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Even Microsoft wants G5s

UPDATE: Please take the time to read my followup post, Fifteen Minutes of Fame, for my thoughts on what happened after I posted this picture, why it happened — and most importantly, why I don’t blame Microsoft for their actions. Thanks!


It looks like somebody over in Microsoft land is getting some new toys…

Microsoft's shipment of G5s come in

I took this shot on the way into work on the loading dock (MSCopy, the print shop I work in, is in the same building as MS’s shipping and receiving). Three palettes of Dual 2.0Ghz G5’s on their way in to somewhere deep in the bowels of Redmond. Hopefully they’re all in good condition when they arrive — the boxes are slick enough that a few of them took a bit of a tumble (you can see them back in the truck)!

Posted in 15Minutes, Apple, Microsoft. Tagged with , , , , , . See also: Of blogging and unemployment |Konichiwa! |XBox2, G5…and Virtual PC? |Say Cheese! |Washington Post article on Blogging and Jobs .

441 Responses

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  1. I am sure apple would love to hear your story and they’d probably offer you a job. Good luck with finding new work. Sorry you had to go through this.

  2. Jeff said

    That sucks man, good luck in the future

  3. I’ve seen several controversial blogs out there, but it really proves how respectable blogs are in the media.

    See this Sparkpod blog http://www.sparkpod.com/lesbians

  4. Steve said

    Can you sue them (your employee)? If they are going to do this do you for such a stupid reason, might as well get the best of it. Can such reason for dismisal be legal?

  5. Lee Noble said

    Jeez, I can’t see their problem. Of course MS is going to be buying G5s. They still develop applications for the Mac so they’d kinda need some Macs to at least test things on. It’s not like they’re switching or anything.

  6. mullman said

    WHAT IN THE WORLD IS OFFENSIVE TO MS ABOUT THIS BLOG? This is the silliest thing I have every heard. As others have said MS would need G5’s to develop on, and maybe use them for publishing Quark or something - I dunno. But to fire you? My heart goes out to you and I hope you quickly find gainful employment!

  7. Rob said

    What were you doing with a camera at work? Most places (I’m sure its so at MS) definately view that as a no no.

  8. Ramin said

    You are NOT supposed to take any pictures or even carry a camera in any company. Now this guy took this picture and expects not to get fired??? What the heck is your problem guys?!! Is it because it happened in your favorite company?

  9. Just wondering if this makes you a mac user if your not already, if so welcome, and f microsoft!

  10. As another employee who has been fired for blogging, I feel your pain. Though mine was much more…stupid, I can still relate. One thing you’ll be able to count on is the support of your community.

    Regards, adam

  11. Typical macintosh fanatard. Way to go.

  12. PG said

    What were you doing with a camera at work? Most places (I’m sure its so at MS) definately view that as a no no.

    Rob, Im afraid you are overlooking the fact that most mobile phones in this day-and-age infact contain those evil camera thingys

    Good luck with finding a new job - hope you get better luck this time, and dont end up slaving for another micro$haft.

  13. danny said

    I’m sure with the exposure on /. that you’ll find a another job soon! I thought Microsoft wrote software for the Mac, so it’s quite likely that they’d have a bunch of Macs sitting around or on order. It’s not like you snapped a picture of a pallet of RedHat 9 boxes! Good luck!

  14. Chin up—you can always sell penis enlargement pills!

  15. toohey said

    The reason they fired you is that you weee a temporary employee and could have been fired without much trouble. Had you been a permanent employee, your offer of taking down the post would have been taken.

    The logic being along the lines of “There’s enough negative publicity associated with our actions. If anybody’s action results in more negative publicity (especially true because of the title), and he’s on our payroll, we better find out how easy it is to fire him. … (Later) oh! he’s a temp and he creates a negative publicity for us … easier to fire him than for us to face our superior.”

    I’m pretty sure most companies will take similar action against temp employees.

    Bottomline - You are a temp. speak only as much as is necessary.

  16. phranq said

    “You are NOT supposed to take any pictures or even carry a camera in any company” !! Since when? That could be reasonable in military facilities perhaps but not in a company unless it is explicitly displayed.

  17. Noel said

    It looks more like a disgruntled colleague stabbing you in the back, given that the blog was not on an office server. Regarding using digi cameras at work, here in UK a lot of employees got an MMS phone and grabbing a pic during work to show to friends is commonly acceptable. Shame on Microsoft for being so foolish. Hope you find new work soon. Good luck

  18. John said

    Why in the hell would Microsoft be upset about this? Like others have said - of COURSE they buy Macs. They write Mac software! Hello!?!? Office v.X anyone? It’s no secret that MS has Macs, and that they have a stake (ie they have stock, it was in the news a few years ago…) in Apple.

    I personally would be driven to find out why this offended Microsoft. Best of luck to you in these times.

  19. You pussies! What’s with the ‘careful what you post/say/do’ comments? I will be absoulutely sure to doom your lame-ass writings to the trash. Why bother reading a blog (or writing one, for that matter) if you’re going to avoid subjects for fear of reprisal?

    As to this picture/one-liner that got an intern fired - it sucks, but you probably could’ve expected it from any computer company. If Apple was getting a delivery of Windows XP and you spread it around, good ‘ol Steve would probably shit his pants, then fire you.

    Ironically signed, Anon. (for fear of reprisal)

  20. spoonyfork said

    I’m sorry you got fired dude but you screwed up. I totally understand Microsoft’s point of view. If it were my company I would have dismissed you as well. I don’t need my employees risking my competitiveness by publishing unauthorized photographs and information about R&D and future product.

  21. It sucks that you got booted but the truth is, they had every right to do it!

    Can you honestly sit there and think that someone at MS wasn’t going to get a little upset about you broadcasting to the entire world that they are buying Mac hardware? All employees have to consider what the company may consider confidential information. Them buying a competitor’s product would definitely count as one of those, or so I would think.

    I don’t work for MS and yeah there is the case of free speech but I don’t think you considered the consequences of what you were doing. I blog about my work all the time but I don’t reveal anything to the world that might be considered confidential.

  22. Another shining example that shows Microshaft is run by a bunch of idiots. Who gives a **** that he took a picture of some Apple boxes! Get over it Redmond.

  23. Will said

    MS should have had the G5’s shipped in non-discreet boxes ;)

  24. Good ol’ Microsoft. Best of luck man.

  25. S Jobs said

    Im glad youdid the right thing, why would you want to work at microsoft anyway?

  26. If I was bill I would buy Sun’s, run some linux boxes, why not a couple apple’s .. have to see what the competetion is doing. Getting fired over a photo is a little over the edge. Good luck, wish I had a job to offer you.

  27. Robert Campbell said

    Yeah, I can see them doing it. I imagine they have a software testing lab where they need every machine possible to test on. That is part of the debugging process. Could be a reward for the guys (and gals!) at the MBU. I’m really sorry you got fired, but if I were your boss I might have had to also. Don’t worry, you will be OK.

  28. That photo is just dying to appear on a t-shirt.

  29. wannes said

    Those slagging M$ now will of course remember Apple did more or less the same a while ago, firing an Apple Store employee for having a screenshot of some application Apple uses for customer management, buried in a webserver directory

    http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/topic/19575-1.html

    http://virga-x.adtn.net/screenshots/Apple%20Internal/

  30. maybe you could get a job with the company who shipped the G5’s to MS. Maybe as a quality control officer? Probably a waste of your talent i know, but if things get tight? :)

  31. Iain said

    Quote: You are NOT supposed to take any pictures or even carry a camera in any company.

    If you think that absurd comment is actually even remotely true then your a prize muppet of the highest order.

    And, as you apparently, can’t see what the fuss is over…

    It’s so objectionable because its just trivial nonsense over a non-event.

    It’s well known that of course Microsoft has PowerPC systems (how else would they write all the Mac OS software they do?). So the secrecy on that topic isn’t an issue.

    Somehow I can’t see this head line: ‘Burger King worker takes a picture of a McDonalds Milkshake in a Burger King car park, post it on his homepage, gets fired.’.

    He didn’t in any way portray his employees in a bad light and their is no breach of security here. He stated MSCopy building is near the Goods Delivery building (something that someone in Security objected to, according to the blog) but that blissfully ignores the fact that the buildings are going to be clearly sign posted in particular the Goods Delivery Area (and it really doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work that one out).

    There are no legitimate concerns here that warrant firing an employee, just a trumped up power tripper in Security/HR/middle management with nothing better to do than callously harm in the lives of others - all they have succeeded in doing is making the world just a little gloomier.

    I can’t think the mother of the person responsible for firing this hapless employee would be proud of their offspring’s achievements that day - and the same goes for those involved who stood by and let it happen. I think the middle manager who stood for this and failed to stand up for his (even temporary) employee is spineless wonder and ought to be ashamed of themselves. We are always telling our children to stand up against decisions we think are wrong and unjust, it’s sad that we as adults seldom practice what we preach.

    Like many things in life, it happened because other people are afraid to stick their necks out and say ‘No, wait a minute, that’s not fair.’ and put their foot down.

    What’s happened to this employee is clearly not right, if your in any doubt (if for some reason you’ve lost the ability to tell ‘right’ from ‘wrong’) then just ask your mother, because she apparently has some unwished work left with regard to teaching you the basics…

  32. Richard said

    “Rob, Im afraid you are overlooking the fact that most mobile phones in this day-and-age infact contain those *evil camera thingys” - yes, but this is one reason why there are a growing number of buildings (especially government) that require you to check your celphone at the door, unless it a) has no built-in camera, and b) has no attachment point for a camera. Seriously. People do give security a high level of importance, especially at larger companies. Besides, having shown a propensity for taking random pictures, even if this one was innocuous, how does MSFT know that the next one won’t have some more secure detail, maybe even in the background? It has nothing to do with the G5s, and everything to do with the camera.

  33. Poindexter said

    You asked for it, man. I dont know of a big company that allows snaps like that. Besides, MS wasnt your employer if you are a temp. Wake up! Temps are considered disposable employees. Didnt you know that? Its ugly, but thats how companies look at them. You should have jumped on as a full timer when MS was switching a lot of temps over to full time.

  34. Jonah said

    John, While it is true that Microsoft has a booming Macintosh software division, all of their Macintosh development is done in San Francisco, at their “Mac Business Unit”, as it is called. It seems notable to me that 18 G5s have arrived in Redmond. Companies also like to keep their hands close to their chest, and they depend on their employees (temp or not) to do that. If some employee was wandering around Apple with a phonecam posting pictures of interesting things to the web, s/he wouldn’t last 5 minutes.

  35. joe blow said

    Microsoft is a bunch of shit-sucking pig fucker nazi assholes. Fuck them.

  36. You deserve to be fired you stupid fuck! If I posted photos that contravined my contract my employer would rightfully do the same thing. Besides.. why wouldn’t MS want MACS? They need them for testing, at the very least.

  37. Sounds like M$ all right. If they made such a big deal about the blog, it obviously has some merit… M$ wants to be sure word doesn’t get out about the fact that even they know Macs are so much more superior than any joke of a Xerox-OS they can release… They obviously have no ability to create anything original (just look at the overly slowly developing Longhorn). Their nifty new feature set looks like they took Apple’s patented technologies, and then created new names for them and stuck it into their own box. Just look into their “pile” method of managing documents on the hard drive. It’s like that PC M$ helped design with HP (I think it was)… All the original features of that machine either come from already existing Mac technology, or from Apple patents… M$ must have Apple patents as a subscription. As soon as Apple files a new one, M$ gets it and immediately begins adding it to their system…

  38. KMFDM woo

  39. Attention all: Don’t take pictures of your workplace. This goes for anywhere you work. — tom7.org

  40. Only in America…..

  41. Don’t worry dude, you weren’t exactly hanging with the smartest crowd on the planet, even though 95% of planet Earth seems to think otherwise. I friend of mine got hired by Microsoft last year, nice guy and all that, but a grade one ass licker, only does what he’s told. Definitely not the kind of person I’d want to employ.

  42. Jasper said

    Hey! You are a temp worker! Who cares? Layoff my ass, you were let go; it’s not like they owe you any loyalty for all your temp work.

  43. Dyno said

    Ya know the thing is, now more peeps will know about MS’s Macs than if they would have just shut up. Stupid.

    America runs on FEAR!

  44. You undermined your employer. Now live withthe consequences.

  45. Taking pictures of inside company shipments and posting them would get you fired from anywhere. I feel sorry for you as I have been fired from a job myself, it hurts. I think this has less to do with Microsoft worrying about buying a few Macs (much to the wish of ‘anti Microsoft’ folk, they already own Mac for fucks sakes) and more to do with inside company inventory and inside confidential information being posted on the web. Think about this and take it as lesson not to do something quite this stupid again.

  46. jim said

    joe blow, i think you have hit the nail on the head :)

  47. Aardvark said

    I posted this elsehwere, but I’ll post it here.

    I don’t like Microsoft in general. I don’t like their practices, ethics, many policies, etc. However, while I agree that the action appears excessive, I do defend Microsoft’s right (really any corporate entities right) to protect itself (security and other).

    The fact of the matter is, eclecticism was not sensitive to what is allowed by the company with which he was employed. He exercised poor judgement and unfortunately, it was costly. I expect he will learn from that practice. In the future, he should actively determine what is allowable by the company and then use that as a guage for posting on his own blog.

    As we have personal privacy so do corporations. Think about that.

  48. Aardvark said

    And as for those that are talking about MS not wanting anyone to know they have Mac, I ask you, how much of Apple does Microsoft own? Please, let’s be serious about why someone would be fired for doing this.

  49. KingMoffa said

    Such a massive secret u let out of the bag!!!

    Did you sign a non-disclosure aggrement??? Was there any sort of visible ‘No cameras’ allowed sign anywhere?? I would think most people would not have expected such a despicable reaction.

    This sucks. US and UK employment laws are so shit, the very fact that you where a temp worker with no rights is harsh. I fear for humanity as a whole. You people above who have defended MS actions, you must love your companies soooo much. I will piss myself with laughter when they abuse you.

  50. If I has posted unauthorised pictures and information about a company I had worked for I would expect disciplinary action. Sorry but you really do deserve it. This is the way of the real, professional working world in IT. I dislike most Microsoft products as much as the next man but these pictures are embarressing to your previous employer and probably violating the contract you worked under. Oops. Good luck with the job hunt.

