Bill Gates Chews Out Microsoft

s31523 writes "All of us have one time or another been completely frustrated by certain Windows usability issues, and in many cases our experiences have driven us over to Linux, or kept us there. For anyone that has ever been frustrated, you will be happy to know you aren't the only one. After reading this leaked Microsoft memo from Bill Gates back in 2003, you will surely have more insight into why Vista is a complete disaster due to Microsoft not learning anything from their experiences from XP."

Then STOP releasing the product!

Interestingly enough, Gates could have really improved his image during his tenure at Microsoft if he let emails like that "leak" out prior to stepping down. Instead, he gives keynotes about Microsoft and its "innovation."

First, I am not sure that email is really by Gates -- from reading his writing or listening to him in the past, it really does not sound like his style. Also, "I reboot my computer ... why should I have to reboot my computer?" I find it hard to realize that he wouldn't know the technical difficulties in replacing a dll while the system is running, and possible ways around this, and the current state of affairs. However, maybe I'm giving too much credit here.

Secondly, *if you can't do anything about this crap, then stop releasing it on time and FIX THE ISSUES* instead of releasing it to the world for millions of users to suffer under your monopoly. If your software sucks, fix the problems instead of using oppressive business practices to make *everybody* suffer.

Next, people complain about Linux usability? apt-get install mplayer k3b, etc? It is not harder, just different. In fact, having all of the software most people need in one place makes Linux easier for most people in many ways, specifically the way that possible-Bill rants about here.

Whenever I have listen to Gates talk or talked to him (many, many years ago now, in the late 90's) he seems more than aware of problems with his product, and I always get this vibe "I'm doing it because I can and it is really, really, really good for business and nobody is stopping me." If any of you were following the USDOJ against Microsoft way back before the Bush-era forgiveness, Microsoft was going to be split into three companies. When Bill was on the stand, he basically went "I don't remember" to every possibly incriminating statement, but was clearly aware of the bad ethics of what he was doing -- again, reading between the lines I always got the vibe of the triumphant geek saying "I'm not going to stop until you guys get your act together and make me stop."

He's not a stupid guy that way, and anybody that respects billionaires must ask themselves if they would do the same things with a company to maintain market share... Personally, I like to think I wouldn't, but that's why I am not a CEO.

Re:Then STOP releasing the product!

First, I am not sure that email is really by Gates -- from reading his writing or listening to him in the past, it really does not sound like his style

Agreed. He doesn't say any of his trademarks like "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" or "I could have written MovieMaker in Excel macros over the weekend!" (okay, the last one is a stretch. ;)

Next, people complain about Linux usability? apt-get install mplayer k3b, etc? It is not harder, just different. In fact, having all of the software most people need in one place makes Linux easier for most people in many ways, specifically the way that possible-Bill rants about here.

Here's the problem from a usability standpoint: I want to install a media player. I don't know that I need to install mplayer, xine or totem. (What is a totem and WTF does it have to do with playing media? WTF is a xine anyhow?) THe 'Add/Remove Programs' in Ubuntu addresses some of this, but try installing an app that plays podcasts WITHOUT KNOWING that democracyplayer and VLC play podcasts.

 

Re:Then STOP releasing the product!

but try installing an app that plays podcasts WITHOUT KNOWING that democracyplayer and VLC play podcasts.

I went to add/remove and typed podcast in the search.

When sorted by popularity:
1) rythmbox music player, play and orginize your music collection. I bet this works for audio podcasts

2) Miro Internet TV, Watch online videa.
details:
Miro (previously known as Democracy Player) is a platform for Internet television and video. It allows you to download and watch videos from RSS feeds (including podcasts, video blogs, and BitTorrent feeds).

This application is provided by the Ubuntu community.

I bet that's what I would pick.

Of course gpodder 2 further down may have been my choice (it mentions audio and video podcasts in the brief description).

I would never have used vlc though, I use it daily, and didn't realize it did podcasts.

Re:Then STOP releasing the product!

