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Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

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Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#191

My favorite bit about this is how none of the execs want to take ownership of the change, but instead trying to put someone else in the hot seat and/or start a Committee. This feels like an email that should have been blasted to the entire company. Top-down, empower employees to think of a more unified experience. Then again, all of the external jokes about Microsoft indicate that every department is fighting for the…

Somebody really oughta do something about this mess!

Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#193

I love the fact that 2 days after the ceo surfaced basic usability issues there was still no tangible action plan. It’s insane how much runway a monopoly can buy you.

I honestly think that "doing nothing" was actually their best outcome. If they had actually been serious about solving it, it would have been something like

  Situation: there are 14 competing and incompatible ways to obtain Windows software (owned by 23 different teams)

  Ridiculous! We'll come up with a single unified interface

  (After 3 years of development and delays) Situation: there are 18 competing and incompatible ways to obtain Windows software (owned by 31 different teams)

Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#194
post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's basically 'user rant' - not what one would expect from a leader. It is absolutely a user rant, but it's entirely appropriate for a leader to call out "this is not okay; this is a garbage experience". > who are obviously being 'reactive' and moving in a bit of a frenzy. That was the intent. "Fix this." This was an email to a bunch of execs who are capable of driving the actual fixes. If Gates needs to hand hold…

completely disagree 1) sending the org into a reactive frenzy on the minor issue when the structural issue is the problem - is bad. He's also pointing them at the symptom and not the cause. 2) 'taking responsibility' is not 'vacuous corporate speak' - that's a terribly cynical view. It's literally the case - the leader takes respnosbility because they failed to set the conditions for the good outcome. Gates failed to…

> 2) 'taking responsibility' is not 'vacuous corporate speak' - that's a terribly cynical view. It's literally the case - the leader takes respnosbility because they failed to set the conditions for the good outcome.

Tbh it seems like you're autistic and simply don't understand how such a "o take responsibility" message really looks like and what effect it'd have.

Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#195

I love the fact that 2 days after the ceo surfaced basic usability issues there was still no tangible action plan. It’s insane how much runway a monopoly can buy you.

I honestly think that "doing nothing" was actually their best outcome. If they had actually been serious about solving it, it would have been something like Situation: there are 14 competing and incompatible ways to obtain Windows software (owned by 23 different teams) Ridiculous! We'll come up with a single unified interface (After 3 years of development and delays) Situation: there are 18 competing and incompatible…

(This appears to be a reference to https://xkcd.com/927/)

Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no File > Export?!

File > Share is the same, just more user friendly language. I get it's a bit confusing if you've been using computers for a long time (it's certainly caught me out), but 'Share' makes much more sense. Especially because export/save to disk is only one of the multiple 'Share' options available.

Yes! It makes total sense to share with myself a Pages document as PDF! I‘ll promptly think of sharing if all I want to do is save/export a file in a different format. I think we can extend that helpful language to the entire OS! No need for a “copy” or “download” button, it’s all sharing, one way or another! Share share share!

Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no File > Export?!

File > Share is the same, just more user friendly language. I get it's a bit confusing if you've been using computers for a long time (it's certainly caught me out), but 'Share' makes much more sense. Especially because export/save to disk is only one of the multiple 'Share' options available.

> just more user friendly language

you try to justify it in a logical way, but you fail to realize that this is inherently subjective

Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#198

They think it's 'some issues' :) :) :) It's a fundamental, cultural and systemic lack of concern for those issues. An 'afterthought' that should be 'integral'. That Gates did not realize that means it's 100% on him. 1000% actually. He was struggling with the language of design and usability in 2003, not even realizing even the implications of what he was seeing (because it would require total rethink). Like a cars co…

How exactly do you think Bill Gates at peak Microsoft is going to fix this given "it's 100% on him?" And do you think the guys on the line are the ones on this email thread?

This is immensely more "ownership"/initiative than the vast majority of middle managers at any tech company would willingly take to solve a minor UX/CUJ failure, that's surely literally why he started the email thread and including the ones he did, to model that behavior for the the other middle management bozos and to try to instill a culture of caring about their work/whether it actually accomplishes the intended goals.

Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#199
post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah. In context the answers make a lot of sense: it’s a dysfunctional company where ownership is non-existent and getting shit done is hard. This is how learned helplessness looks like when you’re a high level executive.

> This is how learned helplessness looks like when you’re a high level executive. Must be nice being so useless, yet getting paid so much. Though I guess these people must have been good at politicking to rise so high.

I mean, you're 100% right, but what's the alternative? They wanna keep the salary. The machine rewards political people, not people who pick fights to improve the product. It's a perfect pair. :/

Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference in complexity between my go and my Python docker image is actually hilarious. 100s of files and package managers and npm and whatever else.. vs 1 file.

Where does NPM play in to the build?

Npm always finds its way in, usually for building web artifacts.
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