  51. Wiebe said

    i think its funny microsoft needs apple’s you should get that shit in the newspapers im only sorry 4 Michael

  52. WelcomeToTheRealWorld said

    You people are ridiculous. Look at the facts here. ANY company (yes, ANY company) would have fired a temp employee (and given a full-time employee a damn strong warning) for photographing company property/goings-on behind the scenes and blogging the photo without permission. If you don’t believe that, and if you have a job, just ask someone in your HR department about what happened here and see what would happen at your company. Cry about the injustice of it if you want, but it’s reality. If it was your company and you had some temp jackass taking pictures behind the scenes and posting them on the web without your permission, what would you do? You’d walk his ass out the door like they did. Regardless of this photo in particular being harmless (everyone knows that MS owns Macs), what he did illustrates a severe lack of judgement (read as — if he did this without permission, what else will he do without permission). Hell, he even mentioned his company’s name, which implies some sort of endorsement for the post. Go on and cry about this being another example of big bad MS, but they did what any other company would do. Some lessons in life are learned the hard way. Hopefully, this guy learned his lesson and next time, he will leave his damn camera at home and focus on doing his job.

  53. Ed said

    So here is what comes to mind. Why would Microsoft Want to hide the fact that they bought G5’s. Microsoft Makes does software for the macs, aka OFFICE. What, are they going to test apple software on a PC????? That is just gay all around. If make software for apple you need apple computers to test it on … simple and easy.

    Microsoft is lame if they fired him.

  54. Aleph said

    As trivial as these photos are, it can easily be considered industrial espionage.

    For Bobby T. and other religious fanatics, Xerox (parc) invented many many many things (gui ,event drive programming) and gave them to Apple (and the rest of the world). MS did not steal the ideas from Apple, it took what was freely available. Trademarking the generic “windows” term was a dirty trick though.

    Never forget the MS is the one who bailed Apple out when they were going under.

  55. SOLIDARITY!!! Rise up my fellow workers! Rise up! You have nothing to loose but your chains! :)

    I’m taking the FISH… Who’s with me!?

  56. Good luck, hope you find a better job. Seems like M$ doesn’t understand even a little bit of humor (think even at Apple they have some Windoz-machines). Greetings from Hamburg Germany and best wishes for future (you did right man!) … Tice ; )

  57. Anon said

    Sure, everyone involved was within their rights to take the actions taken. Microsoft’s actions are still kind of suprising because those actions turn a non-event into unfavorable news.

    Gasp! Microsoft might actually have a Macintosh in use! No way! … Yeh, right. We’re supposed to believe they’re so talented that they can develop and test software for Macintosh without actually having Macs?

    Microsoft markets software to provide Windows connectivity to Unix platforms too. It wouldn’t even be news to me if Microsoft had to move their IBM mainframe and a stack of Solaris boxes to make room for the Macs. In recent months Microsoft even stated they were setting up a lab to evaluate Linux.

    So what’s the news here? “Heavy handed Microsoft fires employee.”

  58. Zack said

    “While it is true that Microsoft has a booming Macintosh software division, all of their Macintosh development is done in San Francisco, at their “Mac Business Unit”, as it is called. It seems notable to me that 18 G5s have arrived in Redmond.”

    Perhaps MS has tech support for their Mac software in Redmond. Or perhaps the tech writers who write the manuals for Office v.X are there.

  59. say what said

    I worked there for a while. Someone that was interviewing for a job blogged about what a “stupid asshole” her boss was, his boss was “a fucking bitch”, and everyone else (including HR) were idiots. She got the job, but she continued to complain about specific details every day. They finally found the blog, and yes, she was fired… and I don’t think many people would argue with that.

    I dislike MS probably more than most Mac users because I have five years of reasons. However, they aren’t any different than most companies. If you publicly mention anything that happens on the job, it can be grounds for termination.

    You boss probably would not have fired you. Since he mentioned the official “security” word and phrases like “not welcome”, chances are he was getting pressure from above.

    Just remember that when it comes to business, whether it is a boss, coworker, company, temp agency, whatever, nobody is your friend… and I wouldn’t be surprised if you have problems getting jobs in the future because of these blog entries.

  60. Bob D said

    Was the firing over the mention of M$ having G5’s or the posting of an image from the campus? When I worked at Apple, they had a very strict “no photo” rule. And what about that other pallet of G5’s that arrived at Bill Gates house?

  61. Lets face it though , You dont want to work for a company that are such bastards to their staff anyway.

  62. phule said

    Apple should hire you :)

  63. chaos said

    Releasing that information for the public is not the right of the blogger. If was the right of Microsoft. It would be like your girlfriend showing your mom your porn collection. It is not their concern. Why is it when linux users infringe on the rights of Micro$oft, Micro$oft is the a-hole, but when M$ ask for you to register a product to protect their OWN intellectual property, the linux nerds take up their torches… Linux users are arrogant and have a double standard. If you had AIDS do you think it is the responsibility of your employer to tell its employees?

  64. M$ sells about a $billion worth of Mac software… they’re not going to jeopardize that much money… they WANT MS Mac software to work and work good… With the open source Office suites getting better and better they have reason to sweat…

  65. If you get a chance, can you reveal what that graffiti painted on the loading dock says? Looks like “FREE REDMOND” maybe?

  66. Rômulo Fernandes said

    microsoft dont have the rights to do that, isnt wrong! damn, they suck.

  67. the slashdot crowd awaits!

  68. Vertigo said

    Heh, Mircosoft lost a Huge PR opportunity here. They could have milked the “Hey, we play nice with our competitors!” Edge. In this day of massive lawsuits and enourmously bad PR, such as DRM and viri scurring about the Windows world, Microsoft needs all the help they can get with the public.

    Of course, we are talking about Microsoft here…

  69. Joan said

    SOLIDARTY! Rise up my fellow wrokers! You have nothing to loose but your chains! :)

  70. Did they have a justification to let him go? Sure. How good of one is debatable. Did they have the right to let him go? Sure. Could he have seen it coming - well certainly he should have seen trouble as a possibility.

    But I ask - was it SMART for them to fire him? His boss acknowledged his right to do what he did and called it “unfortunate” that they had decided to fire him over it, and asked whether he could make ammends by taking down the posting. So it seems he was a decent employee and his boss wasn’t looking to get rid of him. So, they incur the cost of restaffing, training, and the lost productivity of the learning curve. Because they offer no justification to take the posting down, even if it does indeed represent a “security violation,” (and I find it pretty difficult to believe that the relevant pieces of information - that Microsoft buys Macs and that MSCopy is in the same building as MS’s shipping and receiving, represent particularly sensitive or secret information) their action guarantee that the information will STAY out there on the internet, and in fact gain more noteriety (I surfed in from Metafilter) because now it is not just, oh funny, stacs o’ Macs at Redmond, it’s ooh, the Evil Empire fired a blogger! They could have made a deal - we think this is a security issue, here’s why, if you want to keep your job take it down, and allow us to ask anyone reprinting it to take it down since they would by definition be doing it without his permission. He keeps his job, Microsoft keeps a good employee, and the “security issue” is taken care of as best as it, at this point, can be. So. was it that they didn’t really care about the security thing, but are so bound by their own rules that they can’t make the more intelligent play in this kind of situation? Or is it that it really was just the “we perceive this as a dig against Microsoft, so trump up a security violation and fire him? (If so another misfire, see the issue of greater publicity above). Or are they too stupid to see that it WASN’T malicious, that any chance of eliminating security issues lay in being flexible, and that firing him could only cost them resources for no gain? Sounds pretty stupid to me.

  71. MIke said

    That’s quite right Ed. If you work for a corporation you should expect to be screwed at random… BUT, it is hard to see why Microsoft would want to deny that it purchased a few G5s given that they write software for these machines.

    Also, any corporation does “opposition research”… who would be surprised by that?

    A rational organization would simply point this fact out.

    But when you work for a large corporation you are not likely to be working for a rational organization… it’s hire and fire at will. Get used to it.

  72. MAC said

    Sorry but….DUH….what the hell did you expect?

  73. TruePatriot said

    I dunno if anyone forgot, but Microsoft is located in what country? Under what laws are both Microsoft and this former employee protected? Although it isn’t advisable to photograph things within the confines of your employer’s campus, unless a specific “no picture” edict was issued I doubt they’d have a legal leg to stand on. Because he didn’t photograph anything but the inside of a delivery truck (for this particular page) it doesn’t even seem that it would be comprehensively covered under a law banning sharing of trade secrets or other similar nonsense. Although I’m no lawyer, you should collect unemployment if possible and screw them the legal way—if you don’t want reinstated. If you DO, then talk to a qualified attorney if you haven’t already…

  74. HeDeservesIt said

    I don’t understand why there is such an outrage for MS’s actions? If you think MS shouldn’t have fired him then at what point to you draw the line about what you can take pictures of or release to the public? Employees do not know the reason behind every event or action within a company. What appears to be a harmless picture could in fact be exposing a particular business strategy or direction that is intended to be kept secret (though I doubt Microsoft direction here was “towards” Apple). The contract a person signs when hired binding them to keep company activities secret is there for a reason—everyone can assume a level of confidentiality that permits work to be done without unecessary security checks. Microsoft had to set a precedent or the gray area that would exist allowing employees to take pictures of whatever they wanted. By the way, I’m willing to be there is a no-disclosure agreement somewhere in his work contract (temp or full-time) restricting what he can say (with pictures, words, etc) about the activities of Microsoft. I’m also willing to bet taking pictures and presenting them on the web in the manner he did falls under prohibited behavior.

  75. I guess it depends on if Michael signed an NDA or was advised of the restriction on workplace photography. If he did, then he knew what he was doing was wrong. If he didn’t, then Microsoft has no grounds for dismissal based on a single incident, unless they can prove intent to cause material harm or corporate espionage, etc. - which I think any reasonable judge would throw out on its ear. (On the other hand, if you can, why not sue ‘em for wrongful dismissal?)

    What’s more worrying to me is that Microsoft obviously has their own version of Echelon or something out there, monitoring all employee activities online whether at work or at home. I realize the software biz is competitive, and Microsoft didn’t get to be king of the hill by playing nice, but there are some serious ethical considerations here. Seriously, though, who does it harm to show some G5s arriving at Microsoft? Apple develops for Windows (Quicktime, iTunes, iPod, AppleWorks, FileMaker, WebObjects, to name a few) and Microsoft develops for Mac (WMP, Office, hardware peripherals, IE, VirtualPC which was acquired from Connectix, etc.) so it makes sense they’d have some for compatibility testing at least!

  76. Microsoft sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  77. Chuck Copas said

    This is why I turned Microsoft down when I was approached by them. I use their software but I am more partial to any form of Unix(TM) for many objective reasons. They (Microsoft) simply need to grow up.

    Good luck.

    -Chuck

  78. alw said

    an Apple geek that work for Microsoft and has a server on a GNU/Linux box… good mix :-)

    you will easily find a new job thanks to slashdot ;-)

  79. Hye even we need paperweights

  80. Scott said

    They’ve truly made a martyr out of you. In all honesty the picture really isn’t that poignant. It doesn’t show “MS HQ” in big bold letters or anything so it’s not like it could turn into a huge email chain letter or something. Taken outside of your blog, one could speculate it could’ve been shot behind an office depot or something.

  81. Just one more reason my views of M$ seem more justified. Good luck in your job hunt. What a crappy reason to let someone go. M$ Hiding behind G4’s and Linux servers….. LOL

    Thanks for the story… it was awesome, sorry it cost you your job though.

  82. andi from germany said

    Hey you,

    the responsible people for that kickass action at Microsoft …

    Why you don’t go outside and play hide and go fuck yourself?

    These were only pictures. Everybody in the whole world knows, that you are using Macs.

  83. Tyrone Neuse said

    Microsoft has every right to fire this guy, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Microsoft is a predatory monster that also happens to be as hypocritical as they come.

  84. Tourney Junker said

    This reminds me of a (reliably sourced) story of a guy who went in to get interviewed, thought it would be funny, when asked why he wanted to join the Corporation joked that he wanted to see what it was like to work for the “Evil Empire” & got in return stonefaced stares.

    & regarding this incident, yes, someone shouldn’t go around taking pictures on company property but this is just one image, could easily have been taken down — & it seems to me to have much more to do with the attitude revealed in the Evil Empire anecdote than any rational policy. If you say anything even obviously in jest to criticize the Corp., they are through with you forever. (Readers of Franken’s latest book can compare this to the paranoid with-us-or-against-us attitude of Barbara Bush & perhaps various of her offspring.)

    (Wow, great comment preview feature!)

  85. Pedro said

    Bla, Bla, Bla… a Mac is Mac! Good luck for you…!

  86. SunnyB said

    There are many companies that allow no cameras or photography equipment on the premises. Seems Microsoft is one of them. Quite common. The young fellow was punished appropriately.

    Remember this: Their game, their rules. Also “Don’t do stupid stuff”.

  87. bogus said

    Seems strange to fire over something like that.

    And it’s not not like that buying Mac in any way should seems strange.

    1. Any company ought to find out how the competitors are doing, to improve their own products.

    2. Microsoft develops applications for use on Apples computers.

    3. Microsoft owns a number of stocks in Apple, why not check the investment by testing the products?

  88. Emilio Lizardo said

    Does this suck? Yes. Is Micro$oft the enormous, humorless corporate omnivore we all think it is? Yes. Is that the same M$ that was found guilty in 2000 of hiring a gazillion temps that were de facto permanent employees, then denying them benefits? Yes. (Google “Microsoft permatemp” - the settlement is still unpaid). Is this predictable given the paranoid environment of a corporations-world first we live in? Quite likely. Could the M$ managers have thought hard for about two seconds and avoided all this bad PR? Maybe. Could Michael have seen this coming? Probably (unfortunately).

    That said, I wish you well in your job hunt. Remember, getting fired is just the opportunity to find a better job (was for me, anyway). ABSOLUTELY look beyond the temp agency - they’re fine for paying the bills, but not much for starting a career.