How do you "know what you're looking for" without searching the web exactly?

It's worth noting that Microsoft would love nothing more than to bundle as many free utilities as they could, but their hands are tied thanks to those who whined to the DOJ.

Re:Then STOP releasing the product!

That's exactly what I said. Finding the product is the same on Windows and Linux, but at least Linux *has* the index and package manager right there, so it's no worse.

Re:Then STOP releasing the product!

Interestingly enough, Gates could have really improved his image during his tenure at Microsoft if he let emails like that "leak" out prior to stepping down.

Maybe, but then again he still had to work there and keep the company working effectively. If this stuff had leaked out to everyone in the company, who knows what it would have done for morale? Keeping this kind of stuff in the family is often the best thing to do for the family.

Re:Then STOP releasing the product!

Interestingly enough, Gates could have really improved his image during his tenure at Microsoft if he let emails like that "leak" out prior to stepping down. Instead, he gives keynotes about Microsoft and its "innovation."

Except as head of the company, his job is not to make himslef look better, it is to make the company look better. There is no way a CxO wants an internal email like that leaked, if they really care about the company.

Wait... is it really possible that we should give Gates some credit for acting responsibly?

First, I am not sure that email is really by Gates -- from reading his writing or listening to him in the past, it really does not sound like his style. Also, "I reboot my computer ... why should I have to reboot my computer?" I find it hard to realize that he wouldn't know the technical difficulties in replacing a dll while the system is running, and possible ways around this, and the current state of affairs. However, maybe I'm giving too much credit here.

I agree with you on the writing style, but you never know, since this was an internal document, and people use different writing styles for different purposes. I'd also note that when knowleadgeable people do usability testing, they normally feign ignorance -- they test as if they were a user with limited knowledge.

I'm not upper management, but I've sent (and seen) similar emails when a prject went FUBAR.

Re:Then STOP releasing the product!

Reading the letter, it really doesn't sound like anything Gates would say. He's not an end user. As you said, he certainly should know why rebooting would be necessary when updating part of the OS.

That being said, Gates has nothing to worry about in regard to his personal reputation. There is no need for him to "talk himself up". Outside of the slashdot community and certain parts of the tech industry, he is highly regarded as a successful businessman and as a philanthropist.

Re:Then STOP releasing the product!

The letter is from the antitrust files, so it's certified.

The very interesting thing is that there is no single person at Microsoft who has the final say on how all of there stuff interacts together. Not even Bill has that clout (and if he did, he sucked at his job).

Maybe you think too much of the difficulties...

First, I am not sure that email is really by Gates -- from reading his writing or listening to him in the past, it really does not sound like his style. Also, "I reboot my computer ... why should I have to reboot my computer?" I find it hard to realize that he wouldn't know the technical difficulties in replacing a dll while the system is running, and possible ways around this, and the current state of affairs. However, maybe I'm giving too much credit here.

What he is probably alluding to is the fact that every other operating system under the sun (Linux, Sun, SPARC, Mac OSX, BSD) can replace 95% of the OS without rebooting. Only windows requires you to reboot to do something stupid like replace a DLL. I can overwrite any .SO in my OS without rebooting - this is something the UNix world figured out a long time ago (deref the file pointer, write the new file. People using the old pointer can continue to do so, newly started apps use the new pointer. Once install of software is complete, restart software impacted).

The only thing that should require a reboot is replacing the kernel itself or a low-level IO driver.

My God...

That's such a loaded and flamebait-ridden summary it's not even funny. Linux has plenty of usability issues, just like Windows - the quirks are just in different places.

Still, assuming the email is real of course, it's always nice to see the boss appreciate the problems from the regular user's perspective.

Re:My God...

Still, assuming the email is real of course, it's always nice to see the boss appreciate the problems from the regular user's perspective.

I was thinking the same - posting this story on /. is calling for the usual Microsoft bashing, but if the mail's real we should congratulate Gates. We need more bosses putting themselves on the end user shoes.

