Raikes and Other Exits
,----[ Quote ]
| It's weird that Mini and all the commenters here have failed to notice the
| mass exodus from the Xbox team in 2007. By my count, more than 15% of the
| product team (dev/PM/test) have left Microsoft for Apple, Sony, Google,
| Yahoo, MySpace, Amazon, and various other companies (including several
| startups, local and in the Valley).
`----
http://minimsft.blogspot.com/2008/01/raikes-and-other-exits.html
Watch XBox360 here:
Nintendo sells 5m Wiis in Japan
,----[ Quote ]
| Nintendo has now sold more than 5m Wii consoles in its home territory,
| reaching that point six weeks sooner than Sony's PS2 took, but not as quickly
| as Nintendo's own DS handheld.
`----
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/23/wii_passes_5m_in_japan/
Microsoft is close to zero. Low, flat curve... $billions in losses and little
hope on the horizon, unless you count on Microsoft's spin in Bill
Gates' 'mainstream' press.
Related:
Inside Source Reveal the Truth About Xbox 360 "Red Ring of Death" Failures
,----[ Quote ]
| It's around 30%, and all will probably fail early. This quarter they are
| expecting 1 M failures, most of those Xenons. Some of those are repeat
| failures.
`----
http://www.8bitjoystick.com/archives/jake_inside_source_reveal_the_truth_about_xbox_360_red_ring_of_death_failures.php
Microsoft Admits *ALL* Xbox360's Are Defective
,----[ Quote ]
| Though Robbie Bach, head of Microsoft's Xbox360 Division refused to elaborate
| on the issue, the general consensus is that it's one of botched thermal
| design management and inadequate dissipation of heat leading to component
| failure.
`----
http://www.fastsilicon.com/latest-news/microsoft-admits-all-xbox360s-are-defective.html?Itemid=60
Insider Trading Hasn't Affect Microsoft Stock - Yet
,----[ Quote ]
| MarketWatch.com reports that Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's
| Entertainment and Devices division, sold $6.2 million of Microsoft
| stock just prior to announcing that Microsoft was going to have to
| extend XBox 360 warranties to three years because of extensive
| failures. The filings note that this was not part of any
| scheduled diversification or selling program; this was a
| conscious, unscheduled sale by the guy in charge of releasing
| news that could affect the value of Microsoft stock.
|
| [...]
|
| Insider trading is a very serious violation of the law; just
| ask Martha Stewart, who served five months in prison for
| avoiding losses of $43,000 through trades that just had suspicious
| timing (no insider trading was actually proven). This is $6.3
| million that went straight into Robbie Bach's pocket.
`----
http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/070713/40947_id.html?.v=1
Peter Moore's parting pledge for Microsoft games an empty promise?
,----[ Quote ]
| Now that we know Mr Moore has departed for greener multi-million dollar
| pastures as the head of the powerful sports games division at Electronic
| Arts, the question is was his promise of a profitable games business at
| Microsoft simply the parting words of a man who knew he would not be around
| to be held accountable for them?
`----
http://www.itwire.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13598&Itemid=1023
Microsoft: XBox 360 Price Drop Won't Fix Broken Strategy
,----[ Quote ]
| So in the end, it doesn’t matter if the 360 is $50 or even $100 less.
| Ultimately, the price cut will just reveal how niche the system has become.
|
| Exactly. Come on, guys. The blogosphere, be it the guys at GigaOM, Chris
| Kohler at Wired Game I Life or myself, have come up with some pretty rational
| approaches for how you can get it together. Unfortunately, however, our
| protestations seem to fall on deaf ears. Best of luck with your "winning
| strategy." I guess you know best.
`----
http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/070809/43985_id.html?.v=1
XBLA's Ross Erickson leaves Microsoft, heads over to Sierra Online
,----[ Quote ]
| Of course, this follows XBLA General Manager Greg Canessa's
| departure a couple weeks back. While having two of the most
| senior Xbox Live Arcade execs jump ship in a two week time
| span after a particularly long string of subpar Wednesdays
| -- nothing, Ms. Pac-Man, Lumines add-on, nothing, Root Beer
| Tapper, Paperboy, nothing -- might seem to imply certain
| disaster, Ross insisted that he and Greg's decided to
| leave under entirely different circumstances.
