5 ms·
In 1990 Microsoft hired all of the important talent from Borland who up until that point had been outpacing them in terms of product development. We got Access
by CSMastermind 3y ago
In 1990 Microsoft hired all of the important talent from Borland who up until that point had been outpacing them in terms of product development.
We got Access, Visual Studio, and .Net / C# as a direct result.
Borland faded into obscurity.
Hard not to feel like there will be a parallel here.
- pixelesque 3y agoAnders Hejlsberg didn't move to MS until 1996...
- yodon 3y ago>Anders Hejlsberg didn't move to MS until 1996... The point of the comment wasn't the specific date, it was the impact of hiring a competitor's team AND equipping that team to be even more impactful.
- CSMastermind 3y agoSorry I should have phrased that as starting in 1990... In 1990 they poached Brad Silverberg who then spent the next 7 years poaching all of Borland's top talent in the most prominent example of a competitive 'brain drain' strategy that I'm aware of. https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Borland-Says-Microsoft-Raided-Staff-2841016.php https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Borland-Says-Microso...
- pixelesque 3y agoFair point!
- threeseed 3y agoMicrosoft also acquired LinkedIn and Github. Both of which have been run as largely seperate entities.
- GaryNumanVevo 3y agoYep, if you wanted to move to MSFT from LinkedIn or vice versa, you needed to re-interview although finding a job rec and internal hiring manager was easier.
- buildbot 3y agoThat’s true for any internal transfer as far as I know, I re-interviewed for my current team and that was a transfer from within MS.
- peanuty1 3y agoYep. LinkedIn has a completely different pay scale and perks than regular Microsoft employees.
- thunkshift1 3y agoComing soon : Activision
- menshiki 3y agoIs it true for Zenimax and Mojang as well?
- jampekka 3y agoSataya's 5D chess is to save world from AGI by turning whatever OpenAI had into crap?
- fshr 3y agoThat was 33 years ago. What's the point of lingering on a potential parallel there? If it does go that way, how could you call it anything but a coincidence considering all the counter examples in Microsoft's history?
- robocat 3y agoI worked with Delphi for many years, and from what I saw Borland dug their own grave. I did commercial work with Turbo Pascal last century, and I can say that even that far back Borland was run horribly. And they've gone a long way downhill since 2000 (I have a friend still using Delphi and Embarcadero is terrible). Microsoft with VB spanked Delphi 2 (a Borland highlight) back in mid 90s. I really think you don't know what you are talking about. Delphi 7 was released in 2002 and you were "in high school in the early 2000s". We all love a good narrative, but yours has no base to belong to.