Why "Vista" Nick White Left Microsoft 130
An anonymous reader writes "Earlier this week Nick White, Product Manager for Windows Vista and blogger at WindowsVistaBlog, announced that he was leaving Microsoft. Geek.com previously interviewed Nick about what SP1 for Vista was all about, so they sat down with him yesterday to get the details behind his departure, his proudest moments at Microsoft, a few regrettable moments, and more."
No, no (Score:1, Insightful)
Proudest Moment: (Score:4, Funny)
Most disappointing moment:
Vista wins the coveted "Glass Turd" award.
Windows 7? Going 2 for 2.
I'll give them another chance: (Score:3, Interesting)
I think there's still a lot of life left in the concept of a Personal Computer Operating System. I use a PC to produce media, and that's not something I expect to be doing o
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So do I. I'm also hoping this will be the year of linux and that Stallman will shave his beard.
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Re:I'll give them another chance: (Score:5, Funny)
Did I mention that when I bought my first copy of XP, I had to run across the parking lot ducking sniper fire?
what microsoft does to your communication skills.. (Score:2, Insightful)
Q: Did you ever post something that Microsoft wished you hadn't?
A: The first post I put up was on the use of BitTorrents to distribute Beta 2, and I gave it a rather sensationalistic title. It got senior management's attention, and from there we had a blank check to engage anyone we needed in order to get the story in time for it to be relevant to our readers.
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Well, the first time was running OS/2. It just worked... and worked... and worked... 6-9 months uptime between reboots was unremarkable, except that all the other OSes for PCs at the time had uptime in days or, optimistically, weeks.
Fast forward almost a decade, and we have another incarnation of computer pleasantness: OS X. Another system that pretty much just works and works and works.
Of course, both of those are "common" user OSes. If you went with th
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I like OSX, too. However there are so many high-end audio plugins and VSTi that don't yet work on an Intel Mac that I can't fully use it yet. I have other reasons for not making a Mac my main production machine that are admittedly more idiosyncratic. One of them is that I'm really uncomfortable associating with religious zealots. I had a bad experience when a neighbor saw me carrying my old dual G4 into my house and decided that we w
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Seriously, I hate this attitude, and it says more about your own insecurities than it does the reality of MOST Mac users. I'm almost starting to understand what it must be like to be the victim of racism, given the attitudes people hold about me, because I use a Mac, without even knowing me.
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Multiple tabs in Opera plays weird because I have no idea how to make them view the tab to the right if you close one tab, and I don't want to close them in the way I have viewed them if I open lots of tabs (Like say I have 10 tabs, I find a page with screenshots and open 10 new tabs, then I close the page and want to get to one of the screenshots, but ohno, opera will view the last page I viewed instead, since the new ones doesn'
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Safari, real: 448MB, VSIZE: 1.48GB.
I'm amazed how it still are only at 448MB actually... But anyway, I wasn't mentioning virtual ram.
20-30 tabs in Safari for a day will take you there
I need to buy 4GB, but I should send this MBP back to Apple for warranty fixes so I haven't yet because I guess they will whine if I don't have the original modules with the machine aswell.
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For those not into RTFA (Score:5, Funny)
Re:For those not into RTFA (Score:4, Insightful)
It's actually just about how he likes to blog, he's generally positive on Microsoft, claiming that they allowed him complete freedom to write whatever he wanted to in his blog. His reason for leaving was basically that he thought the new job with some start up was a 'big opportunity' for him.
Nick vs MSFT negotiation tactics (Score:1)
MSFT: Nick, Vista was a complete flop. We are holding you responsible. You can either leave and say that you were chasing another opportunity and save face or we'll...
(your choice)
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Regrettable moments
Eeenteresting (Score:5, Funny)
Unfortunately it's one of the laws of PR that a dishonest PR person can claim to be honest just as easily as an honest one.
Ah well. I have faith in humanity! I believe him.
Re:Eeenteresting (Score:5, Funny)
Can you please give me the contact info for your drug dealer ? I want some of whatever the hell you're on.