`----
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/02/20/xblas-ross-erickson-leaves-microsoft-heads-over-to-sierra-onli/
http://tinyurl.com/25s6he
XBLA main man jumps ship
,----[ Quote ]
| In somewhat surprising news, Greg Canessa, the big guy behind
| Xbox Live Arcade, has left the Microsoft compound for PopCap Games.
`----
http://www.destructoid.com/xbla-main-man-jumps-ship-29716.phtml
Japanese Thermal Expert Examines Xbox 360, Figures Out What's Wrong (Hint:
Everything)
,----[ Quote ]
| Because Microsoft will never admit to any possible overheating problems with
| their beloved Xbox 360 design, Japanese-based Nikkei hired a thermal design
| expert to come examine the console. They looked at two—one made in 2005 and
| one repaired in May 2007.
`----
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/microsoft/japanese-thermal-expert-examines-xbox-360-figures-out-whats-wrong-hint-everything-286400.php
Lawsuit claims Xbox 360s scratch discs
,----[ Quote ]
| Filed on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
| Florida, the suit claims that Xbox 360s scratch game discs, making them
| unusable. Thousands of people have been affected by and have complained to
| Microsoft about the problem, the suit claims.
`----
http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20070710/tc_infoworld/90093
Microsoft admits scratch problem with Xbox 360
,----[ Quote ]
| There hasn't been much discussion on the fact that the problem exists
| by consumers, but untill now Microsoft has always somewhat denied the
| problem and never proposed a solution.
|
| The Dutch television show Kassa, which deals with customer complaints,
| has been nagging Microsoft about this problem for several weeks, they
| did tests with Xbox360 setups and filmed (and proofed) that the Xbox360
| is indeed responsible for scratching game discs, when not moved, placed
| on a stable table and under the best possible conditions.
|
| [...]
|
|
| The television show also reported that while this issue is now an issue
| in the Netherlands (it is also widely covered in regular news), it
| could become a global problem for Microsoft in the future. Therefore
| I would recommend anyone who is facing the same problem to contact
| their local Microsoft office and point them to this article.
`----
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/Microsoft-admits-scratch-problem-with-Xbox-360.html
European commission investigates XBOX 360 failures
,----[ Quote ]
| It seems that Microsoft can't catch a break these days what with
| Vista still failing miserably and apparently so are XBOX 360's.
|
| [...]
|
| There are upwards of 1,000 complaints from the Netherlands alone
| which is going up every day. The commissioner not only wants
| answers from Microsoft Europe but from other markets as well
| and a bulleted list of all issues and problems known in
| those markets.
`----
http://gamer.blorge.com/2007/06/01/european-commission-investigates-xbox-360-failures/
WARNING :- avoid VGCHARTS and NEOGAF
,----[ Quote ]
| They are being financed by MS to make 360 look good to gullible people.
|
| [...]
|
| NEOGAF :-
| another Flaming and misleading gaming forum run by 2 previous MS employees.
| This is the forum where you have people posting "360 is the last stand for
| RPG in JAPAN" , "x360 kills ps3 in JAPAN" and getting away with it.
`----
http://forums.gametrailers.com/showthread.php?t=121309
Microsoft facing $1bn Xbox bill
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft, has not revealed how many of its machines have suffered the
| problem, but said the number was "bigger than we are comfortable with."
`----
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6275728.stm
Microsoft lied about scaling chips they promised:
http://forum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php?t=42164
Owner of eight failed Xbox 360 explains failures
,----[ Quote ]
| And although console gamers usually don’t come with the geeky and
| techie know-how of Banzai Runner hobbyists, an owner of eight failed
| Xbox 360s finally tapped into his inner geek and got the problem of
| the Xbox 360 issues down pat.
`----
http://www.kilegates.com/owner-of-eight-failed-xbox-360-explains-failures/
30% failure rate haunts Xbox 360 image
,----[ Quote
| A recent query put to an Australian game retailer puts the figure at a
| 30% return rate.
`----
http://www.itwire.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13177&Itemid=1063
A Tale of 11 Broken Xbox 360s
,----[ Quote ]
| "I can't comment on failure rates, because it's just not something - it's
| a moving target. What this consumer should worry about is the way that
| we've treated him. Y'know, things break, and if we've treated him well
| and fixed his problem, that's something that we're focused on right
| now."
|
| -- Peter Moore [of Microsoft] on Xbox 360 failure rates
`----
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3160603
Microsoft deletes mass Xbox 360 crashing claims from Forza 2 forums
,----[ Quote ]
| In what appears to be an effort to conceal the over 900 replies gamers
| provided on the official Forzamotorsport.net forums about Forza Motorsport 2
| crashing on the Xbox 360, Microsoft has deleted the long thread, now stating
| that it’s “exclusive content for registered forum users” only. However, the
| thread was removed entirely, even to registered members.
