When Software Leaks (and What Really Goes Down) 179
Bryant writes "The Windows community is somewhat notorious for leaks from upcoming versions of Windows (obligatory link to this guy since that's most of what he does), and while the official PR word from Microsoft and many other companies with regards to leaks is a simple 'no comment,' no one has really gotten a candid, inside look at the various things that go down when word, screenshots, or builds of upcoming software leak. I managed to get some time with a senior Microsoft employee for the sake of discussing leaks, and the conclusions reached (leaks heavily affect communication, not so much the product schedule) as well as what these guys actually have to deal with whenever someone leaks a build, breaks an embargo, etc. may actually be a surprise given what most companies try to instill in the public mind."
I always had the impression (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I don't believe the article. (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm a relatively senior development manager in Windows. Your right, this sounds made up. If the anonymous person is a real MSFT employee, then it doesn't sound like someone from the core product group (COSD or WEX).
Re:You know (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:I always had the impression (Score:2, Interesting)
You must really like people talking trash about the work you do, to hang around here.
Imagine the sheer joy of writing /. post that exalts the virtues of Win7, lambasts Apple, pokes fun at Google, and has a well-hidden pun on Linux, and getting it modded to "+5, Insightful" - because it really is that well-written.
It's as rare as you think it is, but it does happen.
~
reasonable comments (Score:2, Interesting)
you know, i really found this article to be educational also, because i've seen it before where someone will post a leak of some sort, a leaked build, or leaked screen shots, something leaked, and they will say 'wow look it's so rough man this will be the worst most horrible experience ever' or 'look they cut this essential feature out it will be horrible' or 'look how sloppy everything is!'. from what i read of this dev's statements, he sounds like me when i'm working on anything, from my car to my computer. if an outsider peeked in and looked at it all while i'm in the middle it may look really sloppy. dirt all over, parts strew right and left, half of it doesn't even work, and i myself am just sloppy and dirty. dust on my nose, smudges on my glasses, grease on my hands. it really presents the idea that i am just a slob and also that the finished product will be horribly broken.
of course, that is the not the case. i just need to get dirty and make a mess to get anywhere sometimes. i may wind up taking whole sections of my computer or car out and botching something together just to test something. it doesn't look good at all, but it's just part of the process. when i'm done, it will be functional. it will work. it will in fact even look nice, but i have my process to work in and if you step into that while i'm busy and you don't know what is going on in my head, you won't be impressed.
so please, save the hating on this dev for someone else. i'm glad he said something. it helps put these negative reviews of various Windows leaked builds (or WIP builds of anything really) in perspective. important things to realise i figure.
thanks, anonymous dev.
MS Leaks Disambiguation (Score:2, Interesting)
I thought you were talking about "leaks" in products like Word (and other non-MS products) and XP "going down" - I find even with Word 2003 it was still safer to reboot every other weekend. Has this been fixed yet?
for the me the rest is all variations in marketing technique...