    And actually, Aardvark, M$ doesn’t own ANY “amount of Apple” (I presume you mean voting stock). The $150 million investment from 1997 was non-voting (controlling) shares, was Does this suck? Yes. Is Micro$oft the enormous, humorless corporate omnivore we all think it is? Yes. Is that the same M$ that was found guilty in 2000 of hiring a gazillion temps that were de facto permanent employees, then denying them benefits? Yes. (Google “Microsoft permatemp” - the settlement is still unpaid). Is this predictable given the paranoid environment of a corporations-world first we live in? Quite likely. Could the M$ managers have thought hard for about two seconds and avoided all this bad PR? Maybe. Could Michael have seen this coming? Probably (unfortunately).

    That said, I wish you well in your job hunt. Remember, getting fired is just the opportunity to find a better job (was for me, anyway). ABSOLUTELY look beyond the temp agency - they’re fine for paying the bills, but not much for starting a career.

    And actually, Aardvark, M$ doesn’t own ANY “amount of Apple” (I presume you mean voting stock). The $150 million investment from 1997 was non-voting (controlling) shares, was Does this suck? Yes. Is Micro$oft the enormous, humorless corporate omnivore we all think it is? Yes. Is that the same M$ that was found guilty in 2000 of hiring a gazillion temps that were de facto permanent employees, then denying them benefits? Yes. (Google “Microsoft permatemp” - the settlement is still unpaid). Is this predictable given the paranoid environment of a corporations-world first we live in? Quite likely. Could the M$ managers have thought hard for about two seconds and avoided all this bad PR? Maybe. Could Michael have seen this coming? Probably (unfortunately).

    That said, I wish you well in your job hunt. Remember, getting fired is just the opportunity to find a better job (was for me, anyway). ABSOLUTELY look beyond the temp agency - they’re fine for paying the bills, but not much for starting a career.

    And actually, Aardvark, M$ doesn’t own ANY “amount of Apple” (I presume you mean voting stock). The $150 million investment from 1997 was non-voting (controlling) shares, was Does this suck? Yes. Is Micro$oft the enormous, humorless corporate omnivore we all think it is? Yes. Is that the same M$ that was found guilty in 2000 of hiring a gazillion temps that were de facto permanent employees, then denying them benefits? Yes. (Google “Microsoft permatemp” - the settlement is still unpaid). Is this predictable given the paranoid environment of a corporations-world first we live in? Quite likely. Could the M$ managers have thought hard for about two seconds and avoided all this bad PR? Maybe. Could Michael have seen this coming? Probably (unfortunately).

    That said, I wish you well in your job hunt. Remember, getting fired is just the opportunity to find a better job (was for me, anyway). ABSOLUTELY look beyond the temp agency - they’re fine for paying the bills, but not much for starting a career.

    And actually, Aardvark, M$ doesn’t own ANY “amount of Apple” (I presume you mean voting stock). The $150 million investment from 1997 was non-voting (controlling) shares, was <5% at the time, and has long since been bought back - at a healthy profit, I might add..

  89. JP said

    GET A 

  90. Respect where it’s due. Nice One :D Classic picture, Honest person.

  91. LioNiNoiL said

    Poindexter wrote:

    Temps are considered disposable employees

    We are all considered disposable employees. Don’t fool yourself into thinking otherwise.

  92. DoomedToEternalInfernalUnderAchievement said

    Welcome to the (corporate beehive mentality) machine. Being out of work sucks. Not working for M$ or its ilk sounds pretty good, though. There is life beyond corporate enslavement. The trick seems to be to live a good life and a good working life.

  93. kuseattle said

    That really sucks.

    They must have wanted to get some real work done on an OS that does not contantly hang give you non-reponsive program errors all the time. I work on MS technologies all day an I spend a lot of time waiting for XP, Visual Studio , or some other MS app just to do what it is supposed too.

  94. QaZ said

    well WelcomeToTheRealWorld is right but Ed is also right Microsoft is lame if they fired him.

  95. Ben said

    If you were in the military. You would be executed for treason. Consider yourself lucky.

  96. Nobody that can think or act in an independent fashion is welcome at Microsoft or Real or any of the companies that have used all of the technological marvels created by the ‘disposable’ generation of engineers to make themselves rich beyond comprehension. Here is what You must all understand…You are all replaceable right here in Your own country by cheap copies of american Engineering excellence from all over the planet. The lies these companies and the government have told and gotten away with to replace over 2.5 million american workers is the real story that is slowly coming out. You need to know and understand that censorship is the first and fastest way to control public opinion. fortunately it is too late for all of these companies because the truth is out and there is no stopping it now.

    “The best weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed”…Steven Biko

    http://www.complex-numbers.com

  97. Brian said

    Anyone here think that Apple’s never looked at a Windoze box. Of course they have! It good business to see what your Competition has. It just business.

    And, of course as an employee of a company its not smart to make fun of it in a public forum. Such an act is clearly disloyal and should result in Disciplinary Action.

  98. kaw said

    I work for a rather large, rather blue computer company, and I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement before I began working stating that I would NOT BRING ANY CAMERAS on the site. They even have signs posted on the door. I’m sure it’s the same at Microsoft. Employers are sensitive to this because of a little term called “corporate espionage”.

  99. LinuxUser said

    Microsoft did the right thing. This guy made a mistake and he become famous because he was trying to embarass Microsoft by taking Mac pictures. I think he deserved it.

  100. Limeybloke said

    Best wishes from the UK , never worry about telling the truth , you get tremendous Kudos and support from us Brit Macheads for this . Will send your blog address to everyone I know , espescialy my newly qualified MSCE mate so he knows just who he’s signed a pact with … Good luck with whatever you do next and “don’t let the bastards grind you down ” ( old british trade union phrase ) Chin Up !

  101. Eric said

    Dude some of you people really need to shut up! Who the hell cares if he posts a picture of some G5’s that MS bought. It’s obvious that any company that large that even writes software for apple would own at least a few G5’s. Boohoo already. Yeah, they have that right to fire him but it still makes them a jackass. Just cuz you can do something doesn’t mean you should, they could have solved this a lot more elegantly. For all those flamers, think about this, did you never see something at work or while you were not on your own time that you thought was intereseting and either told your friends/family or showed them a picture? If not, get a life =P Leave this guy alone, he was just trying to share a little funny irony with the world and got bit for it. Good luck dude and don’t mind these flamers

  102. I am at a loss for words except on my blog, http://www.extraheavymarcellus.com/mt/index.html.

    Spreading the word in Baltimore, Maryland.

    Regards,

    brian “eXtra heavy” czarski

  103. This one’s for you. I think you’ll end up at a good company. Like I suggested at the end of my article at http://www.iscomputeron.com/index/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=145 you might try Apple. I think they will be rather amused if you would apply for a job in THEIR print house ;-)

  104. Well, that just shows you what sort of thing micros**t will do. Found this via slashdot, great idea to make those G5s public! Hope Apple hires you ;-)

  105. wow !!!! :|

  106. Steve-Dawg said

    Microsoft developes software for Apple, hence Office for Macs, so why is it such a big deal that Microsoft has G5s. I mean sure they were once notorious for having poorly tested code, but heaven forbid they get the newest technology to test their newest version of Internet Explorer on it. I’m hardly a Microsoft proponent, but I really don’t see the overwhelming surprise in them having G5s. However, I do think that Microsoft’s firing of this employee is unjust. Whatever this man decides to do in his personal life and on his own time, is exactly that his own time, and not Microsofts. So basically, there is no big surprise Microsoft has G5s, not really worth pissing your pants over, and not sure why Microsft feels this picture is so scandilous. It you wanna see scandilous, check out the blue screen of death that plagued mid 90’s computer geeks.

  107. AnonyMac User said

    Like others, the photo and heading seem innocent (for me, I took it as partially tongue in cheek) nor do I have much love for Microsoft. I also feel for the loss of the job but the fact is many large companies do not want employees permanent or temp to go around shooting photos internally no matter how innocent they may be. It is about the easiest way to discourage workers from bringing cameras from the start as opposed to having a do’s and don’t list of what things are acceptable. A permanent worker may have been given a little more leeway and would have probably just received a reprimand and warning but temps really have little rights and so are expendable. While this was nothing like the case with the trade secrets cases against Juan Gutierrez (the Apple temp worker who leaked photos back in 2000 of upcoming hardware products) or Juan Lopez (an Apple contract worker who leaked schematic drawings of the Power Mac G4 MDD systems in 2001), just be happy that MS did not go the legal route which would have been heavy handed even though well within their discretion.

    As for having G5’s in Redmond, don’t see anything wrong with that since there are probably units that do work closely with the MacBU in Silicon Valley for compatibility cases (does anyone know if the Mac development of the Windows Media stuff is now part of MacBU since before, it was still part of the group in Redmond). This is no different than Apple buying Dell’s for their own developers for AppleWorks, QuickTime and iTunes for Windows.

  108. jay said

    haha thats funny, but if microsoft dont want you taking pictures then you shouldnt. they probably asked themselves why would you need to bring that cam to work.

  109. What were you thinking?? Of course the ‘Axi$ of Evil’ uses Macs. Thats how they nicked the GUI in the first place! Tough break getting sacked and all, but that’s the big-leagues … these guys play hardball. Especially since you proved to your employer (M$ and Xerox!! - wowy - double point score!) you could be a risk for Industrial Espionage. Good luck in your future, kid.

  110. IronChef said

    what assholes.

    disciplinary action is more appropriate. sheesh.

  111. Why was this so bad. Microsoft produce a number of software titles for Mac, its just pointless and it creates more of an anti microsoft sentiment around both PC & Mac users.

  112. sherm said

    I find it funny that so many people are focusing on the Macs at Microsoft angle. It’s called an NDA. Non Disclosure Agreement. I bet he signed one, and It looks like he violated it. I’m willing to bet that it could have been a pallet full of post-it notes, and if someone high enough up in the company saw it, he’d get canned. I used to work at MS and used a Mac as my main workstation. It wasn’t that big of a deal. Especially when you consider that back in 97 MS very publicly bought $150 million dollars in Apple Stock.

  113. Jimmys said

    I dont understand how this could be a security issue. I can get a map of the Microsoft campus off “Yahoo”. You should Sue these guys.

  114. zaphod beeblebrox said

    read about mr michael hanson on theregister. Too bad man. But i do envy a person who has Macs and I have’nt./ MS is’nt the only employer out here. Just carry on your good work.

    And yeah, could you get the form fields for Name, Email and URL properly aligned against the fields?

    —\ cheers

  115. Robert said

    He wasn’t fired for posting that MS had Macs, he was fired for telling folks where to go to find an unattended loading dock full of very expensive hardware.

    A map of the MS campus is available on-line, and is would be easy enough for an enterprising young thief to pick that out and say “Hay, just go here and wait, sooner or later I get free stuff.”

    As a former security professional, this is the sort of thing I took people to task for. Never got any one fired though…

    quote:

    The picture itself might have been permissible, but because I also mentioned that I worked at the MSCopy print shop, and which building it was in, it pushed me over the line.

  116. microsoft does seem to be security conscious with Gates supporting rfid and all. are the G5’s shipped with OS X? unix & mac in redmond. delicious

  117. Dubya Hussein said

    They is not Mac G5, they is weapons of mass description.

  118. Do stupid stuff and get fired. Such a sad commentary on the world we live in, this idiot wants us to feel sorry for him because he used poor judgement. Sure Gates=Incubus, but the process of natural selection cannot be stopped. Fuckups get fired, then next thing you know, they are pumping your gas.

  119. ordelic mark said

    sorry

  120. adam said

    What the?! Surely microsoft have now generated more publicity by sacking you than they would have if the post was just removed, as you offered to do…

  121. If I has posted unauthorised pictures and information about a company I had worked for I would expect disciplinary action. Sorry but you really do deserve it. This is the way of the real, professional working world in IT

    why do you use THEIR definition of “professional” ? those who make these silly rules are the minority on this planet, and the sheeps follow instead of revolting. “professional working” can be everything, and it is not unprofessional to say what you think, or post on your website what you have seen somewhere, it is just human.

    i hope he gets a good job at apple and i hope he will post anything on the web what he wants to, and not what apple allows him to. :)

  122. yellow hawk, the caprice is ready to ride…go locaburg

  123. Bass said

    Probably, but if that was me or a co-worker, I’d come up with the idea that as long as they don’t know, I can do whatever I wanted with the photos, so I’d just keep them for say, a month or two, then forward it around as some e-mail and Microsoft won’t know it was me and then. It was a bad idea, and let’s hope that this lesson isn’t wasted.

  124. Anonymous said

    When you started work at MS do you remember when you signed your contract?

    Sure you do … it was that legal document with the section about confidentiality in it.

    doh!

  125. pfff said

    ever heard of the mac bu ?

  126. ezra said

    sue them!

  127. trit187 said

    he’s not being fired for the picture, although the sucurity issue could be factored in, but for the fact that he directly violated a contract he signed when becoming employed. If microsoft doesn’t doesn’t respond to this incident what next, they guys posting pics of longhorn before ms releases them? It sucks for the guy, but rules are rules, If corperations make exceptions it opens them up to all sorts of lawsuits, because it could be ‘discrimination’. I know upon entering intel, (of which I’m not an employee) I sign a wavor, have an employ cosign for me and see ‘no camera’ and ‘no photo’ signs everywhere. The guy is unlucky. But if microsoft really wanted to it could have done more. If it was about the photo they could have demanded it’s removal even after it was taken.

  128. Mark Read said

    Comment from Australia: I find it disgusting that the U.S. has it’s 1st amendment to it’s constitution (guaranteeing freedom of speech) only to have someone terminated for performing it. Stand up America to Microsoft acting so badly!!!!

  129. kurt said

    even here in austria this is a topic (see: http://futurezone.orf.at/futurezone.orf?read=detail&id=196372&tmp=24826) looks like ms looses a lot of friends around the world …

  130. ProMac said

    Maybe you should try to contact Apple, to see if they can offer a job ;-)

  131. Leonardo said

    Go go go go michael go!

  132. rocker said

    it´s a shame for ms that they fired you. it´s just a fact that they bought G5´s so they should be able to handle that fact. -and of course handle this fact in public.

    they are poor minded, so don´t worry and get yourself a new job. - i think you have learned something about that.

    all the best…

  133. Marcel Bahnen said

    Hi there michael…. I just wondered…….those G5’s….Did Microsoft paided them in advance??? I don’t think so because you will have the same payement-policies like here in the EU. The will probably paid them in a month or so. So that makes me wonder: was gear (G5) at that moment actually property of Microsoft???? (legally….)

