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