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Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

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Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#271

Post by TulliusCicero »

ayewo wrote: post #148
TulliusCicero wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From what I know about MS, I can understand what they mean. Microsoft famously had teams at odds with each other, so if you "own" something across multiple teams and can't get them to actually work together or take a particular issue seriously, then you just have the shit end of responsibility without the authority to make stuff happen.

> Microsoft famously had teams at odds with each other, ... Instantly reminded me of this especially apt comic: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EyJfRwHWYAI0_yt?format=jpg [1] Also available here: https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/comments/6jw33z/int...

Exactly what I was thinking of too lol

Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#272

Post by bluegatty »

weitendorf wrote: post #198
bluegatty wrote: post #51

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 di…

"eak Microsoft is going to fix this given "it's 100% on him?" A"

? The CEO doesn't do the work, they assume and allocate responsibility.

It's 100% 'on Gates' because he failed to engender the right culture and process for creating the necessary outcomes.

"And do you think the guys on the line are the ones on this email thread?"

Yes, the execs on this thread should be (and probably are) 'on the line' - that's how that works, and it's why they are so reactive .. and finger-pointing.

The fact they are all finger pointing is a really bad sign.

Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#273

Post by tancop »

ViktorRay wrote: post #234
Razengan wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Soviet Union didn't fall, it got merged into Microsoft

It’s interesting how monopolistic corporations can fall prey to the same dynamics as authoritarian countries with centralized economies.

Both will eventually develop a strict hierarchy where you're only accountable to people up the chain of command, not down. There is no way to prevent that because it's a lot easier to keep one person satisfied than a whole team you're supposed to lead, so almost every manager naturally switches to working that way.

The only thing that can prevent it is a flat organization but one that has enough structure so an unofficial hierarchy can't form. And making that work is hard.

Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#274

Post by tonyedgecombe »

BlobberSnobber wrote: post #196
basisword wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

Pages has an export menu (File -> Export To -> PDF).

Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#275

Post by harrouet »

Try to open a support ticket with Microsoft and you'll get exactly the same experience: a maze of webpages that don't work, and the full corporate organization complexity to navigate.

Once a ticket is successfully opened, you'll realize that the support guy in India can't get the email answers you've sent them, and they'll close the ticket you've spent day to open. And you'll feel both powerless and speechless.

Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#276

Post by wiseowise »

saaaaaam wrote: post #57
sajithdilshan wrote: post #27

Read the whole thing and all I saw was zero accountability, zero ownership and zero consequences. That’s how great products die or become a nightmare. Every team keeps on passing the ball to other team and nothing gets fixed or done or improved.

But it didn’t. And Microsoft is worth $3.5 trillion. So maybe actually everyone should take a leaf out of the Microsoft book. When something is on fire, pass the buck to other people and stand around saying “that thing is on fire… wouldn’t it be great if someone called the fire brigade? I have the number here. One of you guys, give them a call.”

It did. Outlook, Windows and the rest of the MS products are nightmare. Lumia and Nokia are dead.

If it wasn’t for corpo contracts, Microsoft would be long dead.

Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#277

Post by wiseowise »

jameshart wrote: post #80
waltwalther wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For sure. This is consistent with how I would expect the TikTok generation to communicate. I would also add that not only does he know nothing about software development, but he knows even less about the basics of using his own computer.

This was an email Bill Gates sent in 2003. Not sure you can hold the ‘TikTok generation’ accountable for that.

Boomer/Millennial brain sees TikTok and shuts down instantly.

Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#278

Post by croon »

> So I went to Windows update. Windows Update decides I need to download a bunch of controls. Now just once but multiple times where I get to see weird dialog boxes.

> Doesn't Windows update know some key to talk to Windows?

> Then I did the scan. This took quite some time and I was told it was critical for me to download 17megs of stuff.

> This is after I was told we were doing delta patches to things but instead just to get 6 things that are labeled in the SCARIEST possible way I had to download 17meg.

> So I did the download. That part was fast. Then it wanted to do an install. This took 6 minutes and the machine was so slow I couldn't use it for anything else during this time.

> What the heck is going on during those 6 minutes? That is crazy. This is after the download was finished.

> Then it told me to reboot my machine. Why should I do that? I reboot every night - why should I reboot at that time?

> So I did the reboot because it INSISTED on it. Of course that meant completely getting rid of all my Outlook state.

It's amazing that Bill Gates experienced this 23 years ago, and yet nothing changed, at all.

Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#279

Post by saaaaaam »

left-struck wrote: post #252
saaaaaam wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it didn’t. And Microsoft is worth $3.5 trillion. So maybe actually everyone should take a leaf out of the Microsoft book. When something is on fire, pass the buck to other people and stand around saying “that thing is on fire… wouldn’t it be great if someone called the fire brigade? I have the number here. One of you guys, give them a call.”

Something is really broken when a broken company produces broken products and is doing great financially. I would not call this success. I would not want to emulate this.

Sorry, it was satire which doesn’t always come through in the written word, I wasn’t being serious :)

Re: Bill Gates tries to install MovieMaker (2003)

#280

Post by BlobberSnobber »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #274
BlobberSnobber wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

Pages has an export menu (File -> Export To -> PDF).

Well they should fix that ASAP
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