    Goodluck!

    MacB

  134. Good luck! We support you.

  135. Gus said

    Dude, all the Beast of Redmond has done is turn you into a digital martyr.

    Dictionary.com says it best….

    microsoft

    The new Evil Empire. The basic complaints are, that (a) their system designs are horrible botches, (b) we can’t get source to fix them, and (c) they throw their weight around a lot. (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=microsoft)

  136. Rudy Belcastro said

    no comment, just ridiculous MS

  137. James said

    I would be suprised if Microsoft did not have any Apple computer equipment. How are they supposed to write Macintosh compatible software witout it? Maybe they will make a better version of SoftWindows XP that will be less of an emulator and more of an operating system.Ã

  138. Jim said

    why do you use THEIR definition of “professional” ?

    Because THEY pay for the work.

  139. Im no Mac fan my self. linux is more of my thing. But this story is just sad. I would never have expected any better from bills boys thow.

  140. Pre-Colombian said

    Microsoft gets remembered, but it is NOT a pleasant picture with which they replaced an innocuous post. It has not enhanced their image in ANY regard, so all publicity is not good publicity.

    If they were smart, they could have used the blog to their advantage in the Apple user community & left their winDoze base largely unaffected.

    Obviously when Mr Charlie decides a harmless, self-evident joke is not to their liking, he can send his sharecroppers packing. That makes Mr Charlie powerful, but not a redeeming quality.

    Nonetheless, I think the blogger gave excess detail about the place he works that was a little dumb. To say Microsoft is one thing, but to add elaboration implies he doesn’t always think before he leaps. But a long way from sufficient reason to sack an employee in this case.

    Perhaps they need to sack the person who made the decision to sack this guy?

    As for the guy writing about the religion of Eisner & Co, as detailed in another tangental posting here - It shows not everyone that writes can craft a good paragraph. I thought the column point was muddled & rather amateurish in that last paragraph. I think there might be a point made, but as stated it was close to nonsequitor in presentation.

  141. Sören - The Danish guy said

    Sitting on the other side of the world, LOL. Are Microsoft ever going to grow up???

  142. Thiago said

    Nunca pensei que a Microsoft compraria Mac… Ou sera que o Tio Bill percebeu que o Windows nao vale nada? Afinal, Mac eh futuro e PC eh Passado! eheheh []’s

    • Esta eh a minha opniao!
  143. ribes said

    sorry for the accident. What were the official reason of your lay-off? did they think you were a 007spy? :-D

    ribes

  144. Beathoven said

    I bet they use Panther for copying some nice features for their own Longhorn OS that will be released in 2006.

  145. iDave said

    Doesn’t MSFT create Mac software. Don’t they need Macs to design and test with?

  146. Wrapping said

    Whoever prepared those computers for shipping, I assume at Apple, should be FIRED also!! An entire roll of shrink wrap cost about $9, and it takes about 1/20th of a roll to properly wrap a pallet. In the picture you can see the total carelessness of packing, there is just a feeble thin amount of wrap around that fallen pallet. So Steve Jobs please pass this along to your shipping team, the person in charge of wrapping pallets sucks!

  147. Sascha said

    This prove one more time how much M$ suxxxx!!!

  148. hres said

    Think you should be hired by Apple :P

  149. Spaz said

    Thats just stupid nonsense man , suck shit MS

  150. Mark said

    Gee, I was under this impression that Microsoft makes the rules at their own company. Did you think that perhaps they might not like you photographing sensitive material at work and publicly posting it? How would you feel if Microsoft published your pay stubs publicly on their website?

    What a bananahead; you deserve to be unemployed due to stupidity. You should refer potential future employers to your blog so they know they would know they are hiring a potential spy.

    And no, I don’t work for Microsoft or own any stock, etc.

    Mark

  151. Nick Danger said

    Wow, everyone wants what they don’t have. So sad. Wow, big news, certainly worth losing your job over… Microsoft orders in some G5s to experiment on perhaps? Sheesh, they must not trust their own system becuz tehy r yoozing macs!!1! M4Ks 4 evr!!111!

  152. joric/poland said

    well, as you know the word eclectism, you should know one another: totalitarism. may be MS corp. workers should read something about adolf hitler, joseph stalin and about modern history of middle and eastern europe ;-) there you can find something about fighting with censorship and a regime at all. other hand. as i can remember, constitution of US gives to citiziens many rights. read it carefully, and then go to the lawer. there is a big sack of money to win in that game.

  153. doggy said

    What the hell is microsoft doing?

  154. Bill Gates said

    Silly M$ your Trix are for kids.

  155. Dude, I share your sadness. I got booted from Orance PCS (Formaly Hutchinson Communications) for using their logo on my site. They stated it was a potential security risk as they didn’t want my site to affiliate with Orange, so I got booted, Just after they mention that I was an excellent employee and it would be a sad loss to the team to let me go.

    The point is, that corporate companies are as ruthless as they come, they only want good press and don’t want splinter’s in their eye’s, even by good employee’s Ok we both made a mistake, but See it this way, its their loss. We can only move on and better ourself’s from these experiences.

    I wish you luck in what ever venture may come your way.

    Michael Knight

  156. S. B. A. said

    Dear Michael,

     When you work for a company you owe them a duty of loyalty.
    

    It is also incumbent upon you to exercise discretion with regard to knowledge that comes into your possession as a consequence of your employment which could be in any way considered confidential.

     You exercised incredibly poor judgment in publishing
    

    the picture that you placed on this site.

     Perhaps you could have corrected your mistake by
    

    privately acknowledging to Microsoft this mistake along with an appeal for another chance. I, personally, think you would have had a good chance of prevailing. However, instead of pursuing a constructive course of action, you chose to exacerbate your indiscretion by publicizing the situation aggressively.

     At this juncture there is little you can do except
    

    try to learn from your mistakes.

    Regards and good luck,

    Raison d’etre

  157. bubba said

    Microsoft probably just wanted the machines for R&D of the stuff put on “Mactopia”. You need Macs to test your Mac software on; right? Our Bloggin’ friend neglected to mention that he was fired for sniffin’ the blanket wash used to clean the printing presses…;)

  158. Lassie said

    and why wouldn’t MS be able to use G5’s: they need some hardware to test their MS Office’s for MAC eh don’t they ?

    instead of taking a picture: why did’nt he rip off the above G5 for himself as a payment to stay quiet :)

  159. Omar "SoplaPetes" Gomez said

    Retardado del culo, como se te ocurre sacar una foto en un sitio de Microsoft siendo un puto esclavo de Microsoft. es que sos retardado o te chifla el culo como a mi novio Gerry. Te quiero. Te ofrezco la cola. My ass is yours. Sincerely Omar “the black boy” Gomez

  160. Student said

    Microsoft is great…long live Windows

  161. barry robb said

    BORING. NEXT.

  162. so fun..so far !!!…fried just because of that pic ….. oh oooooh oh :) )))) be well to do :)

  163. christine said

    just read your story on cnn. microsoft is a conglomorate of idiots. best of luck michael.

  164. Geoff Oslund said

    Well I will throw my 2 cents in. I think taking a camera to work especially as a contractor is usally a bad idea no matter what you intend on photographing. Yes its a pretty lame thing to most people that this pic would get anyone fired but to the execs over at Microsoft its obviously a clear violation of the non-discolsure agreement.

    What I REALLY want to know is, how the hell did they find this Blog and picture?!?!?! Were they monitoring your blog site? They must have been, very strange. If they were monitoring it, how did they find it and how many other employee personal websites do they monitor? Talk about paranoid! Plus, why did they manager ask if the blog was hosted on a microsoft computer? Dosent anyone over there at Microsoft know how to use trace route? Haha. Oh well Good luck on the job search.

    -Geoff

  165. wow.. damn.

  166. Whadda crock. Nothing wrong with what you did. If anything, they warn you not to do it again. ‘IF’ this was not the greatest judgment on your part, it certainly didn’t warrant termination. Says a lot about MS, doesn’t it? Very sad. Hopefully someone will recognize your enterprising skills (MS should have) and hire you pronto. Best o’ luck.

  167. Bowser said

    Get real. Mickey Dumb—you got what you deserved. Nothing is owed to you—idiot. Do you realize how many Americans are unemployed and would not have jeopardized the chance you we given, if it were given to them? Boo-hoo…no tears are crying from my face.

  168. Jonny said

    You fucking dumb fuck.

  169. st23am said

    haha sorry to hear about your job

  170. Frank said

    Another reason to switch to Linux!

  171. Big Daddy said

    Hey. What? I have been unemployed for the last year, and I say…welcome! It seems to me that you were making poor choices the minute you came onto campus with a camera. So, now my friend, live with it! remember: He who knows why is master of he who knows how…We know how you got fired, now do you know why?…..C`mon, be the master!

  172. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. Please dont turn into an egocentric prick because you are getting some hot press from this………..oh, wait, what am I saying………you are already an egocentric prick just by thinking you had important things to say, and that people were actually drooling over your daily mind numbingly unimportant blogging. But, hey, who am I, but a lowly unemployed geek who is stupidly responding to comments when I should be posting resume`s…Life really is important, employment is not obligitory. I might be drunk!

  173. We sorry very must Michael, we think this is not just

  174. Hey Michael,

    Find good lawyers and don’t let them make this kind of things. It’s outrageous.

  175. 147 said

    well, a short one to say don’t mind pricks like Big Daddy, who’s obviously too egoist to think about other people’s misfortunes, and have faith in the future : it’s probably a hard time right now, and a disappointment, but it’ll turn into an opportunity and you’ll find another job way better than the one at Microsoft. Good luck and keep it up!

    Cheers - 147

  176. DUG said

    Sorry dude…Good luck.

  177. Well you made the news in the Netherlands (Amsterdam)

    http://www.webwereld.nl/nav/nb?16724

  178. L Forrster said

    You should now tell the world what building houses shipping and receiving. Please be explicit.

  179. tom said

    Read about it in a Mac Magazin…sorry for you but was it real? I mean, they ordered so many good Computers to invent their shit?

  180. Quit your sniveling and whining, you big pussy. Go shove a Mac up your ass if you don’t like it. It’s no wonder you were a temp worker, no one in their right mind would want to hire an ungrateful hack like you. Here’s an employment idea, why don’t you go get a job as an AOL tech support represenative? It’s about all you are good for.

  181. Looks like a Fake. If I ain’t looking at the Redmond Campus, I wont believe this Apples go into Microsoft. Okay, someone may compose it with Photoshop, but I can tell a truckload of DELL PCs enters the Apple campus just by photoing one of Michael Dell’s trucks offloading computers, without even the slightiest clue of Apple’s campus on the picture. Come on, don’t be such eekdiots!

  182. i signed an NDA when i started work at my company, and was told specifically by the technical director that any photos taken in the office would violate that…so i don’t, except for events like birthdays which seems to be okay (read: i’m still employed). sorry to hear about your situation, hope that everything goes well for you

  183. i suppose i should stay mum about the Sun boxes we have whirring over at Intel then.. uh. oops.

  184. Rafael Gutierres (Brazil) said

    That is unjust! Where it is the liberty of speech?

  185. The exact same thing happened to me when I was working for Wells Fargo Bank as their systems administrator. My manager called me into a room and said they did not like what I wrote about in my Live Journal. They never said exactly what it was they had a problem with only that I was fired because of the journal. I never mentioned names of anyone that I wrote about.

    I have been unemployed for over a year.

  186. Ballmer said

    You dumb shit jackass.

  187. sorry to hear you lost your job.

  188. “Big Daddy”, you’re not drunk, DrAvenarius is!

  189. Hi Michael, I’ve been reading some of these comment posts. It’s interesting, isn’t it, when a little part of your life gets exposed in a public forum? Some people feel they have a right to call you names, and rant on like angry idiots. And some remind us that eloquence has a happy home in the blogosphere.

    I’m sorry about what happened. Companies can be pretty edgy when it comes to security. It’s also a reminder that if you are an employee, blogging, unless for reasons pertaining to your job, belongs outside of the workplace. Same goes for personal emails, websurfing. People do it of course, but it can get them to trouble. Good luck to you. You’re a good writer, keep it up!

  190. trnullnix said

    U should be happy that they’ve fired u. I mean who really wants to work for M$?

  191. Nawbudike Morgan said

    Apache Servers, Mac computers…..who said that microsoft isnt expanding its limits??

    Uncle Bil, … , bad, bad dog.

  192. A fellow M$ employee said

    Sue ‘um. You’ll get a settlement at the very least.

  193. Eric D-J said

    So much for freedom of fucking speech. I’d have never seen this if it wasn’t for those asses firing this guy for this. Nobody would have seen it. But now the world has. They write software for Crapintosh at Microlimp land. Why couldn’t they giggle and ask nicely to have it removed. Hell that dock could be any place in the world. But hry, fuck us all and our freedom of speech. Someone will eventually sue their company for this shit and win.

  194. oldfart said

    “”Do stupid stuff and get fired. Such a sad commentary on the world we live in”“

    I feel sorry for the dude, but it’s called responsibility for your own actions. Not enough of it nowadays… Assuming that he signed some confidentiality clauses in taking the employment -

    NDA + LEAK = SACK

    Fair enough

  195. Student said

    No, I mean it…I LOVE Windows.

    XP Pro is such a wonderful environment and the Office XP suite is awesome.

    I love my PC more because of Bill Gates.

  196. Fido said

    America ! Country of free speach ! hahaha, let me laugh.Your country seems to be the worst in term of liberty, an tolerance. How could you let these sort of thing append ? Will you accept to be traeted like slaves anylong ?

    sorry for my english :)

    I like you Michael, I’m really sorry about what appened to you.

    PS : elise : don’t talk about security. If Micro$soft show trucks in front of redmond, people can take pictures. You can’t arrest or fire a reporter or a professionnal photographer because he took a embarassing picture. It’s only a deny of liberty.

  197. Wolf said

    You made news in Germany too:

    http://www.onlinekosten.de/news/artikel/13083

  198. Ytse said

    Freedom of speech? How is freedom of speech related to taking photos which would violate his non-disclosure agreement. You’re starting to show your lack of intelligence.