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What a bunch of convoluted nonsense (Score:4, Insightful)
Mmmmm, the lovely taste of vomit. I never knew 'shaping opionion' by 'sharing information' was what 'bloggers do best'. That statement is even more ironic considering only a few paragraphs earlier he said:
I won't argue with whether Vista is good or bad, because what galls me about this interview is not the debate over Vista but the man's presumptions about his audience and the supposed purpose of marketing being to '[change] the prevailing âoewisdomâ around [the product], one user at a time[...]'. And one does this by 'to explain things in terms that didnâ(TM)t sound like spin but rather presented the facts without being leading, and in a manner that respected our readersâ(TM) intelligence.'
Because, 'I learned that companies ignore or attempt to manipulate public opinion around their products and services at their peril.' And we know Microsoft (or any other corporate "blogger" (I'm sorry, let's call him what he is: Shill) would never do such a thing - right? I mean, Lord help the company that tries to 'manipulate public opinion' with lies - whoops, I mean market-speak.
Asshole.
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I'm sorry, let's call him what he is: Shill
Folks, words have meanings.
Specifically, in this case, a shill is "an accomplice of a hawker, gambler, or swindler who acts as an enthusiastic customer to entice or encourage others."
Now.
Can you produce any evidence that while this guy was blogging for Microsoft that he in any way hid his affiliation? If you can't, then he's not a shill. He may be something else, but that being the case, you should have picked the correct word for whatever it is you want to call him.
Re:What a bunch of convoluted nonsense (Score:5, Informative)
Re:What a bunch of convoluted nonsense (Score:5, Funny)
Would you quit shilling for Merriam-Webster?
--
I was ugly and had no penis until I tried Ma Rainey's Moleskin Cookies!
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Every dictionary I have consulted so far has taken the opposite view.
My advise to you: consult more dictionaries. The definition you use is also equally valid, but there are multiple accepted definitions...
dictionary.com: 2. a person who publicizes or praises something or someone for reasons of self-interest, personal profit, or friendship or loyalty; 4. to advertise or promote (a product) as or in the manner of a huckster; hustle
m-w.com: 2v. to act as a spokesperson or promoter; 1n a: one who acts as a decoy (as for a pitchman or gambler) b: one who makes a sales pi
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m-w.com: 2v. to act as a spokesperson or promoter; 1n a: one who acts as a decoy (as for a pitchman or gambler) b: one who makes a sales pitch or serves as a promoter
The word "decoy" indicates deception, which fits my definition better.
wiktionary: 1n: A person paid to endorse a product favourably, while pretending to be impartial.
Again, this fellow never pretended to be impartial.
encarta: 2. self-interested promoter: somebody who promotes somebody else or makes a sales pitch for something for reasons of self-interest
I, and a majority of the dictionaries that have been quoted in this thread disagree with that definition. To be a shill, you must misrepresent yourself to your audience. Any definition that does not include that element is incorrect.
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He wasn't then.
He is now.
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1. Was compensated by Microsoft.
2. Said nice things about Microsoft.
3. Did not tell his readers about point #1.
Since #1 is no longer in effect, he is not a shill. Since #3 was not in effect back when #1 was, he wasn't a shill then either.
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No, he's not a shill [wikipedia.org] because everyone knew what the blog was and who was hosting it. He also openly admits that he was working for Microsoft which is completely opposite of what a shill would do while astroturfing.
To call him an asshole might be true, I don't know him personally but to call him an asshole because you confused about what the words you use mean is another
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Unicode differences between Widows and the Mac, I presume. Using Firefox on OS X 10.5, and all I did was cut and paste the text in. Didn't notice the problem in preview or I would have hand edited out the errors.
And we care why? (Score:5, Insightful)
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SLASHDOTNEWSFLASH! Bill gates is getting coffee at a starbucks right now!
Read more... 3225 star wars quotes and other
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lurk moar plzkthx.
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Re:And we care why? (Score:4, Insightful)
And now that kind of things happening to a company that is part of
spin spin spin (Score:4, Insightful)
rolodex, rolodex,
blah. why are there even MORE stories about this on slashdot. it was obviously hype to benefit nick, benefit his new employer, and then play down the MS leaving angle to make somewhat/all nice with his old employer. everybody wins. even slashdot. go go gadget newscycle.
everybody except me, im the idiot taking the time to click the link and write this little rant. and you're the idiots taking the time to mod me -1 troll and +5 underrated.
