A Press Junket To Redmond

christian.einfeldt writes "Our very own Roblimo Miller was invited to an all-expenses-paid tour of the Microsoft campus because he is supposedly 'not friendly' to Microsoft. Writes Roblimo: 'I came away with a sense that Microsoft doesn't currently have a clear sense of what Microsoft should be and where Microsoft should be going... I also think, from what I heard during my visit and what other Microsoft employees and customers have told me at other times, that it has degenerated into a series of disconnected fiefdoms that aren't all moving in the same direction.'" Linux.com and Slashdot are both owned by OSTG.

They only found 10 people?

[elcid73]

Supposedly, a total of 10 people were invited, specifically chosen because they were not friendly toward Microsoft.

I think they could have looked a little harder for people "not friendly" to MS.

Re:why?

[Bieeanda]

With apologies to the Church Lady:

Could it be... terror?

Moo

[Chacham]

Roblimo goes to Microsoft and there's no itsatrap [slashdot.org] tag? This is very unsettling.

Re:What were they thinking?

[Macthorpe]

My thoughts exactly.

What I was going to say was:

Newsflash: Pro-Linux reporter invited to visit Microsoft and gives biased report.

Later on in this show: A group of nuns visit Amsterdam and don't enjoy it.

Re:They only found 10 people?

[Anonymous Coward]

There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who hate Microsoft and those who don't know binary

I don't want to do this old cliche, but...

[Mex]

IT'S A TRAP!

Three steps

[MaxPowerDJ]

step 1. Start a Microsoft Hate blog
step 2. Get famous
step 3. Get invited to Redmond for a free weekend and a Zune
step 4. Sell the Zune on ebay
step 5. PROFIT!

Re:They only found 10 people?

[garcia]

I think they could have looked a little harder for people "not friendly" to MS.

I can see it right now:

FROM: Press Junket Passport
TO: Anonymous Coward
SUBJ: Formal Press Junket Invite

Dear Mr. Coward,

We have decided you are unfriendly towards Microsoft and we ask that you join Slashdot's Roblimo on a tour of our Redmond campus. You will have limited access to staff but you will get a great feeling for th excitement that is rippling through our campus. Don't think of it like a UN envoy being led around internment camps. Think of it as a freedom tour!

If you see any chairs near broken glass, best to be quiet and keep moving, fast.

If you have any questions, please wait till the end of the tour. You will be signing an NDA and will not be allowed to post this to Slashdot or your personal journal (http://slashdot.org/~anonymous/journal) after completion of the tour.

Please let us know what kind of caffeinated drinks you want during your tour.

Sincerely,
Media Relations Team
Microsoft

Re:They only found 10 people?

[mordors9]

I would certainly feel friendlier toward them with an all expenses paid trip to Tahiti...

Re:why?

[mypalmike]

Hey, Microsoft:
If you are reading this...

Corporate anthropomorphism still sucks.

Fiefdoms?! Blame the video games...

[__aaclcg7560]

... has degenerated into a series of disconnected fiefdoms that aren't all moving in the same direction.

The executive staff is playing too much Age of Empires, and everyone else is playing too much Gears of Wars. Microsoft was a better company when Minesweeper was the only game in town.

Re:Three steps

[ajenteks]

I dunno... step 4 seems pretty unlikely to succeed.

Re:why?

[aardvarkjoe]

The truly sad thing is that they push WPA, WGA, DRM, Trusted Computing, overly-restrictive licensing, etc., and think that a simple junket and a couple of freebies can make up for treating customers like crap.

Sounds good to me. Where do I sign up?

Re:Very clever, yes.

[sheldon]

But I thought that nobody uses Windows XP, and nobody has any plans of migrating to Vista.

I heard it hear on /., so it must be true.

Re:Speaking of that

[AdamKG]

ain't it a bit hypocritacalist that so many nuns also work part time as strippers?

Well, they have to support their habits somehow.

Re:why?

[Chyeld]

"Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer."

"If you are going to kill someone, you should be able to smile at them when you pull the trigger."

Ring any bells?

Novell Headquarters: "Hey! We just got a cool wood horsie from Microsoft! Lets put it in the Board room!"

Re:glass houses

[mrchaotica]

(Note to history pendants: yeah, yeah, yeah.)

Unfortunately for you, I'm a spelling pedant (with only one 'n')!