    And this isn’t really news to me, this kind of thing happens every day and what a dumb ass he is for even thinking that he would only get a slapped wrist for posting this material. You need to be slightly more intelligent and learn from other people’s mistakes, rather than your own.

    In this day and age, every company has some sort of non-disclosure agreement put in place. And to all you people who think Microsoft are the only people who don’t tollerate this kind of activity, I can name two dozen big technology companies who have banned cameras (even camera phones) on site.

  199. Iran said

    Esse Bill Gates é um Filho da Puta!!!!

  200. girl of Brazil said

    Hello Michael, you are news here in Brazil because of your picture… congratulations, you demoralized the Microsoft…

  201. sneepy said

    You made news in Germany again:

    http://www.netzeitung.de/internet/260064.html

  202. Max - BRAZIL :) said

    Fuck Bill Gates!!!!

    Happy G5 :)

  203. Irjvik said

    Hello. Greetings from France. So please excuse me for my bad english. :) )

    You should have been more cautious in choosing your employer. Remember Microsoft is a worldwide corporation, and corporations don’t like freedom at all (remember NDA, EULA, DRM, and so on…?). Not exactly what one could call “freedom” !

    They like “security through obscurity”. You don’t have to know more than they wish, and you are not allowed to say anything if you’re not working for the propaganda (er… public relations) department.

    Your only freedom while working in corporations is to pay for their services and to work like a slave as an employee in order to be able to pay their services.

    Corporations are not democracy, but rather corporate republic. A corporate republic is a representative republic where the more money you have, the more power you have in thruth.

    A democracy is a form of government where people take the decisions, not corrupted representatives (parliament, senate or whatever name).

    As for a computer comparison, corporate republic could be a client-server model. The biggest server you have, the more customer you have, and they have to conform to your will in order to be processed. And democracy could be a peer-to-peer model, where you doesn’t have to ask an authorization in order to do anything.

    It seems you are liking freedom, so I recommend you to work for an open-source employer. They aren’t NDAs nor EULAs (except GPL, which in short says “do what you wish”) in opensourcing, and you also have full freespeech rights.

  204. Wagner - Brazil said

    Somos Solidarios a sua causa, estamos com você Brazil. (We are Solidary you cause, we are with you Brazil)

  205. Milly JC said

    Contact Apple and ask for a new job :)

  206. Maria said

    Hello! > All over news in Brazil talk about your pic of G5 arriving in Microsoft > - That was amazing! >> You should register that “Even Microsoft wants G5” and sell it to Apple!!!!!! > Best regars! > :) Maria - Made in Brazil

  207. Anderson said

    Se fudeu. Quem manda dar de engraçadinho? Agora tá no olho da rua.

  208. Fuck Micro$oft and fuck all their users all over the world. Thank you and good night.

  209. Ramon said

    Foda-se, The Bill… Esta foto é a prova que você se rendeu ao MAC e está provando que está merda de Windows é um côco.

    Continue conmpanheiro… denuncie…

  210. MS fired a guy for blogging? I dont believe this, just tell me why this Suckers did it? It’s just a fuck blogg, I can put what i want, it’s mine, but get fired because of a photo, It seens like you dont have freedom of speech.

  211. Como um cara pode ser burro ao ponto de postar uma foto dessa e nao pensar que isso poderia comprometer ó seu emprego. Como é burro.

    Mas boa sorte no futuro.

  212. erik shun said

    you should post the full text of the NDA that you signed before becoming a temp. Sorry, I can’t sympathize all that much with you - the firing doesn’t have anything to do with what was on the pallettes. It could have been a few cases of Coke and the end result would be the same. Live and learn, next time don’t get too upset when you reveal to the entire world your personal life. No one really cares.

  213. eu said

    foda-se a microsoft

  214. JavaSan - Brazil said

    É isso mesmo!!!!! Que se ferre a micro$oft!!!!

    PS: Naum sei se faria a mesma coisa!! hehehe

  215. we’ve had run in’s with the corporate giant before now, its like they own everything, ah well bad luck matey i guess but at least we know M$ likes fruity pieces of electronics also ;)

  216. zeh+Aloprs said

    huahauhaa.. u r famous here in Brasil.. But, well, Microsoft sucks.. Why don’t u try get a job at the MAC company??

    u make people see that even Microsoft want a G5.. so.. try to knock at the MAC company..

  217. Rogeron from Brazil said

    Bill Gates and the Microsoft = Evil’s Empire!!! They’re sucks…

  218. F*** O** m$!!!!

  219. Andre_DF said

    Esse cara é muito corajoso e burro ao mesmo tempo, mas de qualquer forma gostei da coragem e mostrar ao mundo que a microsoft não é independente.

    Agora vamos ver se pelo amor de Deus abaixe os valores do Microsoft.

  220. uau… brasil em peso aki hein!!! uhehueuheuhueuheuheuheu fuck mico$oft!!!!

    LINUX ROXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

    slackware ;)

  221. HaHaHaHaHa !!! Nice !!! very good man !!!

    Foda-se o tio bill , foda-se a microsoft !! mac na fita !!! hahahahahaha pau no cú desses filhos da puta q naum aceitam 1 brincadeira !!!

  222. You should feel relieved you are no longer a part of a power-hungry company that shoves sub-par technology down everyone’s throats. Get yourself a 17 inch PowerBook, write a novel, and live comfortably on the royalties for the rest of your life.

  223. You should feel relieved you are no longer a part of a power-hungry company that shoves sub-par technology down everyone’s throats. Get yourself a 17 inch PowerBook, write a novel, and live comfortably on the royalties for the rest of your life.

  224. Microsoft can fuck their ears and computers anyway.

  225. Sorry, Bill. You and me loose. Sorry :-(

  226. Torr Melling said

    yet another reason to hate microsoft! how ridiculous…

  227. mas bah tche, quem esta tal de maicrosofete pensa que eh ?! microsoft sucks ! kimble rulz !

  228. Lastboyscout said

    Hi, hope you get a new jow soon!

    You also made it to the press here in the Netherlands: http://www.webwereld.nl/gadgets/03_41.phtml

    Good luck

  229. Looks like Steve Jobs needs to hire this guy….

    sorry you were fired for this…

    Bill Gates and Microsoft are another example of the “axis of evil” that plaque the earth!

  230. twyg said

    Good Luck Michael…

    These Macs are more than likely heading to the MacBU department… Frankly I’m surprised they weren’t in there sooner…

  231. Ok so it is not wrong for him to be mean to MS but it is wrong when MS is mean to him?

  232. Alan said

    first i thought. cool! Microsoft get bonus points for buying G5!

    then i read the result. and think this sucks! Microsoft get -ve -ve points for harassment. yet another nail in their coffin.

    how many of you bloggers are using Microsoft OS etc? I’d advise you to drop it….even though they want you - the next version of their OS will have blogging capability. think of this guy before anything else

  233. employer said

    It is Microsoft’s right to decide who works for them. I definitely would not hesitate to fire anybody working for me who felt it was a good idea to take photos of anything business related and post them publicly, ESPECIALLY when those photos relate to a competitor. Your lack of common sense got you fired. What value would Microsoft possibly have in keeping you around? You have shown your employer that you cannot be trusted to use your better judgement. What is left?

  234. JOaoo said

    Eheh microsoft sucks maicrosofete pensa que eh a rainha do mundo eheh

  235. apoguita said

    i really think its stupid thar microsoft fire some one just for a picture but life’s like that

  236. SurFerrao said

    É por isso que eu digo: “Viva o Software Livre, vida longa ao LINUX”. O Brasil domina!!!!

    IN SURF WE TRUST!!!

  237. Ki-Suco said

    Olha isso… fala sério… depois dessa eu falava pra todo o mundo como é a segurança lá na Microsoft… se eles querem te fuder, fode com eles antes.

    I can’t belive that it is true… if i were u, i would run and tell EVERYBODY IN THIS FUCKING WORLD how does microsoft security works… if they want to fuck u, u should fuck them too!

    BRASIL (with an S because this is how WE speel!!) RULEZ THE INTERNET!!

    WE HAVE ALL OF THE BEST HACKERS EVER!

  238. Leo said

    Sinto muito pelo seu emprego, mas que tal pedir um emprego na APPLE?

  239. worm_ramone [BRAZIL] said

    You did the right thing dude. We will kick bill gates’ ass with you :)

  240. Vibratorland said

    Dam about your job ay. Congratulations on getting the top spot in the Sci/Tech News section on google.

  241. It is a very serious issue, this one about loyality towards your company getting into conflict with you rights to express your views in public and private. In this case I can hardly see that you actually harmed Microsoft or published secret informations. And that this could cause you to loose your job seems to show that Microsoft is a company in conflict with its own selfunderstanding … and probably with reality. One point though … if the photos in mention was take inside Microsoft AND in an area with very restricted access, then it is probably a correct decision to throw out people who break the rules. If this was the case, then the photographer should have used his head instead of his camera. But if the Photos was taken in a public area or from a public area, then the sacking would indeed have been a crime in a democratic country with proper trade union rights.

  242. 中国人 said

    微软所作所为真让人感到羞耻。我想Jobs应该喜欢这位被解雇的微软朋友。。。

  243. é isso ae… atitude!!! os produtos da MS ate que sao bons, o problema é o monopolio e os precos!!! pelo menos ele FEZ… e mostrou ao mundo o que a microsoft realmente é!!!! Gabriel Lisboa Salvadoir/BA

  244. Fuck Microsoft in the ass

  245. k.sawkins said

    Cant belive it, they just kicked u out, shows the attitude of MS. U did nothing wrong, so my hunch is that they thought that u are on their tail. By sacking u, they blew their cover whatever it is, how stupid..

  246. you were not a good employee,maybe you will be one after this:)

    Good Luck!

  247. Ahh Microsoft is just a large company and wants what all large companies want, to get bigger. The blog that was made obviously was not appropriate considering it is inside of a corperate building and should not be posted without consent of the company, but is seems foolish for Microsoft to fire the employee because now thousands are going to see the photo and thus generating mass embarassment for the mega corp. This whole matter is a messy joke and is something I’d expect to see in a tabloid :S. Ben Anderson

  248. Scream said

    I don’t believe you, they fired you for an other reason and you want take your revenge against Microsoft.

  249. Jas said

    Go apply at Apple with your story :)

    Steve is a good guy, tell him Jas sent ya.

  250. BleedingPegasus said

    You obviously did not hit MS on anything, yet they hit you right in your ars#hole. Imagine how long that hole’s bruise will last my mate. Think before you want to hit something… especially if you want to hit the most desperate company in world.

  251. marcelo said

    Aos poucos vai se revelando a verdadeira cara do pessoal da MS… E pensar que o Steve tentou fazer um acordo com o Mr. “BG” no passado… People three hurras to the Big, really Big Apple!!!!

  252. viktor said

    Lo siento que perdieras tu empleo…

    la verdad Microsoft se pasa…

    es tiempo de cambiar…

    la mejor de las suertes

  253. Gallomimia said

    First off, taking a picture of some thing that’s public knowledge like that truck with a dozen G5’s in it is not something anyone could expect to get fired for.

    Here’s an eye opener for all of you, especially the moron who says “don’t violate your non-disclosure agreement”!

    If your employer bothers to have agreements that allow them to violate your rights according to the constitution, then do you NEED to work for them?

    If your employer is willing to fire you for posting things like this, then do you NEED to stay working for them?

    Heck, if you’re bright enough, you know enough to do what they do. Start a company in direct competition and try to make your own fortune instead of slaving away for your ex-boss.

  254. Gabriel Zucco Tau [BRASIL] said

    U did news in Brasil too… http://informatica.terra.com.br/interna/0,,OI200966-EI553,00.html

    Brasil with a S not with a Z the country is ours then we determine how and when Brasil in right speeled or not… And I´m thinking about changing to THE BRASIL… I´m going to THE BRASIL!! Ohh yes…

    We Rock at the World Cups … We Rock on the internet … And we go to (the) U.S. I took the off… We are THE best! and fuck the big tits bitches!

    LOL ;-)

  255. Well, yeah, sorry for you.

    I mean, you’re absolutely right. I don’t think you did anything but to display the trouth, and if ms is willing to scak you for this, it’s their fault.

    Hope you find a new job soon. Try it at Apple :-)

    Good luck, K.

  256. Will said

    You’re a champ buddy, good luck in finding your new job. I beleive getting fired for this is a bit much though. So what if they got a few mac’s….

    it’s not as though they don’t have a need for them… mac’s have some similar software… and testing things with macs might be a bit of a pre-req when actually developing anything for them … sheish. Talk about an overkill of a reaction.

    Nice photo tho… live on!

  257. Hello I am Andrew Retzer I’m from Germany

    The shot is very silli, but i love it

    M.f.g.: Andrew

  258. Well well the news came to Denmark too

    It´s only shows that Microsoft some good shit.

    Sorry for you fellow

    Heinz

  259. Hi Michael,

    Greetings from Germany!

    F*** M$ ||| ApPLe RuLeZ!!!

    :-)

  260. Ramin said

    This shows what will happen to us if we don’t stop monopoly. You, brilliant people, stop joining the Microsoft team. Support other alternatives. Diversity will bring safety to all of us. Long live Open Source.

  261. Mohsan Khan said

    Hi!

    You should try getting a job at Apple :-)

  262. Mohsan Khan said

    Hi!

    Greatings from Sweden. You should try getting a job at Apple :-)

  263. Marcelo Luna said

    Grande Compadre!!!

    Parace que Bill mordió la manzana igual que Adán :S

    Nice Pictures!!.

  264. tb_[BRASIL] said

    Po cara sinto muito pelo emprego, mas eu tb concordo que voce fez a coisa certa, a Apple apavora a Microsoft sem duvida… Como muitos falaram Tente um emprego na Apple, afinal voce provou ser um bom fotografo…hehehe!!!

    Apple4ever…

  265. bjarne pedersen said

    dear michael

    if a non-geek like me who lives in malaysia and who happens to dislike microsoft intensely knows about what you blogged, microsoft has succeeded in scoring a huge, worldwide own goal!

    you made the front page of danish newspapers as well.

    good luck with your job search.

