8 ms·

I avoid making generalization and try to stay away of anthropomorphizing companies. But this isn't the first, nor second, nor tenth time I watch Microsoft tryin

I avoid making generalization and try to stay away of anthropomorphizing companies. But this isn't the first, nor second, nor tenth time I watch Microsoft trying to smear the competition. Which doesn't seem to be common among other companies. It does gives us outsiders the impression that it's part of their company culture to try to sell more by smearing the competition instead of by building better products. How does that work on the managing level? Are Microsoft engineers encouraged from top down to do this? Is it just a culture that gets passed indirectly through informal conversation between employees that influences this behavior? Or is just the PR firm they hired that keeps insisting on the same weapon?

yanw 15y ago
Not sure about the logistics but when the IE team announced that P3P circumvention "story" through a PR agency, it got me thinking that it's PR initiated. They are in the habit of hiring these firms: http://falkvinge.net/2012/03/02/how-microsoft-pays-big-money-to-smear-google-audaciously/ http://falkvinge.net/2012/03/02/how-microsoft-pays-big-money...
Splines 15y ago
> Are Microsoft engineers encouraged from top down to do this? I'm an IC, and while there is bit a "boo Google" going on in the kool-aid, we don't sit around shaking our fist at them every moment we get. I try to use the best tools I can, whether it be that made by Google or MSFT or someone else. I look up MSDN documentation using Chrome, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
- mayanksinghal 15y ago
  This might just be a one off case that I heard of, but isn't not using IE shunned at MS? A classmate of mine interned there and was asked to use IE instead of FF. He did end up not hating the product, but I am not sure if the reason was love for IE or hatred towards not-MS products.
  - awa 15y ago
    No it isn't shunned... i regularly use chrome at Microsoft, Some peers stick to Microsoft products but I see a lot of people carrying iphone/androids around and using chrome and FF

yanw 15y ago

Not sure about the logistics but when the IE team announced that P3P circumvention "story" through a PR agency, it got me thinking that it's PR initiated. They are in the habit of hiring these firms: http://falkvinge.net/2012/03/02/how-microsoft-pays-big-money-to-smear-google-audaciously/ http://falkvinge.net/2012/03/02/how-microsoft-pays-big-money...

Splines 15y ago

> Are Microsoft engineers encouraged from top down to do this? I'm an IC, and while there is bit a "boo Google" going on in the kool-aid, we don't sit around shaking our fist at them every moment we get. I try to use the best tools I can, whether it be that made by Google or MSFT or someone else. I look up MSDN documentation using Chrome, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

mayanksinghal 15y ago
This might just be a one off case that I heard of, but isn't not using IE shunned at MS? A classmate of mine interned there and was asked to use IE instead of FF. He did end up not hating the product, but I am not sure if the reason was love for IE or hatred towards not-MS products.
- awa 15y ago
  No it isn't shunned... i regularly use chrome at Microsoft, Some peers stick to Microsoft products but I see a lot of people carrying iphone/androids around and using chrome and FF