The problem with Microsoft is in this office | Hacker News Reader

The problem with Microsoft is in this office

lancewiggs.com

13 pointslancewiggs5 comments

A little research shows the photo is not recent. It's being hotlinked from a wordpress.com blog, and a Tineye search shows it's from Time's 2008 TIME 100 (http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,17337...)

Who knows when it was taken, but it's at least 3 years old.

EDIT: Further Googling confirms the image was taken in 2006: http://stuartisett.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/PORTFOLIO-...

The comparison photo of Steve Jobs is from 2004 though, so the analogy he is making still holds IMHO.

Maybe I'm missing something, but this just comes off as a petty, baseless attack on Ballmer. Was it really necessary for them to explain why their home office is nicer than Ballmer's office at work? Why should I care if his desk or pinboard is ugly?

(I wrote the post) It's evidence that Ballmer is not end-user centric.

And yes - I should have said that my office was an example only, and that essentially any reader of this would have a better set-up. Being in a cafe would be a better set-up.

Ballmer is smart, very smart, and with a very sharp business mind. He went straight from Harvard undergrad to Stanford GSB (MBA School), then left after a year to work at Microsoft. He wasa great partner with Bill Gates, but I do not believe he's a product guy, and nor should he be in charge of product development.

Im a bit weary of the "the problem with microsoft is ..." articles.

Micorsoft is in an almost monopoly situation. And they don’t have to even try selling their stuff. It's pretty much an opt out model when you buy a computer. They got themselves into some tar with product quality on occasion. Some argue that they got out. I don't know or care - i'm not really using their stuff unless I have to.

Regardless of how much I disagree with their methods, I have to respond to this saying "I wish I had their kind of problems". Something makes me think that so do many of the "the problem with Microsoft" posters. But maybe it's just that the grass is greener on the other side.

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