  266. HeY MaN,

    WhAt yUo hAvE doNe iS WrOnG. Be “LOYAL” tO YoUr cOmPaNy (employer)

    ChEeRs !

  267. Abadio said

    Hei, Im brazilian, and you are famous here, God bless you, but we… he, he, he… we just FUCK THE BILL GATES!!! and his MICO…SOFTS (LIKE MONKEYS SOFTS). Well, Im nobody, you know, and neither know how to speak your language very well, but I think that what he did is not a good thing. Here we use to smile of the fact. Come to my country, we have a lot of problems, but are still humans (like you of course).

  268. Leroy said

    Whoever pays you owns you… you gonna keep getting jobs then your’ll always be a slave to the person that signs your checks. Don’t be suprised if they decide to take your check away from you for whatever reason they want to. You want to call the shots, then you be the boss.

  269. Poseidon said

    The G5 computers are for the Longhorn division, of course. How should MS be able to develop a new user interface for Windows without looking at the Mac? They really like traditions at MS and this is they way they always work. :-)

  270. Wow, that’s quite a trackback!

  271. you just were right.good luck from the “old europe” lol

  272. it’s so hot! very intersting and powerful hou

  273. APPLE will out of sell。。。。。 苹 果 将 会 热 销 啦 苹 果 熟 了!

  274. Edward Brock said

    I tould you: Never trust in Bill Gate$…. Now, find a job…with Linux! :-)

  275. microsoft is bad, bad, bad… ;P

  276. damn the man down with the empire.

  277. Ben said

    I know exactly how you feel. I have made a very similar mistake. My deepest sympathy.

  278. Scotter said

    Live and learn. Don’t impugn the folks who pay you, especially if they explicitely prohibit against doing so in their policies such as “Sending or posting messages or material that could damage the Company’s image or reputation.”

  279. Recondo said

    It goes to show you how ruthless Micrsoft really is? I guess you can do anything when are declared a monopoly and get away with it?

    Hey, you should get a job with SUN. Aleast their Star Office is getting to be a world class competitor against MS Office and at a fraction of the price of the new MS Office.

    After seeing this type of employee abuse, it makes me think closely about the vendors I would choose to do business with. Microsoft will not be one of them if I could do anything about it.

    Recondo

  280. MadScientyst said

    Ethical unprofessionalism at MS Headquarters…

    In my opinion, if this whole scenario does NOT comply with the Company’s ‘Conflict of Interest’ Policy, then MS should be SUED! How does MS define exactly what a ‘Security Violation’ is?

    Does this mean that if a shipment of SUN Sparcs showed up one day at MS (say for Res. & Dev. purposes, comparative OS Platform study, etc.) and another Photo was taken, what would be the case?

    Similarly, just suppose that an employee in said R&D was previewing a Linux variant on his/her PC at the Office (eg. reviewing the new StarOffice for MS Office comparisons and another person decided to take a photo of said environment to post on a personal Website for family, friends to see what the workplace is like, and that Linux shot came out in the frame, what would be the case, who would get fired and for what reasons?

    We do not know what are MS’ policies with regards to the aforementioned ‘Security Violations,’ hence it will be difficult to grade the situation. Whilst one has to sympathize with the guy, one might have to assume that MS is very, very secretive and tight-lipped about what goes on in their Compound.

    If so, then their Employee Handbook (they must have one), should be explicit in detailing the use of photgraphy, departmental snapshots and security. Wonder if they’d fire someone for leaking the Box Design for the new OS when it comes out?

    All in all, it seems quite an infantile, ridiculous thing to do to someone who was just pointing out the simple fact that many of the OS/Hardware players will always see what the competition has to offer.

    What better way to do that, than to invest in a shipment, especially if you have a product division that caters to that market segment. My current IT department setup involves primarily Mac G3’s and G4’s, with some Solaris & NT/2000 Servers, but I would not mind having a SunBlade, G5 or a Dell to do more R&D.

    Heck, I’d be proud to show off to the public that I’m embracing technologies from the competition. At least, it would demonstrate that I have a serious committment to supporting the products that I develop for them as well as testing them natively.

    Too bad Microsoft, you’ve got too much pride, bad scruples and poor etiquette! Look at how Apple made the iPod and iTunes both Hardware & Software compatible for Windows. Although they did not have to do this (much to the annoyance of the Mac faithful), they’ll probably gain/win some new Windows users as clients/fans based on those 2 innovative steps with their products!

    If you ask me, certain TechTV ‘staples’ and comments, does far more damage to Microsoft than any one random photo on the ‘Net! Like it or not, Apple and the Mac are here to stay, albeit their tiny share of the Market, but that’s what makes them great and capable of putting out far SUPERIOR products to many, many of their counterparts (including Microsoft)!

    Shame on you Billy boy!!!

  281. Security eye said

    Well Security only works in the physical sense at Microsoft, not in the software sense, and thats why they bought G5’s

  282. Tech Guy said

    Microsoft promptly fired Hanscom for allegedly breaching confidentiality agreements that were a condition of his employment on the campus.

    As far as Apple hiring him (as suggested in other posts), why should they? He’s proven his ability to breach confidentiality agreements with MS. I wouldn’t trust him to work for me!

    Tech Guy

  283. Seriously, what’s missing here is on what grounds they fired this man.

    Pretty damn funny if they are being used for used for anything other then testing, which also hasn’t been established.

  284. Objective said

    I can’t figure out who to ridicule more - the moron that thought that taking pictures at work and posting them on the web was a “good idea” ot the countless number of those above who thinks this demonstrates the “evil nature” of Microsoft!

    How cow, I knew most people were clueless but seldom do you find such validation of it in one place.

  285. Even Microsoft makes Macintosh software, so , yes they would need macs wouldnt ya think. MS is just being pissy about it how do you develop software for a Mac and test it on a PC anywayz????

    I hope ya find employment soon guy.

  286. Well, maybe the little fat fuck stole office supplies…maybe it had nothing to do with the pic…. Jesus, MS can fire who the hell they want….if you don’t wanna be part of it, go join some gay company like Apple instead….. Jeeeezus!

  287. Kim said

    What is the best way to improve your products? Examining the competitor and make something better……. Easy….

  288. Jonathan said

    You should go to work for apple, do commercials, make money that way. Just a suggestion.

  289. Freek said

    I believe you Mike, no doubt. Hope you find yourselve a new job very soon. Try Apple in Cupertino…..!!!! Personally I think that if something similar happend at “The Infinity Loop” Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs would have laught his eyes out, and you’ll be probably awarded with some Apple Gadgets or even more !!!!

    In the end it proofs that even good old Bill can’t live without real heavy stuff like the G5’s Within 3 weeks I receive my own Dual 2G. Can’t hardly wait….

    Good Luck Mike Freek The Netherlands

  290. Luis Gomez said

    Congratulations man! you also made the news in Mexico, I guess those G5´s are the new ground design for the next generation of PC´s hehehehe!!!!!

    Steve Jobs better cash in on this!

  291. Andrew said

    The Wall Street Journal sucks!

  292. Chris said

    I was fired from microsoft in 2004 for questioning them buying 6 apple computers, 12 xboxes and playstations for reverse engineering. They claimed I was a security threat. I just expresed my opinion. I worked there for 5 years. I now work at apple. hang in there dude.

  293. WOW, they fire you because of that?!?

  294. fdg said

    prout

  295. Juan said

    Hello i am a kid (12 years old) of Argentina i can’t speak english good because i am only a kid, all the people have to fight to this actions, fire you are don’t a good act of Microsoft, I think you are a good man, but Microsoft don’t are good, are BAD people including Bill Gates, you can’t interview with te Microsoft acts but the people of the world can, I can live whit Linux, don’t are a bad software. Juan

  296. Oh and reply to that…microsoft studios (the people behind xbox and xbox 360) they all have apple 30” monitors as their gaming tools I went on a tour of their building (virtually) and hahhaa

    MACSxOWNZxYOURxSOULZZZZZxMICROSOFT!!!!!!!!!

  297. TotalRecall said

    I think it is about time the population of America started to take themselves a little less seriously. To me MS do seem to be an odd company. I think like most other companies they have too many managers that just want to justify thier jobs. I think the world would be a hell of a lot more productive if this crazy system was destroyed. I have experienced managers steeling ideas of their staff and passing them off as their own. Then guess who gets the bonus…. Ha Ha just remembered I got the sack from an American company in the U.K. because the CEO’s daughter fancied me and always wanted to work with me. I was just a Lab Tech and was removed instantly. They also got the arse with me leaving the premises at lunch time. They only would of have complained if I have of skinned up in the Lab.

  298. Anonymous said

    OH MY GOD! THIS IS THE BEST THING I EVER READ! YET I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT YOU SHOULDNT HAVE GOT FIRED FOR THIS. I THINK ITS UNFAIR. IF I WAS YOU, I WOULD SUE MICROSOFT (ALTHOUGH I LOVE MICROSOFT HEHE). YOU SEEM LIKE A VERY ETHICAL PERSON TO HAVE TAKEN NO ACTION. WAY TO GO AND GOOD LUCK IN LIFE!

  299. unidentifiedMammal said

    MS missed out on some lines there pal. The ones that says, “Hopefully they’re all in good condition when they arrive…” They must have been so enraged that they didn’t noticed the concern that you have shown for their shipments. Or MS must be really that “insensitive” for not noticing that, that they have done the worst to you. Sigh Well, what can I say. Everything happens for a reason. Goodluck and God Bless you and your family..

  300. Holly said

    Hi, nice site!

  301. Fuk you Microsoft

  302. Yall suck Badly…be smart make good decisons..but to damn bad yo didnt…….

  303. David (IT Dude) said

    Mike,

    I’ve used LINUX and (begrudgingly) some MAC stuff but I’ve been a longtime user of MS products and most likely always will be. It is, however, so sad to see that MS has taken something so menial (and obviously not done maliciously) and made it so mountainous.

    It seems to me that they are more embarrassed that they got ”caught” than anything. So, kudos to you, Mike for your humorous and ”honest” picture.

    Shame on you, MS, for being to childish and petty as to terminate an (apparently) honest and upright guy.

    Always remember, MS, if you don’t want to get caught doing something embarrassing, it’s probably a good idea to simply not do it to begin with.

  304. Catherine Todd said

    I just came across this blog and photo and story about Microsoft. I am absolutely amazed at the hostility and name-calling engaged by some “people” (I use that term very loosely); they are in reality poisonous spiders and snakes “posing” as human beings. I am so glad I don’t and won’t ever have to work around people like them.

    If this is what “corporate culture” is all about - no cameras, no cell phone cameras, no blogs, no freedom of speech, then it’s good to not be in that environment. Just because one wears (or has to wear) a white collar shirt and tie doesn’t mean they aren’t just as mistreated as the miners of old. Has anything really changed?

    Slavery still exists, apparently, it just has another name: MICROSOFT and “CORPORATION.” The downfall of Rome is not far behind. Long live freedom and responsibility; the responsibility of choosing to live well, and to live and treat others humanely. It appears that this is just what you did. Whether you intentionally chose the “freedom” of unemployment or not. Surely there is something out there much better for someone as intelligent and kind as you.

    What are you up to now? You sound like a really nice person; especially as you don’t blame Microsoft even when you, working for an outside independent contractor, hadn’t been informed of the rules. I would not find myself to be as charitable as you.

    Thanks so much for such enlightening posts… Yours, Catherine Todd, ctodd1000@gmail.com

    P.S. I use my real name on all my blogs and internet dealings as well. We have to be individuals and live without fear, or we are lost. I love my life and won’t let anyone take it away.

Continuing the Discussion

  1. eclecticism linked to this post on October 27, 2003

    Of blogging and unemployment

    And that simply, as of about 2pm today, I once again joined the ranks of the unemployed.

  2. mak'in-trash`\. linked to this post on October 27, 2003

    Blog with care

    Mind what you blog, it might get you the sack even if the posting is not about the company you work in.

  3. A Dane in Luxembourg linked to this post on October 28, 2003

    Careful about your blogging

    Another example illustrating that you should think twice before blogging. Michael has really been screwed here. One entry just being funny results in him been fired. Microsoft is really acting like a disgruntled four-year old. Heck, I could understand it

  4. John P. Hoke's Asylum linked to this post on October 28, 2003

    Careful what you write…

    Take care what you write about on your blogs, forums, etc. It appears that one of the bloggers I have a lot of respect for, and who I link to a lot was fired by Microsoft yesterday for posting something…

  5. The Book of FSCK linked to this post on October 28, 2003

    How G5s can make oyu unemployed…

    … or at least technically unemployed, as Michael says. Now, we all know, we need to help a fellow Apple geek in need, and if he’s being fired by the Evil Empire itself, for an act of Apple Geekdom, then…

  6. Eat Your Vegetables linked to this post on October 28, 2003

    When Microsoft Attacks, Part 2

    I don’t expect to get fired for this picture. It’s hard to imagine that anyone would. Microsoft sucks.

  7. a warm place linked to this post on October 28, 2003

    Picture Pages

    I don’t wander around the TypePad community too much, so this evening I decided to get out and see some sites. Here’s some of my findings, complete with links to photos: a sign that reads “Spitting… is Unlawful… Offenders are

  8. And She Said linked to this post on October 28, 2003

    Why Did I Want to Be There?

    I may have cried over the possibility of not working at Microsoft but through a local mailing list, I saw…

  9. a warm place linked to this post on October 28, 2003

    Wandering Around The Community

    Unfortunately, I don’t wander around the TypePad community too much because I tend to forget about it. This evening, however, I decided to get out and see some sites, visit with some neighbors, and record a few of my findings

  10. Sirsha Development Resources Blog linked to this post on October 28, 2003

    MS fired a guy for blogging?