*headdesk*
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blah. why are there even MORE stories about this on slashdot. it was obviously hype to benefit nick, benefit his new employer, and then play down the MS leaving angle to make somewhat/all nice with his old employer. everybody wins. even slashdot. go go gadget newscycle.
everybody except me, im the idiot taking the time to click the link and write this little rant. and you're the idiots taking the time to mod me -1 troll and +5 underrated.
It's called "circlejerk". [urbandictionary.com]
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to summarize.... (Score:1)
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Why is he leaving? (Score:3, Funny)
How you interpret that now is up to you, I think both ways could be true.
Save your time - he said nothing (Score:3, Informative)
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On the thi
He said nothing, because ... (Score:2, Interesting)
ZZZzzz.... (Score:2, Informative)
"PR had a voice in what content appeared on the blog but they were only one stakeholder among many."
It was the only statement he made that had any substance. And if you think for one minute there never has been, isn't, never will be a muzzle on this dude:
[geek] "What feature did you want to see in Vista that was dropped at the last minute and why?"
[nw]"I came onto the Windows team too late to have an informed opinion, and what I do know should probably remain non-public information. Sorry."
Pfff
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My take (Score:5, Informative)
"Did you ever post something that Microsoft wished you hadnâ(TM)t?
The first post I put up was on the use of BitTorrents to distribute Beta 2, and I gave it a rather sensationalistic title. It got senior managementâ(TM)s attention, and from there we had a blank check to engage anyone we needed in order to get the story in time for it to be relevant to our readers. So while it was perhaps a risky route to go in the short-term, it was that story that ensured our blog was apportioned the resources necessary to get the job done right. In short, Iâ(TM)d do it again and in the same way (only Iâ(TM)d blame it all on my managers
If you read this, he never answer the freakin question, as asked! In fact, he said he'd do it again. I don't know if that was sarcasm, which doesn't work well in written form, or what.
Why can't people ever answer the question? Seriously. Crap crap crap. I just wasted 5 minutes
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The real reason... (Score:4, Funny)
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Very boring article, don't bother to RTFA (Score:3, Informative)
There's no way he'd ruin his career by giving us any dirt on Microsoft and Vista, future employers wouldn't like that. He's probably signed an NDA anyway.
New job training astroturfers (Score:4, Insightful)
Q: "Are you going to be blogging for BuzzCorps?"
A: "The new gig is not about me blogging, it's about helping bloggers do what they do best - shape opinion through the sharing of information"
So he's moved on to a far more luctrative career in training astroturfers. Great.
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New innovation at last! (Score:2)
I'm now part of BuzzCorps, a word-of-mouth marketing firm
I always thought that Word of Mouth Communications (WoM) could be a great way to spread news about the best products and companies, but I realized that my friends were simply unable to communicate their thoughts and opinions all on their own.
That's likely why I went and installed Linux - the word-of-mouth for Windows just simply wasn't there.
But now there is a whole emerging INDUSTRY leveraging the idea of word-of-mouth!
Just think: This new industry could make this whole recession thing go away by spreadi
Regrets? (Score:3, Informative)
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MS Speak (Score:2, Interesting)
OMG! The details behind his departure! (Score:2)
Wow, I'm really interested in this! What were the details behind his departure from Microsoft... I'll bet it was something really juicy...
Uh.
I tied my bathrobe for this?
Sigh. Nickrolled.
Very Shallow "interview" (Score:2)
He was a blogger for Microsoft and whose job it was to report news about Windows Vista's superior functionality. Every experience he had was great, challenging, and emotionally rewarding.
I don't like spin, and that's all this "interview" is. I'm not in the market for any bridges or swampland.
Re:Vista windowing (Score:5, Funny)
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It's not only microsoft that can fuck up graphics.
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I call BULL. A MacBook Pro has tons more graphic power than my MacBook, and my MacBook doesn't do it. My 8-year old G4 doesn't do it (even with only 768mb ram, stock ATI video card, while driving two 18" CRTs).
Don't forget, Apple has about a five year head-start on having windows that actually show the content when you move them arou
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Re:Propaganda (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm glad you brought that up.
Here is an example;
"Frankly, I think Windows Vista has gotten a bum rap, as I use it every day - even after having left MS - and I would have a hard time using anything else and still be as productive."
