Besieged Microsoft Is Humbled and Jittery nytimes.com
Sometimes I forget when Dowd or Reggie start slinging it here that I don't need to make up an original response, there's always something new from the press to throw back. Here, the good gray NYT wraps up the week, hearts and minds wise in Redmond, and it's not pretty. Worth a read, don't trust my excerps and sardonic comments.
Employees arrive at work after hearing themselves compared to a tobacco company or a 19th century trust on the evening news. Many say they are tired of having their integrity questioned every day, by the Justice Department, software rivals or neighbors.
The computer screen is no escape. More than 100 Web sites devoted to Microsoft hatred cast the company as the Evil Empire and Microsoft chairman Bill Gates as the devil, or much worse.
Oh, cripes, I'm sorry about that man of wealth and taste thing. Sheesh, I thought the logic was irrefutable, business is war, war is hell, and Bill is clearly the master, but it's all stupid metaphors. Cheer up, guys. Gotta have a thick skin if you're going to rule the world.
Last Oct. 31, on Halloween, just days after the government filed suit in which it accused Microsoft of violating a consent decree, Kinsley wore a Justice Department baseball cap to the campus. "I wore it because it was the scariest thing I could think of," Kinsley said. "Some people were not amused."
I am, though. Sorta like that piece in Slate by "Rick" Rule.
"We don't want our customers to see us as unnecessarily strident," said Greg Shaw, a Microsoft spokesman. "This is a company that respects justice and the courts, and respects capitalism."
Believe me, judge, we still respect you, even if you're an ignorant slut.
The change in tactics shows that many Microsoft officials realize suddenly that the company may be in serious trouble, and -- in their worst-case fear -- could even be broken apart by the Justice Department.
Oh, come on. Restore some files, redo some install scripts, test it- quite a lot of work, in fact it would not only destroy the integrity and uniformity of the Windows Experience, it would blow the whole company to smithereens. Or maybe they're starting to worry that Justice might take Urowsky's little dare about the Sherman Act seriously. Be careful what you wish for...
Anyway, in conclusion:
Segal, the former Microsoft department chief, painted a picture of tightly-wound company, despite its reputation for casual dress and slacker-generation slang.
"When you first go to work there, everyone feels like they're being watched by the smart police," he said. "It's a very telling sign of their culture, of not respecting the outside world."
He added: "We in America love to root for the underdog. We hate arrogance. Now, excuse me, but if Microsoft is now hated more than the government, what's the message? And do they get it?"
Offhand, I'd say there's only one guy who needs to get it. So far, the whole deal seems to be what I've called "Live by the PR sword, die by the PR sword." Sadly for Microsoft, I'd say a few too many people are starting to see what "Let Microsoft be Microsoft" really means, and what "standard Microsoft business practices" are. But who can say? Hearts and minds wise, though, looks like it's back to the drawing board.
Cheers, Dan. |
