose for the General Public
`----
http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=424&blogid=2
Recent:
Google Goes Globe-Trotting
,----[ Quoet ]
| "Google is so different that it was almost impossible to reprogram them into
| this culture," says CEO Eric Schmidt.
`----
http://www.newsweek.com/id/67919
Related:
[Redmond's vanity. Don't mention Linux or Google. Ever.]
http://rcpmag.com/features/article.aspx?editorialsid=741
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft has warned Google to steer clear of corporate search,
| declaring that the market is "our house"....
|
| "Those people are not going to be allowed to take food off our plate,
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| because that is what they are intending to do."
`----
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2160431/microsoft-warns-google-business
,----[ Quote ]
| Besides the fact that all of the Microsoft employees I have ever encountered
| must have been brainwashed. I don’t know where they dig these people up.
|
| [...]
|
| And if they AREN’T brainwashing them, then they are just hiring incompetant,
| pompous dumbasses. And if either is the case, why should anyone support their
| company?
`----
http://www.camp-site.org/blog/?p=21
,----[ Quote ]
| From: jimall Mon Sep 9 11:09:33 1991
| To: billg steveb
| Cc: bradsi; jonl; mikemur; paulma
| Subject winball
| Date: Mon Sep 09 11:08:44 PDT 1991
|
|
| [...]
|
| We need to slaughter Novell before they get stronger.
`---- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
http://edge-op.org/iowa/www.iowaconsumercase.org/011607/0000/PX00948.pdf
MS exec's hunting trip: illegally chased and shot 4 antelopes
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft OEM chief Joachim Kempin was guilty of nine charges
| of illegal hunting...
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/07/04/ms_execs_hunting_trip_illegally/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/09/dell_linux_china/
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2001/10/23/13219/110
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/03/19/microsoft_killed_dell_linux_states/
,----[ Quote ]
| From: bradsi Fri Oct 18 14:24:00 1991
| To: dawntr; jonl; makemap; mikemur; philipg; vijayc
| Cc: garygi; hankv; lewisl; peteh
| Subject: Re: Excel brainstorm group
| Date: Fri, 18 Oct 91 14:20:38 PDT
|
| I'd be glad to help tilt lotus into into the death spiral. I could do it
| friday afternoon but not saturday. I could do it pretty much any time
| the followung week.
`----
http://edge-op.org/iowa/www.iowaconsumercase.org/010807/PLEX_1031.pdf
Microsoft Memories
,----[ Quote ]
| At some point in your presentation billg will say "that's the dumbest
| fucking idea I've heard since I've been at Microsoft." He looks like
| he means it. However, since you knew he was going to say this, you
| can't really let it faze you. Moreover, you can't afford to look
| fazed; remember: he's a bully.
`----
http://blog.tomevslin.com/2007/05/microsoft_memor.html
The Narcissistic CEO
,----[ Quote ]
| The desire to change the system is a defining element of narcissism.
| And while it can be inspirational to work for someone like that,
| interacting with a narcissist CEO can be torture. Don't expect praise.
| Get used to hearing the word "I." And be able to take lots of harshly
| worded criticism.
`----
http://www.forbes.com/2006/08/28/business-basics-narcissist-ceos-cx_t...
Reminds me of some stories about Gates' personality. Among them (which I can
quickly find):
,----[ Quote ]
| My father, in his travels, has met Bill Gates. I don't think I'd be
| creating a problem for him now (as he recently retired) by saying that he
| was unimpressed. Apparently Gates was rude, he was distracted, and when
| he sat, he rocked back and forth in his chair, an action which reminded
| my Dad of people with dementia.