He gave the reason I gave up on Vista. I couldn't get anything done. In a meeting I tried to show a DVD. It started OK but stopped to ask if I wanted to upgrade my AV. The stupid computer asked me to upgrade now, even though we were doing a presentation and had no network connections at the time. I wounder if it would have crashed if I told it to upgrade.
We wrote documents and tried to send them to the laser instead of the default inkjet printer. Couldn't find any way to do it without changing the default printer. Later a Google search told me to use the big round logo. It's really a button. Who would of guessed?
The Ubuntu install went fine. I was able to log into my network, attach to printers, edit documents, burn CD's, edit photos, scan documents, etc. on the default setup. Vista was full of shareware requesting upgrades for everything. Almost nothing worked. It couldn't log into my servers, I couldn't select printers without a Google search, and movies stopped after playing for 15 minutes for a stupid dialog box.
With lots of training and system customization, I might be able to become productive on Vista, but the first attempts very poor.
Re:Propaganda (Score:5, Insightful)
- The DVD playback software doesn't sound a Vista component itself, although it's hard to tell from your description.
- "stopped to ask if I wanted to upgrade my AV" - Anti-Virus? That sounds like a 3rd party component rather than a piece of Vista.
- The "big round logo" is a part of Office 2007, which is not part of Vista. It looks exactly the same on XP.
- The "Shareware requesting updates" are not part of Vista and were installed by your computer manufacturer.
Sounds like you got a crappy OEM machine and none of these are really Vista issues
Re:Propaganda (Score:5, Insightful)
My point is a new Visya machine out of the box from most retailers is not production worthy. It needed an Office Application. Office 2007 has it's own issues. Sorry I mentioned it. My Linux machine came with an office application installed and it worked, was intuitive and the minor bugs were easy to figure out. The biggest annoyance was the default printer paper setting of A4 instead of Letter. It did not require a Google search to fix.
The stopped to ask, I do blame on Vista. When updates are available in Ubuntu for a background task, it simply winks the toolbar item, not stop the foreground task like it did in Vista. This is a Vista fault. I've seen the same task done much better elsewhere.
The Shareware requesting updates being installed by the computer manufacture is a problem with Vista. They should not need the DeCrapifier right out of the box to fix a new machine.
The fix is here;
http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/home [pcdecrapifier.com]
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Erm... It's the way most people get a copy of Vista. The license permits this crap... So out of the box, it arrives very badly broken. This is Vista's fault. That crap should be on an included CD just in case you are interested in any special offers....
Re:Propaganda (Score:4, Informative)
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Now vendors should get a rap on the knuckles for installing any software that isn't a full functioning product. You want to install a photo editor, fine, but it better not expire. Only subscription based services such as AV updates should require a payment to get the signature file updates. Nobody should have to sweep off all the declined offers. They should a
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Entering a device ID of lpd://192.168.1.105/lp1 is much easer in linux than putting that same information in Vista. I think it took 3 dialog pages to connect my Wife's Vista machine to the same printer. Try it sometime. What information goes where is not intuitive a
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Indeed, that was more of a rant against OEM crap than Vista, and you'll find no love for OEM crap anywhere on Slashdot.
It should not have been modded up.
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- And the AV is not necessarily 3rd party. Vista comes bundled with an AV. And, quite frankly, nobody loves those little popup windows like Microsoft.
- Not being able to log onto servers is a big bummer, too, especially if you need those servers to do wo
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More important, why shoud a pop-up on the laptop screen stop the running full screen movie on the projection screen? This is just plain bad design.
And the AV is not necessarily 3rd party. Vista comes bundled with an AV. And, quite frankly, nobody loves those little
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Although it sounds like you mostly had issues with an OEM install, rather than Vista, I switched to the Mac because it worked so much better on the Windows 2003 network at work than XP. I'm sure Ubuntu would have done just as well, but I need to run a lot of specific software that isn't available on Linux.
Well, it's not available on OSX either, but VMware Fusion takes care of that.
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You got me there. It's my wife's new machine. She got it for school. She wanted to connecto to the home LAN. No prob, gave it what it needed to get on the web. Set it up to use our networked printers, and inkjet and laser. She wanted to transfers her stuff from her very old Win ME laptop. She transferred the files to the Si
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