  11. Brajeshwar linked to this post on October 28, 2003

    You blog, then better ask your boss

    Do you blog? And are you employed? Be careful your boss may not like what you blog, this guy got fired (read actual thread) because he wrote something on his blog that his company do not like. Similarly, better be careful with your blog content and fol…

  12. New Media Journalism @ Seton Hill University linked to this post on October 28, 2003

    Microsoft Fires Blogger

    If we can trust what is written on the “Electrisim” weblog, Microsoft fired a blogger for posting a picture of a shipment of Macs arriving at the Microsoft headquarters: Even Microsoft wants G5s” href=”http://www.michaelhanscom.com/eclecticism/2003/10/…

  13. snowchyld linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Dear Microsoft

    I always thought that wanting to work for you would be nifty, however after reading this i’ve decided that my uber nifty idea’s and conceptual brilliance will no longer be allowed into your life sucking corportation. seriously guys, some of…

  14. Reidsrow.com linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Microsoft Temp fired for blogging about Macs.

    Seems that Micro$haft doesn’t want word to get out that they just scored a nice big pallet of 2.0Ghz G5s. They are so intent on this, it seems, that if you happen to be a temp working there, and you…

  15. Fun With Wordage linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Microsoft Fires over a Blog

    This is pretty upsetting. Microsoft fired an individual over this post on his blog. Microsoft says it’s a security violation. Which is Gates-speak for embarassing Apple’s at Microsoft….

  16. Timswebpage.com linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Don’t Blog about Microsoft

    Obligatory Link Love

  17. The Silent Penguin linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Blogging can get you fired

    This blog entry was the reason Michael got fired. And to be honest I can even understand Microsoft in part for their reaction. No company would want you blogging “sensitive” stuff like that. At the same time it is an…

  18. Brian linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    The Working Mac Manifesto

    The tech economy has been bruised for years now. With as many tech - and Mac people looking for jobs, it’s worth noting that we are our greatest asset. Follow me here… I work for Career Services at a state…

  19. Ones and Zeros linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Another Blog Related Firing

    “Microsoft has the right to decide that because of what you said, you’re no longer welcome on the Microsoft campus.”

  20. Blogcritics linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Another Blog-related Firing

    “Microsoft has the right to decide that because of what you said, you’re no longer welcome on the Microsoft campus.”

  21. Ones and Zeros linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Another Blog Related Firing

    “Microsoft has the right to decide that because of what you said, you’re no longer welcome on the Microsoft campus.”

  22. KnitWitology linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    MS Blogger Gets The Boot

    A blogger and Microsoft got himself fired for posting pictures of Even Microsoft wants G5s” href=”http://www.michaelhanscom.com/eclecticism/2003/10/even_microsoft_.html”>a shipment of Mac G5s…

  23. krishenblog linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    It’s how you say it

    Do you talk about work on your blog? Careful….

  24. jRoo Photo::Blog linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    One Blog, No Job

    Michael’s Blog entry about an M$ offices new purchases, unfortunatly got him fired. Watch what you blog, if you want to keep your job….

  25. Compulsive linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Microsoft orders G5’s, fires guy who photographs it

    This guy took a picture of a couple of pallettes of Apple G5’s being unloaded at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond. Four days later he was fired for “security violations”. I really feel bad for this guy as Microsoft offered him…

  26. Team Murder linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Somehow I Don’t Think This Is Going To Secure Anything

    I know that this poor bastard has already received more than his fair share of attention from the monster than…

  27. FatMixx linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Microsoft lays down the law

    A guy posts a photo of G5’s being delivered to Microsoft. Guy is a Microsoft employee. Guy gets fired. Stupid Microsoft.

  28. bignoseduglyguy linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Seattle’s crime of the week

    Writing and postingeclecticism >thislast week resulted in eclecticism >this this week for Michael Hanscom who, seemingly, now rates as a major security threat over at Gates Central. Stupid for them; sad for him….

  29. It's 3am...Pass The Bawls linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Do they even care about technology anymore?

    What. The. Fuck? There’s two things in the last 48 hours that have really bothered me. They should bother everyone else too. This effects technology to the highest level. “The GPL violates the U.S. Constitution, together with copyright, antitrust and…

  30. Severdia linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Even Microsoft wants G5s

    If you have a job for Michael Hanscom let him know. Michael was fired from Microsoft recently for posting a picture on his blog of 3 palettes of dual 2 Ghz Apple G5s as they were being delivered to the…

  31. Swanky Conservative linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Microsoft buys Apples, sacks employee who blogged it

    Who says bloggers don’t get results? In this case, it wasn’t what the blogger anticipated, that’s for sure. Said blogger snapped a photo of a truck of dual 2 Ghz PowerMac G5s being unloaded at one of Microsoft’s facilities. Microsoft…

  32. Macinblog linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    G5 pix gets Michael fired

    Watch what you blog. Michael Hanscom (eclecticism weblog) lost his job at Microsoft because of this post: Even Microsoft wants G5s That sucks. Good luck Michael….

  33. DeeBeeDee linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Watch What You Blog About

    Poor Microsoft temp employee gets fired for posting a picture in his blog of new Apple G5s being unloaded somewhere in the Redmond campus. [via PhilMUG]…

  34. American Digest linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Microsoft Cans Pix Posting Blogger

    I’m willing to bet folding money that within a year we’ll be hearing a Gates Keynote, at any one of the bazillion conferences onliners feel compelled to attend, about how essential blogging is to the “Microsoft Way.” Then we’ll have a BillBlog to show…

  35. BlendMart linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Bring on the firings…

    Even Microsoft wants G5s” href=”http://www.michaelhanscom.com/eclecticism/2003/10/even_microsoft_.html”>Even Microsoft wants G5s….but being a Microsoft employee and letting the so-called cat out of the bag on the Internet is not a good idea….

  36. Hud's Blog-O-Rama linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Blogger Burned

    A blogger who worked for Microsoft just got fired because he took a picture of some Macintosh G5’s at Microsoft and posted them on his blog. His blog is a private one, but here’s a case where employers will burn…

  37. snapturtle blog linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Sacked By The Borg

    Microshaft has sacked a temp employee over a blog post that frankly doesn’t say much other than: Three palettes of Dual 2.0Ghz G5’s on their way in to somewhere deep in the bowels of Redmond. Hmm. Is Microsoft trying to…

  38. Faraway, So Close linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Bill Buys a G5

    Nothing shocking here as M$ does develop software for Macs so they would have to have them around - but it is kind of funny to see a whole pallet of them - and what’s sad is the employee who…

  39. Reflective Reality linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Mind what you blog - It could cost you a job.

    This sucks. Who gives a damn if M$ buy some decent mac’s? You really don’t think that those manuals and books are typeset in Word do you???!?!?!?…

  40. ***Dave Does the Blog linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Whispered secrets

    Doyce recounts the story of some copy shop guy at the Micro$oft campus who was fired for posting a picture…

  41. djst's nest linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    MS kicks employee because of blog post

    I just found out via Robert Accettura’s weblog that Michael Hanscom, a Microsoft employee, has been fired because of a humorous and innocent post about Microsoft buying some Mac computers. What on earth is wrong with Microsoft? If they find…

  42. help.net linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Being fired by Microsoft for one picture, is it true ?

  43. RyCam.net linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Microsoft’s Cruel and Unusual Punishment

    A Former Microsoft Employee has been terminated for taking a picture of 3 pallets of G5’s entering the Microsoft Compounds in Redmond and posting those photos on his blog. Gee, I don’t think Microsoft wanted it known that they were buying a truckload …

  44. help.net linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Michael Hanscom story

  45. Pardon My English linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Blogs Speak Louder Than Words

    A very interesting event in the world of Blogs. The blog Electicism is run by an employee of Microsoft, and he blogged a photograph of some boxes of Apple Computer’s new Dual 2.0 Ghz G5 Power Macs. Needless to say, in matter of 4 days, he was no lon…

  46. Gemal's Psyched Blog linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Be carefull about what you blog. Microsoft will fire you!

    Microsoft fired an individual over a post on his blog. Microsoft Security saw the post as being a security violation….

  47. blogroll.co.uk linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Fired for blogging?

    http://www.michaelhanscom.com/eclecticism/2003/10/even_microsoft_.html After blogging this entry, a guy was fired from his job at Microsoft, apparantly they didn’t like the fact he gave away information about locations and buildings at MS, not that the…

  48. pure imaginary linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    one bad apple ruins the bunch

    so macs are having a general bad effect on a lot of things lately. this guy was just sacked for posting about how he saw a shipment of G5’s being dropped off at his microsoft location. when will the horrors…

  49. Ramblings of A Madman linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Unbelievable!!

    This guy was FIRED for blogging about the G5’s he saw being delivered….well microsoft guess what now its ALL OVER…

  50. jBlog linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Gulp!

    Michael Hanscom has a blog where he great picture of some PowerMac G5s being delivered to his employer, Microsoft. Seems…

  51. GreenCracker linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Mac Fan Gets Fired from Micro$oft

    It appears that this guy was fired for posting photos of Apple G5s being shipped into the Microsoft headquarters in Redmond. I feel his pain….

  52. Starjewel linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Even MS wants G5s and they don’t want you to know about

    Which is why they fired a blogger for posting a picture of a shipment of G5s at his workplace, Microsoft. Conspiracy theories aside, it is a little funny, but I don’t entirely blame them for firing someone for posting unauthorized…

  53. Gadgetopia linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Think First, Blog Second

    Recently a couple of bloggers have discovered the unintended consequences of blogging. Greg Easterbrook made some comments regarding the favored religion of the heads of Disney and Viacom. He gets to keep his job with The New Republic, but his…

  54. Selfdestruct linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    ls poika kuvaa

    Blogimerkinnästä työttömyyteen. Michael Hanscom työskenteli MSCopy:ssä (Microsoftin printtiputka) ja sai potkut julkaistuaan kuvan Microsoftille saapuvasta Apple G5 lähetyksestä. np. The Crystal Method - High Rol…

  55. geek*muffin linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Five for Free Speech

    Give Five for Free Speech to my friend Michael, who was fired without any method of appeal for posting a picture of the Microsoft Campus (and naming the building) on his blog. (follow link, and scr…

  56. pr9000.net ... ten pounds of hip in a five-pound blog. linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Don’t mention work…

    Because even the most innocuous-seeming post might put your butt out on the street. The blogger linked above was fired when Microsoft found the post. They had every right to do so, of course. I’d bet they even have a…

  57. Tod-OS linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Incluso Microsoft quiere G5s

    Un empleado de MS ha sido despedido por tomar y publicar estas fotos en las que se ve como un camin descarga Apple G5 en el campus de MS….

  58. Musings linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Poor bugger

    This poor bugger was working as a temp for Microshaft and noticed a delivery being made of a bunch of the latest Mac’s. He took a quick pic, posted a note and was fired the next day! Ouch! Good luck…

  59. Undesignated Blog linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Another Blogger gets fired for blogging

    Just more evidence of why it is a “good thing” that I blog annonymously. Michael Hanson was fired from his temp postion for his blog post about G5s at Mircosofts headquarters. Beware bloggers we must protect ourselves while still practicing…

  60. Dominic Cooney's Weblog linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Caveat Blogger

  61. authenticgeek linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Watch what you blog…

    The other day, fellow TypePadder Michael Hanscom was fired from his job at Microsoft because he blogged a picture of some Apple G5’s that Microsoft had ordered. I had no idea until I read it on Slashdot this afternoon. Yes,

  62. YABlog linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Apple Harvest

    It’s been a bumper crop of goodies from Apple in the last few weeks. * Mac OS X 10.3 “Panther” with its killer feature “Expos” and iChat AV. * New iBooks (G4 1GHz) just as I was thinking of getting…

  63. The Renaissance Vector linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Microsoft fearing the blogs?

    Now, most people know already know Microsoft doesn’t have that certain ‘touch’ when dealing with PR issues, but this is just childish. Even MS should know that the posting of a funny (in a geeky way) picture on a blog…

  64. UtterlyBoring.com linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    How blogging can get you unemployed

    First, you post a picture on your blog of Microsoft getting a big shipment of G5s. The next day, you’re unemployed. At least his site was Slashdotted and he’s getting…

  65. techno weenie linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    fired for blogging

    Michael (of eclecticism) was fired from Microsoft for a blog post about MS getting some Apple G5s. It doesn’t seem

  66. eclecticism linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Fifteen minutes of fame

    Another major followup post, answering questions about my experiences over the past couple days — Slashdotting and all!

  67. Opinion linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Bloggers Beware

    This is reasonably fucked. Did you read the article? If not basically this guy got sacked by Microsoft because of this blog entry entitled Even Microsoft wants G5s. The article contains a happy snap of some G5s being unloaded from a truck. That’s right…

  68. 256 linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    From the bonehead file….

    From someone who works in all kinds of sensitive client environments and sees and hears all kinds of interesting things there, this was just about the dumbest, most self-destructive thing I’ve seen someone do in quite a while.

  69. Hot Frozen Soup linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Micro-shush!

    I hope my company (either one I work for or one I start) will not be as secretive and rude as Microsoft. Michael Hanscom recently posted on his weblog a picture of a bunch of Power Mac G5s being unloaded at Microsoft (where he worked). Four days l…

  70. Mind of Mog linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Fired Over G5's

    More often than not blogging will get you unemployed as opposed to getting employed. And it was over such a silly thing, a truck full of yummylicious G5’s. The employer in question was Microsoft. Not liked he leaked any big secret, unless one actual…

  71. Phildo's Blog linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Microsoft firing due to Blog photo

    Just in case you missed the Slashdot story about the blogger that got fired for publishing a pic of a pallete of new G5’s sitting on the loading dock, go take a quick read The thing that’s interesting to note is that he published it on a Thursday night…

  72. Wei-Yen' s Blog linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    How ridiculous

    This is ridiculous. They have their pride to consider here…but a guy getting fired because he took some snapshots at a company when they were using a competitors product. After blogging it, he gets fired. Seems overreactive to me. Article of the even…

  73. Skyzyx.com linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Links From Around

    Here are a few interesting reads from around the world wide web this evening. Microsoft trying to control blogging. Gator tries to shed it’s self-inflicted unpopularity by changing it’s name to Claria. Napster’s back (well, it’s pretending to be…). …

  74. Modulator linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Blogger Beware

    This post lost Michael Hanscom his job. See details here. This seems to reflect some pretty deep paranoia over at MS. To think, they have smurfs who spend all their time looking for stuff like this to snuff out. Probably a training camp for the ashcrof…

  75. Neurotech linked to this post on October 29, 2003

    Get fired from Microsoft…

    …for talking about G5s. And the best part is, he was talking about Microsoft buying a bunch of them. Nice….