`----
http://www.linuxextremist.com/?p=12
,----[ Quote ]
| In my BillG review meeting, the whole reporting hierarchy was there,
| along with their cousins, sisters, and aunts, and a person who came
| along from my team whose whole job during the meeting was to keep an
| accurate count of how many times Bill said the F word. The lower the
| f***-count, the better.
|
| [...]
|
| Four," announced the f*** counter, and everyone said, "wow, that's the
| lowest I can remember. Bill is getting mellow in his old age." He was,
| you know, 36.
|
| Later I had it explained to me. "Bill doesn't really want to review
| your spec, he just wants to make sure you've got it under control. His
| standard M.O. is to ask harder and harder questions until you admit that
| you don't know, and then he can yell at you for being unprepared. Nobody
| was really sure what happens if you answer the hardest question he can
| come up with because it's never happened before."
`----
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/06/16.html
Maybe it's just a language culture in the board...
,----[ Quote ]
| At that point, Mr. Ballmer picked up a chair and threw it across the
| room hitting a table in his office. Mr. Ballmer then said: "Fucking Eric
| Schmidt is a fucking pussy. I'm going to fucking bury that guy, I have
| done it before, and I will do it again. I'm going to fucking kill Google."
`----
http://battellemedia.com/archives/001835.php
,----[ Quote ]
| From: johnfi; Wed Mar 14 11:18:49 1990
| To: RichAab; RussW; SherryR; c-JanetC
| Subject: H-P New Wave
| Date: Wed Mar 14 10:56:42 1990
|
| A few issues ... Got a call from Gary Perez (our OEM HP Acct Mgr) this
| morning. They are telling HP that they wil NOT be part of this launch
| and that BillG has said "fxxk HP (all divisions) if they won't sign a
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| Windows license."
`----
http://edge-op.org/iowa/www.iowaconsumercase.org/011607/5000/PX05099.pdf
,----[ Quote ]
| Wow, this is absolutely devastating! As near as I can tell, the poor
| guy at Microsoft has been trying to support open standards against
| management. He doesn't say much about the history, i.e. the fact that
| Microsoft didn't do anything with IE until they were recently forced to
| by Firefox competition. The feedback is amazing. Example:
|
| Quote:
| -------------
| So if you believe that the reason for IE's lack of standards support is
| something other than malice of forethought to strangle other browsers,
| you are wrong. If you have followed the anti-trust trial you would have
| seen the actual evidence for these decisions. Microsoft is an
| anti-competitive company run by unethical shitheads.
|
| This won't change until the workforce is slashed and the entire company
| culture changes. Steve Ballmer is the king of the shitheads, so when he
| goes things might get better. But until then, expect MS to only do the
| absolute minimum to defuse the worst criticism. Remember my words:
| unethical shitheads.
| -------------
| End quote
|
| Erik cited this same guy's blog a few days ago to support the notion
| that Microsoft is dedicated to standards compliance and is doing the
| reasonable thing (I think that's why he cited it). The way this story
| has developed, it shows exactly the opposite, and is very revealing
| about sentiments out there in the developer world.
`----
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux.advocacy/msg/cc1ad063dcc0400d
Behavior May Suggest We're Not Only Human
,----[ Quote ]
| When Emory University primatologist Frans de Waal read a news story that
| said Microsoft's chief executive, Steve Ballmer, had hurled a chair
| across the room on hearing an employee was going to work for rival
| Google, the scientist immediately made a connection with his own
| research: "When I see such behavior, I think of a chimpanzee."
`----
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/18/AR2007031801130.html?nav=rss_nation
Beyond the PC: Ballmer's Battle Plan
,----[ Quote ]
| "The word 'intense' was invented for Ballmer, who met with us in a
| green room that had a paper sign with his name taped to the door.
| While he was at first warm and engaging, a question about security
| features shifted his mood. His eyes, soft when he smiles, grew dark.
| The usually boisterous Ballmer became unexpectedly quiet and soon
| exited the room without saying goodbye. Still, he had a lot to
| say to SmartMoney senior writer Dyan Machan before he did.
`----
http://www.smartmoney.com/mag/ceo/index.cfm?story=april2007
|
|
