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It's amazing to think that such a massive behemoth could change direction in so little time.

by hliyan 11y ago

nateabele 11y ago
This change has actually been brewing for a long time. I was at a summit they held for Open Source project leaders back in 2008, and we got to sit down with the dev teams for IIS, SQL Server, and some of their web dev tools. They were extremely open, helpful, and just wanted to collaborate on cool stuff. There were only a few pockets of "New Microsoft" back then, but they were there if you looked, and they were working their asses off to change the culture. Clearly their work has paid off.
- NicoJuicy 11y ago
  I think some evangelists ( Phil Haack ( now @ github), Scott Guthrie, Scott Hanselman, ...) were ahead of Nadal when changing perception about Microsoft in terms of opensource and community.. It was a bottom-top approach with Nadal as result. Ballmer couldn't understand the new wave. Just like many "old" CEO's of software companies don't understand. I know companies who still keep programming in Access and Terminal Server, Asp forms, ... Just because their boss understands that.
  - curiousDog 11y ago
    Haha, yeah and to think of it I always rooted for Federer ;)
    - octatoan 11y ago
      GP probably meant Nadella, if someone's wondering.
yitchelle 11y ago
I am amazed by this observations well. I can't help but wonder if the change was already on the way when Nadella took over as CEO. The change as being pushed from the inside outwards, probably mostly by the MS tech folks. Because it is mostly the tech folks that care about type of transparency.
raverbashing 11y ago
I'd say moving the masses might be easier to move than the upper management The higher-ups have more to lose (in terms of encroached positions) and don't usually eat their own dog food.
InclinedPlane 11y ago
Not really. Microsoft has always had two sides, two forces constantly warring with each other internally. Microsoft is and always has been chock full of serious, 100% authentic "hackers". And those have driven the company as much as high level business decisions over the years. Microsoft has long been a proponent for things like open platforms (such as the original PC design) and has long tried to be a good citizen within the computing industry. There was a period of time when those voices were muted compared to the voices of hard-nosed business types but you can see those forces re-asserting themselves in the current iteration of microsoft.
- 7952 11y ago
  For years the hackers/pundits were telling MS to adopt a more inviting buisness plan with free versions etc. It is possible that this approach could be detrimental even if they hace good products. It is ironic that as consumer Windows has become a more polished product they have removed the premium pricing in favour of app stores and subscriptions.
  - tdkl 11y ago
    Which control panel do I need to open to get that "polished" feature you're mentioning, the Metro or the old one ?
    - 7952 11y ago
      Oh yes I agree that it doesn't come close to achieveing polish, but that is surely the aspiration.
- osullivj 11y ago
  And good evidence for this has been how developer friendly MS has always been. As Ballmer put it "developers, developers, developers!" Even at their most Netscape destroying height of evilness, MS was always great at documentation, code samples, dev events etc

It's amazing to think that such a massive behemoth could change direction in so little time.

by hliyan 11y ago

It's amazing to think that such a massive behemoth could change direction in so little time.

This change has actually been brewing for a long time. I was at a summit they held for Open Source project leaders back in 2008, and we got to sit down with the dev teams for IIS, SQL Server, and some of their web dev tools. They were extremely open, helpful, and just wanted to collaborate on cool stuff. There were only a few pockets of "New Microsoft" back then, but they were there if you looked, and they were working their asses off to change the culture. Clearly their work has paid off.

NicoJuicy 11y ago
I think some evangelists ( Phil Haack ( now @ github), Scott Guthrie, Scott Hanselman, ...) were ahead of Nadal when changing perception about Microsoft in terms of opensource and community.. It was a bottom-top approach with Nadal as result. Ballmer couldn't understand the new wave. Just like many "old" CEO's of software companies don't understand. I know companies who still keep programming in Access and Terminal Server, Asp forms, ... Just because their boss understands that.
- curiousDog 11y ago
  Haha, yeah and to think of it I always rooted for Federer ;)
  - octatoan 11y ago
    GP probably meant Nadella, if someone's wondering.

yitchelle 11y ago

I am amazed by this observations well. I can't help but wonder if the change was already on the way when Nadella took over as CEO. The change as being pushed from the inside outwards, probably mostly by the MS tech folks. Because it is mostly the tech folks that care about type of transparency.

raverbashing 11y ago

I'd say moving the masses might be easier to move than the upper management The higher-ups have more to lose (in terms of encroached positions) and don't usually eat their own dog food.

InclinedPlane 11y ago

Not really. Microsoft has always had two sides, two forces constantly warring with each other internally. Microsoft is and always has been chock full of serious, 100% authentic "hackers". And those have driven the company as much as high level business decisions over the years. Microsoft has long been a proponent for things like open platforms (such as the original PC design) and has long tried to be a good citizen within the computing industry. There was a period of time when those voices were muted compared to the voices of hard-nosed business types but you can see those forces re-asserting themselves in the current iteration of microsoft.

7952 11y ago
For years the hackers/pundits were telling MS to adopt a more inviting buisness plan with free versions etc. It is possible that this approach could be detrimental even if they hace good products. It is ironic that as consumer Windows has become a more polished product they have removed the premium pricing in favour of app stores and subscriptions.
- tdkl 11y ago
  Which control panel do I need to open to get that "polished" feature you're mentioning, the Metro or the old one ?
  - 7952 11y ago
    Oh yes I agree that it doesn't come close to achieveing polish, but that is surely the aspiration.
osullivj 11y ago
And good evidence for this has been how developer friendly MS has always been. As Ballmer put it "developers, developers, developers!" Even at their most Netscape destroying height of evilness, MS was always great at documentation, code samples, dev events etc