“The company got lots of attention yesterday when it took the unprecedented step of promising to hand out Windows Phone 7 devices to every employee,” Bishop reports. “But this is about more than boosting worker morale.”
MacDailyNews Take: Unprecedented for Microsoft maybe. As usual, Apple’s been there first, long ago: Steve Jobs gives Apple employees free 8GB iPhones – June 28, 2007
Bishop continues, “In the internal memo outlining the plan, Microsoft mobile chief Andy Lees encourages the employees not only to use the phones themselves but also to ‘evangelize’ them and develop apps for Windows Phone 7 ‘in your spare time’ through a newly launched employee developer program.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Microsoft remains as clueless as ever. Way too little, way too late. And a bunch of hobbyist employees aren’t going to do a damn bit of difference, but at least the Microsoft drones will have something to think about while they stare out the windows during their normal “work” hours.
Here’s a fact: The world needs another smartphone OS like it needs another stray dog. Microsoft continues to operate under the delusion that consumers love their brand and will therefore flock to buy their me-too junk at one of their four me-too retail stores. They don’t and they won’t. Microsoft is a bunch of derivative hacks producing half-assed knockoffs of mainly Apple gear. Regular people actually understand this now as it becomes clearer with each passing day. Masses of people aren’t going to run out to buy a phone because it says “Microsoft” or “Windows” on it. If anything, that’ll make sane people avoid the damn thing.
Microsoft just doesn’t get it. Their management is completely zuned in the head.
How can they do that when they’re already writing their resumes in their spare time?
“The world needs another smartphone OS like it needs another stray dog.”
But Apple will benefit from another mobile OS. The more fragmented the mobile space, the more attractive iOS and iDevices will become.
That’s just what Microsoft needs. It’s employees being distracted from doing their actual jobs by encouraging them to have a part-time job as a smartphone app developer. Some of Microsoft’s employee are going to like being an app developer better than doing their actual jobs. Then, they’ll covertly work on the iOS platform where they can actually make some money.
Can anybody say “doorstop”?
@Ankh
C’mon, their phones won’t be THAT cumbersome. I’m thinking “paperweight.”
You don’t have to ask an iPhone owner to evangelize. It happens automatically, even if you don’t intend to.
great, this will make the failure most obvious to MS employees!
5 million devices sold to consumers by the end of 2010. I call it now. iCal that, MDN.
At some point, you have to start feeling bad for the clueless dancing monkey.
Steve Ballmer wouldn’t even make a good village idiot. I think he is pushing to be the best monkey he can be. Go for it Steve! Dance Dance Dance!
Microsoft should just call Windows Phone 7, Me 2 Mobile with Zune Squirts or Kin OS 2 with Zune Squirts and be done with it. Then 6 weeks before it is to be released they can cancel the whole project and claim it was a great success at beating the iPhone and Android.
If an MS employee creates an app while working for MS, who will own the rights to it?
Better suggestion for MS employees… get a couple of books on Objective-C, Cocoa development and the ins & outs of xcode. Then – “in your spare time” – write apps for the best platform on the planet with a strong and growing user base.
Isn’t there a clause that states that anything developed by an employee while in the employ of a company, that the company owns it?
asking
They would be better off using the time to look for another job.
@who owns it
Yes, every company does that. They’re hoping someone will be more creative at home and come up with some killer app and then they’ll own it. Or, they’ll have the employees in commercials saying, “Windows Phone 7 was my idea”. Why isn’t Ballmer in any commercials? Cut him in with some Moe and Larry clips. It would be great.
“employees…develop apps for Windows Phone 7 ‘in your spare time’ through a newly launched employee developer program.”
Translation: Make it passable as an Apple created device.
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So I guess few or none of those iOS developers they asked to develop apps for WP7 agreed to do so? Do M$ developers HAVE any spare time?
Sheesh, how pathetic!
If your time allows- check this out. It’s an anonymous blog where Microsoft employees “vent”- pay attention to the Danger employees and the way they were treated after they were acquired- it’s in the Kin section. There’s a lot of other “interesting” reading in there especially about WinPhone 7- crazy.
http://minimsft.blogspot.com/
@ who owns it,
I’m sure Microsoft will only claim copyright on the good apps that actually make money. The crap will still belong to the employees.
What are their employees doing during work time?
@Al
Since this is MS we’re talking about, wouldn’t it be the other way around, they would claim copyright on the bad apps and leave the good ones for the employees?
thnks @Al and @Scott: I thought there was something along those lines
Andy Lees – your Kin killer. Surely it inspires the troops to dedicate themselves for such management.
The only reason they’re doing this is to more perfectly try to mirror the iPhone introduction. They haven’t got a clue what they’re doing, so they just try to recreate history by following in Apple’s footsteps to a mind-boggling level of mimicry (e.g. MS store design, etc.).
“Microsoft just doesn’t get it. Their management is completely zuned in the head.”
Now there’s a “wow” that starts now! Enter this one into the record books as THE best MDN take ever!
How can any company with the amount of resources MS has at their disposal and with so much at stake, remain so effing clueless? It boggles the mind. They really DO think this is the 90’s!
Why bother mentioning Android at all. Why put Android first. iPhone should be first all the time.
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