`----
http://gamerush.zoomshare.com/files/my_images/GameRush_Entertainment_Microsoft_deletes_mass_Xbox_360_crashing_claims_from_Forza_2_forums_News.htm
Anecdotal: Microsoft low on Xbox 360 coffins
,----[ Quote ]
| For the most part, we've given up on reporting every single time
| one of our colleagues in the gaming press has an Xbox 360 die on
| them. Frankly, we'd be writing a piece every couple weeks. A
| brilliant recent example was the Weekly Geek Show's Xbox 360,
| which we covered, died again in late May. Exactly one month
| and six days after being "repaired." But, like Peter Moore
| asked of all of us, we shouldn't focus on the failure rate
| of Xbox 360s, but on the service in repairing them. And so,
| we have the story of Officer Craig Ravitch of the New York
| Police Department.
`----
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/06/anecdotal-microsoft-low-on-xbox-360-coffins/
http://tinyurl.com/28qx3b
Gamers Say Microsoft Understates Xbox Problems
,----[ Quote ]
| An insider from Electronic Arts, Inc. is saying that the failure rate
| of Microsoft's Xbox 360 gaming console is actually ten times higher than
| what Microsoft spokespeople have admitted.
|
| Game Daily BIZ, a gaming industry publication, reported that the
| anonymous source tallied that of the 300 consoles EA has received,
| 30-50 percent of them have failed.
`----
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/08/xbox_gamers02.html
Gears of War disc errors - why the hell is no one covering this?
,----[ Quote ]
| So, we're all just 'unlucky' Mark? Thanks for that. I'm happy for you
| and your console, but what about us? Where are we supposed to turn to
| for help and support? Microsoft wasn't very helpful (ref #102-379-2964)
| any of the times I've called them (I think it's up to three now for the
| same issue - perhaps I'll call again today and check on an update).
|
| All I know is that if I see that dreaded error message again on my new
| 360 I am going to go absolutely ballistic!!!
`----
http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=7626298&publicUserId=5551391
What is the real failure rate of the Xbox 360?
,----[ Quote ]
| We asked Game, one of the largest console retailers in the UK.
| "That's not information we're able to give out. It's commercially
| sensitive," it said. As for Microsoft, in the early days after the
| console's 2005 launch it claimed that failure rates were no higher
| than an industry average of between 3% and 5%. That now seems
| wildly optimistic.
|
| Last month, its vice-president of entertainment, Peter Moore,
| refused to answer the question, telling the Mercury News: "I
| can't comment on failure rates." According to Moore, if someone
| has a faulty console they should worry about the customer service.
`----
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,2091221,00.html
360 failure rates at 61%?
,----[ Quote ]
| Over at XBox 360 Gamer they have refused to buy Microsoft?s claimed
| 4-5% failure rates and instead opted to create their own poll which
| yielded shocking results. At the time of writing there have been
| 3780 submissions and 2355 comments resulting in claimed failure
| rates of 61%.
|
| There is no avoiding the fact that there is likely to be a negative
| skew to the poll, angry gamers are more likely to vent than satisfied
| gamers. That said 61% is a huge number and even if its half that 30%
| is a far cry from the 4-5% Microsoft would like us to believe.
`----
http://www.quicksavejunkie.com/2007/05/23/360-failure-rates-at-61/
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against MS For Bricked 360s
,----[ Quote ]
| According to Gamespot, the suit seeks a minimum of $10 million in
| damages, depending on how MS decides to defend itself.
`----
http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/law/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against-ms-for-bricked-360s-220250.php
Numerous Reports, November 30 Xbox 360 Update Is Bricking Consoles
,----[ Quote ]
| Some consoles are being bricked by Thursday's dashboard update.
| Issues range from freezing, red ring of death and VGA adapterm
| alfunction. Microsoft isn't acknowledging the issue and billing
| $140 for repairs.
`----
http://digg.com/gaming_news/Numerous_Reports_November_30_Xbox_360_Update_Is_Bricking_Consoles
Update brick your 360? Speak up
,----[ Quote ]
| Since yesterday's update, there are numerous reports about 360s
| being bricked. Some people suspect that this is being done by
| Microsoft intentionally to stop modders and hackers. Xbox Scene
| thinks it has more to do with certain combinations of hardware
| and firmware.