He didn't say to not sell it

q: How do you make a billion dollars?

a: no matter who complains about how crappy the new version of your product is, force its purchase onto your captive audience anyhow. Yay!

I thought this was a joke until I read this part..

Wow! I thought this was a joke until I read this part

When Seattle Pi recently asked Gates about the email, he replied, "There's not a day that I don't send a piece of e-mail ... like that piece of e-mail. That's my job."

The scary part

At the end of the piece, it says,

When Seattle Pi recently asked Gates about the email, he replied, "There's not a day that I don't send a piece of e-mail ... like that piece of e-mail. That's my job."

The founder, then-CEO and General Chief LordofitAll fires off irate messages on a daily basis, but the whole company steadfastly ignores him and continues to crank out crap?
Maybe the competent MS employees have long ago committed harakiri in shame, and whoever's left Just Don't Care...

Its real. Here are the links

The originial article: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/141821.asp [nwsource.com]

Here are the responses from within Microsoft: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/library/2003Jangatesmoviemaker.pdf [nwsource.com]

Re:Its real. Here are the links

The file he links to is rather older than that blog article, featuring on this website [slated.org] discussing the case Comes vs. Microsoft. It was one of several thousand files submitted as evidence by the plaintiffs [slated.org], specifically in this batch [slated.org] (file PX07199). This was a case back in 2007. Seeing as the version from 2007 has an evidence stamp, and the blog version doesn't, I suspect they're both copies of some original pdf found on the internet and therefore the veracity is still unclear.

Gates, you have to do this differently

I tried scoping to Media stuff. Still no moviemaker. I typed in movie. Nothing. I typed in movie maker. Nothing.

It does not work like that. You have to google moviemaker download [google.com]. There you go. First hit :)

Another rant by Microsoft-hater, who cares?

This billg guy is a known troll that bashes Windows at every opportunity. Remember him showing off Windows 95 and publicly making it bluescreen in front of an audience?

Microsoft has company

It's not Microsoft alone! This kind of frustration happens on the Linux platform everyday. Try setting up a printer...even that supported by Linux. You get into issues like CUPS as if you are supposed to know what the OS is gonna use to get the printer setup.

For God's sake...if I want to setup a printer, it should be the system's job to install ALL software needed to get it working. What is so difficult in that?

...Windows usability issues, and in many cases our experiences have driven many us over to Linux, or kept us there...

Let me remind the author of that line that we Linux users have still not made a dent on the desktop market. I can say, we are economically insignificant. This is despite perceived flaws in Windows. And by the way, Bill Gates was not frustrated over Windows in particular...he appears to have been frustrated by confusing names and un-necessary questions on the Windows website.

Assume it's real... so what?

What we have here is the boss complaining about the design of their own product. How is this news?

Is it only news because the slashdot kiddies find any reason to laugh at MS? Or is is news because no other company CEO ever complains about any products their company produces?

I have a dirty secret to admit. I have received an email from the big boss in the past complaining about features implemented by a product we produce. I feel dirty, obviously I'm in the minority. If I submit it to Slashdot, do you think it will make the front page?

Re:100% fake

That is NOT Gate's writing style and there are several mistakes as well that point to someone other than gates wrote the letter.

"I go to microsoft.com they have a download center" HUH? Cince when does the Head executive of the company refer to the company as "they" instead of "we"? I have never seen it even down to the grunt level.

This "secret memo" is bunk. it is in no way Bill Gates' writing.

Except this was entered as evidence in the DoJ trial. It's real and on the books.

Re:100% fake

I didn't think it sounded much like him, either, but googling the subject turned up this [66.102.9.104] (google cache version), which seems to make it more plausible ..

Re:100% fake

The email is real. It's in the court documents from the Comes vs Microsoft case. You can find it in PX07199.pdf from http://edge-op.org/iowa/www.iowaconsumercase.org/011607/7000/

Re:It's a FAAAAAAAAKE!

Don't you feel silly now after that pointless rant that it turns out to be real and part of the released court documents from the Comes vs Microsoft case?