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I remember going into someone’s office at microsoft after I first joined (back when everyone there had an office- it’s all open office now) and seeing a Dreamcast on someone’s shelf and being really confused. He explained he did most of the DirectX port for it and told me some of the details about working in it. It was a fascinating look into what might have been.

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Microsoft went open plan?! I've not been on the campus in years. I always loved the little offices with everyone's past projects on the shelves.

Next you'll be telling me they got rid of all those free snacks and drinks.

I think MS went open plan starting in '07 with the "The Commons" campus. Some parts like Bungie were open plan much earlier. (The Bungie team demanded it, they felt it improved collaboration.)

But before that, regular MS engineers were often "temporarily" doubled up or tripled up in their offices, so going open plan wasn't as much of a difference as it might have been.

In the old days people's computers and monitors were physically much larger, you needed multiple computers to multi-task, and you needed lots of paper documentation. One reason we're open-plan now is that people can be very productive with a chair, laptop, and 24" monitor.

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