`----
http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2006/11/01/update-brick-your-360-speak-up/
Autoupdate killed my 360!
,----[ Quote ]
| I was fine yesterday gaming with the VGA cable but after getting
| the autoupdate today, I get a black screen. Does Microsoft test
| these things? My connection to the TV didn't change yet its
| screwed. Thanks for nothing Microsoft.
`----
http://forum.teamxbox.com/showthread.php?t=489979
Loot: Redmond, We Have a Problem, Or, What's Wrong With the Xbox 360
,----[ Quote ]
| At this point, Former becomes impassioned. That's not fair, he says;
| we always saw this as a long-term venture. To which we reply that we
| were talking about the original Xbox, and while other divisions of
| the company throw off more profits in a single quarter than the
| entire $5 billion or so lost in the home and entertainment division
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| to date, the fact remains that, as we take-our-word-for-it predicted,
| the Xbox group has been spectacularly unprofitable for Microsoft.
| Hence, our heretofore unpublished Vietnam analogy. The rest of the
| night is a blur, but we digress.
|
| [...]
|
| The worst case scenario for Microsoft, then, is one in which the Xbox
| 360's bid for the mass market is blocked by the Wii for the next two to
| three years, at which point the aging and underpowered Wii gives way
| to a cheaper-than-it-is-now PS3 with a selection of AAA titles that's
| far wider than what the PS3 has at the moment; new installments of
| Playstation's own popular and casual-leaning games; and a slew of
| new franchises from Sony's much-larger studio operation.
`----
http://ncroal.talk.newsweek.com/default.asp?item=533168
Veteran Windows architect resigns from Microsoft
,----[ Quote ]
| On the heels of a week of news of a number of Microsoft executive departures
| and reshufflings, another has come to light. Rob Short, Corporate Vice
| President for Windows Core, has resigned from the company.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1110
Juniper Networks exec to succeed Microsoft Business Division President Raikes
,----[ Quote ]
| Another reason I consider the Raikes announcement timing odd: Why announce
| Raikes’ departure a day after acknowledging the defection of your mergers and
| acquisitions chief Bruce Jaffe? You could make the argument that Microsoft
| wants to get all its defection/churn announcements out of the way at once.
| But I’m not sure I’d look at things the same way, if I were one of the
| company’s “image makers”….
|
| Microsoft also announced on January 10 that Bob Muglia, the Senior Vice
| President in charge of Microsoft’s Server and Tools Business, is going to
| move out of the Business Division and report directly to CEO Steve Ballmer.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1101
Microsoft loses top executive in China
,----[ Quote ]
| "Li Gong is currently exploring other career opportunities," Microsoft said
| in a statement to News.com.
|
| [...]
|
| In a September 2005 Business Week interview, Ballmer touted Gong as
| one of several key hires that Microsoft had made.
|
| Most recently, Gong has served as managing director of Windows LiveC
| hina and as Vice President of Microsoft China R&D Group.
|
| Gong's name came up in the case over Kai-Fu Lee, the top Microsoft
| executive whose hiring by Google sparked a multistate legal battle.
`----
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6149735.html
Microsoft losing acquisition playmaker
,----[ Quote ]
| In a previous life Jaffe was the CFO for Microsoft's MSN division, and also
| had roles overseeing acquisitions related to Microsoft's consumer business,
| groups like MSNBC and Microsoft Games.
`----
http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9847376-37.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Microsoft’s OEM chief defects to Lenovo
,----[ Quote ]
| While so many of us Microsoft watchers were preoccupied with the hasty
| departure of former Microsfot CIO Stuart Scott, the resignation of the
| company’s OEM chief slipped right by most of us.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=999
Will Microsoft Survive the Next 10 Years?
,----[ Quote ]
| I am not really an expert in this but when I read all the negative
| headlines and articles I ask myself if Microsoft really will survive
| the next 10 years.
|
| [...]
|
| I am pretty sure that the Open Source Community, the new Ubuntu,
| Google and of course Apple are those companies that are ready for
| our century and they will get more and more people that know what
| they really want.
