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An internal team 'hoodwinked' Bill Gates into launching the Xbox project

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Re: An internal team 'hoodwinked' Bill Gates into launching the Xbox project

#81

Post by aparsons »

abvdasker wrote: post #2

> "There was a meeting in a small conference room with Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. And Steve never, I don't think, ever thought it was a good idea. There's a story I've told where I was standing in line in the cafeteria with Kevin, and Steve Ballmer snuck up behind us and yelled in my ear, making me throw my food: 'YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE ALL OUR MONEY!'” Steve Ballmer might be the funniest dude ever to run a tech com…

Steve hated it. Bill hated what it turned out to be by 1999 (I left around then). Dave Cutler hated it. Eric Engstrom saw it more as a defensive strategy. Microsoft poured an incredible amount of talent and resources that would have gone towards the Web into Xbox.

Re: An internal team 'hoodwinked' Bill Gates into launching the Xbox project

#82

Post by tapirl »

bobobob420 wrote: post #20
rantwasp wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

nah. I think Balmer did wonders for Ms. It’s really easy to blame the guy but I think it’s important to look at the context (of when he took over, what he actually did) also, he is the only CEO I routinely saw at the “corporate gym” in Redmond before the pandemic struck. No bodyguards, no nothings. Like a regular dude going to the gym, hanging out in the sauna/jacuzzi. He had a super positive attitude towards the sta…

He botched Microsoft pretty bad.. windows 8 was his hallmark project no? And the beginning of surface was not that good. Once Satya took over Microsoft became a powerhouse again with their cloud/office integration + focus on azure.

Windows 8 is the win OS I have happiest experiences with. It has far less bugs than windows 10, even today's windows 10.

It is windows 8 let me return from Linux to Windows, and it is windows 10 let me back to Linux again.

Re: An internal team 'hoodwinked' Bill Gates into launching the Xbox project

#83

Post by nitrogen »

macintux wrote: post #65
unnouinceput wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The market did not moved to mobile. Mobile is alongside desktop. People like diversity and mobile offered another one. And people who have only mobile in their homes are poor that can't afford desktop but I see mobile as a gateway drug to desktop. Once people will have enough money, will also buy desktop exactly because mobile hooked them in the first place.

The numbers to this point disagree, and I don't think you'll find a lot of support for your prediction of a change in direction. https://www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/mobile-desktop-internet...

You can't really use percentages to say that something has declined if the whole pie is growing, and web use is maybe the one thing that looks least favorable for desktops.

Re: An internal team 'hoodwinked' Bill Gates into launching the Xbox project

#84

Post by sneak »

grababner wrote: post #74

'He tells us: "Eventually somebody would come back to you with your idea – they would say, 'Hey, you know, this doesn't need Windows at all'. And you have to control your urge to fucking kill them, because you've been telling them that for two years and now they finally come up with it like it's their idea. But that's the Jedi mind trick." ' OMG. I learned this a few years ago working in a corp environment with stubb…

> to get one of these types on board with your idea you have to find a way to convince them the idea was originally theirs

I forget where I read it, but I recall reading several times that this was how people at Apple had to present stuff to Steve Jobs to get him onboard with it. He'd initially dismiss it, then come back with the exact same idea as if it were his own.

EDIT: According to this URL, it was from the Isaacson biography: https://www.nhbr.com/emulate-steve-jobs-with-your-eyes-open/

Re: An internal team 'hoodwinked' Bill Gates into launching the Xbox project

#85

Post by turtlebits »

Iv wrote: post #23
pupppet wrote: post #13

>But look, the reality is that, again, you need to remember that this is a company that doesn't understand games, let alone consoles." ...so let’s make a game console?

The few games Microsoft did were actually pretty good. Age of Empire is still going on today.

Microsoft didn't develop it, they just published 1 and 2 until they bought the development studio.

Re: An internal team 'hoodwinked' Bill Gates into launching the Xbox project

#86

Post by unishark »

sneak wrote: post #84
grababner wrote: post #74

'He tells us: "Eventually somebody would come back to you with your idea – they would say, 'Hey, you know, this doesn't need Windows at all'. And you have to control your urge to fucking kill them, because you've been telling them that for two years and now they finally come up with it like it's their idea. But that's the Jedi mind trick." ' OMG. I learned this a few years ago working in a corp environment with stubb…

> to get one of these types on board with your idea you have to find a way to convince them the idea was originally theirs I forget where I read it, but I recall reading several times that this was how people at Apple had to present stuff to Steve Jobs to get him onboard with it. He'd initially dismiss it, then come back with the exact same idea as if it were his own. EDIT: According to this URL, it was from the Isaa…

That's what set Steve Jobs apart. Your typical executive could take months between rejecting your idea and proposing it as their own. But Jobs could compress this down to a week.

Re: An internal team 'hoodwinked' Bill Gates into launching the Xbox project

#87

Post by oblio »

unishark wrote: post #86
sneak wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> to get one of these types on board with your idea you have to find a way to convince them the idea was originally theirs I forget where I read it, but I recall reading several times that this was how people at Apple had to present stuff to Steve Jobs to get him onboard with it. He'd initially dismiss it, then come back with the exact same idea as if it were his own. EDIT: According to this URL, it was from the Isaa…

That's what set Steve Jobs apart. Your typical executive could take months between rejecting your idea and proposing it as their own. But Jobs could compress this down to a week.

I'm amazed how absolutely every character flaw Jobs had gets turned into a positive. If I had a nickel for how many times I've seen this happen on the internet, I'd be rich.

Re: An internal team 'hoodwinked' Bill Gates into launching the Xbox project

#88

Post by visarga »

unishark wrote: post #86
sneak wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> to get one of these types on board with your idea you have to find a way to convince them the idea was originally theirs I forget where I read it, but I recall reading several times that this was how people at Apple had to present stuff to Steve Jobs to get him onboard with it. He'd initially dismiss it, then come back with the exact same idea as if it were his own. EDIT: According to this URL, it was from the Isaa…

That's what set Steve Jobs apart. Your typical executive could take months between rejecting your idea and proposing it as their own. But Jobs could compress this down to a week.

... /s ?

Re: An internal team 'hoodwinked' Bill Gates into launching the Xbox project

#90

Post by loosescrews »

Has Xbox ever been profitable for Microsoft? The rumors I have always heard indicated that it wasn't [1]. Maybe it was worthwhile for protecting their Windows business, maybe they never should have bothered. Even if it is profitable now (I can't find any information one way or another), it doesn't seem like it turned out to be a worthwhile investment. Maybe Steve Ballmer was right?

[1] https://www.cgmagonline.com/2017/08/14/microsofts-xbox-never...

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