`----
http://websquirrel.blogspot.com/2007/03/will-microsoft-survive-next-10-years.html
Microsoft Windows hardware leader takes a ‘vacation’
,----[ Quote ]
| Veteran Softies are dropping like flies lately. The latest Microsoft exec to
| leave is Jawad Khaki, Corporate Vice President of the Windows Hardware
| Ecosystem.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1002
Danny Thorpe quits the Windows Live development team
,----[ Quote ]
| Danny Thorpe, one of the higher-profile hires Microsoft made to its Windows
| Live team, has decided to leave for greener pastures.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=806
Microsoft’s open source chief takes on Windows server marketing
,----[ Quote ]
| The change comes amid a long-building storm that exploded in May, when the
| company said that Linux violates 235 Microsoft patents.
`----
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/100807-microsoft-open-source-windows-server.html
Microsoft says Zune executive will leave company
,----[ Quote ]
| Bryan Lee, corporate vice president at Microsoft's entertainment
| and devices division, also played a key role in shaping the Xbox
| game console business and the introduction of its Internet
| Protocol television software.
`----
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6155200.html
Yet another Microsoft search exec calls it quits
,----[ Quote ]
| In March, Blake Irving, the Corporate VP in charge of the Windows
| Live platform, announced his plans to leave Microsoft, effective
| this summer. Payne announced his resignation from Microsoft shortly
| after Irving made his announcement.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=407
at least no chairs were thrown…
,----[ Quote ]
| A friend of mine was walked out of Microsoft today.
|
| I’m not talking about Stuart Scott, the now former Microsoft CIO who was
| canned for “violating company policies.” No, another friend decided to leave
| the MSN Live Search team and join Google Kirkland.
`----
http://selberg.org/2007/11/06/at-least-no-chairs-were-thrown/
Another Microsoft Search reorg: Shum now leads engineering
,----[ Quote ]
| That same month, Windows Live Platform VP Blake Irving resigned, as did Chris
| Payne. the Corporate Vice President in charge of Windows Live Search.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=927
Former Microsoft Search Chief Bill Bliss On Early Search Missteps
,----[ Quote ]
| Bill's biggest regret? Not bypassing middle management that wasn't
| listening to him scream about the coming threat of Google and going
| right up to Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.
`----
http://searchengineland.com/070309-094930.php
Microsoft Search Leader To Leave Company
,----[ Quote ]
| The Microsoft Corp. vice president who led the company's push into
| Internet search is leaving the software giant as the effort he
| helped launch loses ground against lead competitor Google Inc.
`----
http://online.wsj.com/preview_login.html?url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB117329976478329930.html%3Fmod%3Dyahoo_hs%26ru%3Dyahoo
http://tinyurl.com/2jran7
Microsoft Businesss Solutions Group's Burgum to resign
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft Corp.'s Business Solutions group senior vice president Doug
| Burgum will resign, effective June 30, and leave the company to pursue
| other opportunities, the company said on Tuesday.
`----
http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060912:MTFH70760_2006-09-12_16-35-37_N9C318839&type=comktNews&rpc=44
http://tinyurl.com/h4coe
Database head to leave daily duties at Microsoft
,----[ Quote ]
| Paul Flessner, who leads Microsoft's data storage and platform
| division, will step down from his daily duties after the new year.
`----
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6131496.html
Microsoft Windows Live VP to resign
,----[ Quote ]
| Blake Irving, a Corporate Vice President in Microsoft's Windows
| Live Platform group, is resigning his post, according to sources
| close to the company.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=296
Evangelist Gartenberg back to being analyst
,----[ Quote ]
| After only three weeks at Microsoft as an "evangelist," Michael
| Gartenberg is returning to his old job as vice president and
| research director at JupiterResearch.
`----
http://news.com.com/2061-10805_3-6165381.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-20&subj=news
MS Insider: The Office Crew Isn't Smart Enough to Supplant Real Windows
Developers
,----[ Quote ]
| "With Alchin retiring, MarkL and MarkZ, two of the most talented
| architects in MS already having left, the picture gets really
| ugly for the Windows division," my friend claimed, and the BV's
| core team members, Ian McDonald, Jack Mayo, Todd Wanke, Clyde
| Rodriguez and others are starting to connect the dots.
|
| [...]
|
| He concluded ominously. "A trainwreck of biblical proportions looms.
| Pick a good seat on the sidelines, trainwrecks this large take
| awhile to complete. Vista may be the last MS OS for some time to
| come, especially if Cutler decides to play hardball."
`----
http://www.emailbattles.com/2006/09/11/ms-insider-the-office-crew-isnt-smart-enough-to-supplant-real-windows-developers/
http://tinyurl.com/35eqrt
|
|