  76. Jean's Weblog linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Fifteen Minutes of Fame

    It is very hard to miss Michael Hanscom’s Fifteen Minutes of Fame, since it made to #1 AND #2 spot of blogdex.com today. It is such a simple story, Michael owns a weblog and Michael was a temp worker working…

  77. stan.blog linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Another Reason to Hate MS

    A few days ago, a Microsoft employee snaps a picture of a truck unloading a shipment of G5s at one of the buildings inside the MS “campus”. Later that day he desides to add that picture to his blog without…

  78. Late Night Blog linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Where do you want to go tomorrow

    Michael Hanscom [1] arbeitete bis Montag bei Microsoft. Dann wurde er entlassen. Grund: In seinem Weblog [2] hatte er ein Bild gepostet[3], dass die Ankunft von einigen Paletten Apple G5 Rechnern auf dem “Microsoft Campus” zeigte. Grund genug fr die …

  79. B-O-K linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Apples

    Als je als uitzendkracht bij Microsoft werkt en je maakt aldaar een foto van een pallet met zojuist geleverde Apple G5-computers , wordt je ontslagen… Althans, dat gebeurde ene Michael Hanscom. Klik op de foto aldaar, kijk halverwege in die vrachtwag…

  80. the Moebius @ dgjones.co.uk linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Is it any surprise?

    …that Microsoft received a shipment of spanking dual G5’s? Not really considering that the Microsoft Business Unit seems to be actively developing updates to Messenger and Office. But were these computers destined for this unit or have the rest of…

  81. John P. Hoke's Asylum linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Michael’s 15 minutes

    Michael Hanscom (a.k.a. Wudi) who was shitcanned by Microsoft for posting pictures of Apple G5’s being delivered to the M$ Campus posted a great piece today about all that has transpired since he posted that he was let go on…

  82. nyc99 linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Microsoft Displays True Colors At Home Just Before the PDC

    Getting fired sucks, but getting fired from Microsoft because of blogging about Macs at Microsoft will get you slashdotted and that adds new dimensions to the whole experience. For Michael Hanscom this post, Even Microsoft wants G5s” href=”http://www.m…

  83. Reidsrow.com linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Extended response to illogical comments.

    Ok, I’ll bite. But first, a short lesson in logic. There is a difference between a valid argument and a true argument. All true arguments are also valid arguments; that is, all arguments that have true premises and a true…

  84. interrupted. the postbackblog. linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    G5

  85. Weblogging101.com linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Blogger Fired from Microsoft for Security Violation

    Blogger fired from MSFT for security violation.

  86. Theeslof linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    http://www.haarlem-noord.nl/thees/archives/000046.html

    Nu mijn buurman is verwikkeld in een alles opeisende strijd, doe ik dan maar eventjes het Apple nieuws: Deze weblogger, werkzaam bij onze vrienden uit Redmond, is hierom ontslagen. Hij vormde een veiligheidsrisico voor Bill c.$….

  87. Modulator linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Blogger Beware

    This post lost Michael Hanscom his job. See details here. This seems to reflect some pretty deep paranoia over at MS. To think, they have smurfs who spend all their time looking for stuff like this to snuff out. Probably a training camp for the ashcrof…

  88. insideCAP linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Of blogging and unemployment

    Of blogging and unemployment Microsoft sucks….Balmer and Gates need a swift kick in the balls. -cp-…

  89. Rohdesign Weblog linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Mac & PDA Tidbits

    Happy Thursday! For your blog-reading pleasure, I have a bunch of smaller tidbits to mention on both Mac OS X…

  90. The Web Wanderer linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    M$ buys G5, employee gets fired

    Micheal Hanscom worked at Microsoft, saw a pallet of G5’s (Apple computers, fyi) got unloaded at his employer’s loading dock, took a picture, mentioned it on his weblog, and got fired. Even Microsoft wants G5s” href=”http://www.michaelhanscom.com/eclec…

  91. jrblog linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Bloguear puede ser peligroso

    Lenta Renovación Vía Slashdot me entero de esto: Un empleado de Microsoft es despedido, luego que en su blog, posteara una foto de cómo descargaban en las Oficinas de Redmond, varias máquinas Power Mac G5 de Apple, nuevecit…

  92. Atverpia linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Even Microsoft wants G5s (Apple’s)

    How blogging can get you fired at work..

  93. Screenshots... linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    An innocent blog on Microsoft campus

    A blogger who worked in the Microsoft campus posted an innocent blog on a hosted site he paid for - on Six Apart’s TypePad to be exact. The story titled: “Even Microsoft wants G5s” is complemented with a picture of…

  94. The Binary Circumstance linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Microsoft Fires Contract Employee Over Weblog

    A contract employee at Microsoft, Michael Hanscom, was fired because he posted a picture of some i-Mac G-5s arriving at Microsoft’s shipping dock on his weblog. This guy got written up in the Seattle-PI. Now, lots of people know that

  95. The Blog of the Century of the Week linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Another job lost over a blog

    A printing shop temp has been fired by Microsoft for this post. Like Gregg Easterbrook, he was fired for a blog he kept outside of his job, and the reasons given may be a little inaccurate. They claimed he violated…

  96. Gadgetopia linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Be Careful What You Blog

    Michael Hanscom of eclecticism.com happened to be in the right place at the right time to snap an interesting picture; three pallets of Apple G5’s in a plain white truck being delivered to Microsoft headquarters in Redmond. He found it…

  97. Dana's Blog linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Microsoft fires worker over weblog

    Michael Hanscom, a former MS employee in MS’s print shop, was fired for snapping a picture of a bunch of macs on MS’s loading docs. Interesting. Related Links Seattle P-I: Microsoft fires worker over weblog MSNBC: Blogger dismissed from Microsoft…

  98. wibbler.com linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    The dangers of blogging

    You may think we bloggers have an easy life. We post, you read, you comment. Repeat. But we tread dangerous ground to bring you these posts. Take poor old Michael Hanscom. He delivered some Mac computers to Microsoft headquarters, noted…

  99. Once bitten, twice smitten linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Microsoft employee fired for being a Mac fan

    Watch what you blog about your company from now on. Former Microsoft employee Michael Hanscom for being a Mac fan. Ok, so I can see how it pissed them off. He did post a picture of a shipment of some…

  100. Breaking Windows linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Even Microsoft wants G5s - Just Don’t Tell anyone

    But you might get fired for letting out the secret. This poor guy has had his 15 minutes of fame though. I bet you never thought blogging would get you fired. It seems the combination of the photo of palettes of G5’s on the M$ Campus and the name…

  101. nothingonline.net:home linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Watch what you post!

    Blogger dismissed from Microsoft…

  102. T-Square's Virtual Insanity linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    Fired Over Your Blog?

    Michael Hanscom has been fired by Microsft…well by the contractor he worked for who worked for Microsoft…for a post on his blog. He didn’t bad mouth Microsoft, he didn’t bad mouth their products…but what he did do was post a picture, and enough i…

  103. palmit.commentary linked to this post on October 30, 2003

    My Panther Can Take Your Longhorn!

    I read a book last year titled The Second Coming of Steve Jobs by Alan Deutschman and I put

  104. wildfeed linked to this post on October 31, 2003

    Microsoft fires employee

    Microsoft feuert Mitarbeiter wegen Power Mac G5-Photo. eclecticism > Even Microsoft wants G5s…

  105. pointblog.com linked to this post on October 31, 2003

    Vir pour avoir blogu - 2

    Nouvel pisode dans la srie “on ne peut pas tout faire sur un blog”, le licenciement de Michael Hanscom par

  106. Ryan's Rantin' linked to this post on October 31, 2003

    And this is why I don’t mention my company name in my blog

    He didn’t mention WHICH building he was located in, but I’ve dealt with enough anal security assholes to know that this would get them in a hissy fit. Oooooh, everything must be kept secret and mystical…. <insert spooky Hallowe’en music>

  107. minid.net linked to this post on October 31, 2003

    Despedido por escribir en su weblog

    Antes de blogguear, preguntale a tu jefe…

  108. The Chang Journal linked to this post on October 31, 2003

    The hazards of blogging

    The recent weblogging story that has been making the rounds is regarding Michael Hanscom a now ex-Microsoft employee over his blog post Even Microsoft wants G5s. An article, Microsoft fires worker over weblog came out yesterday in the Seattle Post-Inte…

  109. Mindful Musings linked to this post on October 31, 2003

    Microsoft fires employee for a posting on personal blog

    Microsoft fired an employee for a posting on his personal blog and showing a picture of a truck unloading a palet or Macintosh G5s into the Redmond Campus PrintShop loading dock. There are a couple of things amiss here. One: Be careful of what you blo…

  110. Ursula's Not So Secret History linked to this post on October 31, 2003

    Blogging About Work

    One of my readers sent me a link to a story about Michael Hanscom who worked at Microsoft and got

  111. Flame Turns Blue linked to this post on October 31, 2003

    Microsoft Bolgger Fired

    A Microsoft employee was recently fired after posting company-related information on his personal blog. Excerpt: As the weblogging phenomenon has taken off, there have been isolated incidents around the country in which companies fired employees for po…

  112. Sideblog linked to this post on October 31, 2003

    http://www.mariwood.com/sideblog/previously/002059.html

    Even Microsoft wants G5s” href=”http://www.michaelhanscom.com/eclecticism/2003/10/even_microsoft_.html”>eclecticism >M$ buys lots of Macs, fires employee for posting picture…

  113. Dubium sapientiae initium linked to this post on November 1, 2003

    Corporate Blogs am Beispiel Microsoft

    Die Tage wurde Michael Hanscom gefeuert, weil er Fotos vom M$-Campus verffentlicht hatte. Wie er in seinem Blog schrieb, obwohl er alle ihm bekannten Richtlinien (NDA et. al.) beachtet hatte. Nun haben wohl in den letzten Tagen nicht wenige bei Robert…

  114. UnplannedThought.com linked to this post on November 1, 2003

    Be Careful What you Blog

    This guy lost his job because of a post on his blog….

  115. g linked to this post on November 1, 2003

    - Microsoft,

    - Microsoft, G5,

  116. airbeagle linked to this post on November 1, 2003

    framing the thin red line

    Interesting what you can read in ‘blogworld that can set off a whirlwind of thought. I see via Daypop that…

  117. Perpetually Thinking linked to this post on November 2, 2003

    Temp worker loses job at Microsoft

    Not realizing it would cost him his job, Michael Hanscom posted a photo on his blog of a pallet of new Apple G5’s being offloaded at Microsoft. Although Microsoft claims it was a “security violation”, Hanscom thinks it may have…

  118. A View From Home linked to this post on November 2, 2003

    Guy fired from MS for his blog: my 2 cents

    There’s been a lot of talk about Michael Hanscom. If you don’t read a lot of blogs, particularly Mac-focused ones, Michael Hanscom was a temporary worker in Microsoft’s printing plant. Technically, his assignment was with Xerox which runs the printing…

  119. Wandering Around linked to this post on November 2, 2003

    Be Careful What You Blog

    Apparently Microsoft fired one of their employees for taking a picture of Macs being offloaded at Redmond. I have known for years Microsoft execs must be megalomaniacs but this is totally ridiculous. What bothers me the most is the fact

  120. The ^Mask^ Hide Out linked to this post on November 2, 2003

    Blogger gets fired

    Makes you wonder: An indirect Microsoft employee gets fired for posting pictures on his weblog of new Macintosh machines being delivered to the Redmond campus. I’d better be careful what I post about MY company! :P Even Microsoft wants G5s”…

  121. ObBlog linked to this post on November 3, 2003

    Blogger Job Turnstile

    Even Microsoft Wants G5s — another job lost to blogging, bet you $25 he has a better job within a month.

  122. MEX Blog linked to this post on November 3, 2003

    Microsoft feuert Zeitarbeiter wg. Blog

    dieses Bild auf dem Blog des Unglcklichen ist der Stein des Anstosses: Der Mitarbeiter hat es auf dem MS Campus aufgenommen (man sieht Apple G5 Computer, die aus einem Laster geladen werden). MS hat den Mitarbeiter fristlos entlassen. Weshalb? Nun…

  123. Discount Blogger linked to this post on November 3, 2003

    ANOTHER BLOGGER SACKED

    This photo got this blogger fired from this company….

  124. Samizdata.net linked to this post on November 4, 2003

    Fired by Microsoft…

    II must be the last person in the blogosphere to have spotted this . Some guy seems to have been fired by Microsoft for posting a photo of a bunch of Macintosh G5 computers being delivered to some nameless warehouse in Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters….

  125. [nerdlog.de] linked to this post on November 4, 2003

    mac-o-fire

    Dieses Photo kostete den Microsoft-Miarbeiter Michael Hanscom seinen Job. Es zeigt die Lieferung mehrerer G5-Boxen an den Microsoft-Campus. Hanscom verffentlichte das Bild in seinem Blog. Ein Interview mit dem Ex-Mitarbeiter von Microsoft findet sich…

  126. Simply Patrick linked to this post on November 4, 2003

    Microsoft and G5

    Even Microsoft wants G5s” href=”http://www.michaelhanscom.com/eclecticism/2003/10/even_microsoft_.html”>eclecticism > Even Microsoft wants G5s 因為 blog 而丟了工作?我想 Michael 也沒想到拍一張照片會把這新聞炒的這麼大。正…

  127. Jesse Ezell Blog linked to this post on November 4, 2003

    Conspiracy Theory

  128. Catallarchy.net linked to this post on November 4, 2003

    No consequences for speech?

    The blogosphere has been a-buzz about the firing of blogger and Microsoft worker Michael Hanscom for posting a picture of Macs being delivered to the Microsoft campus. What initially caught my eye is the sheer venom expressed in the comments…

  129. When Jemi Blogs ... linked to this post on November 4, 2003

    Is it necessary?

    I do not know whether he’s just threatening his reader or is actually taking the real action. IF it is the later, then I’m somewhat appalled by it. While I’m not condoning the act of blog readers leaving harsh or…

  130. Microsiervos linked to this post on February 20, 2005

    Nunca han despedido a nadie por blogear

    Aunque ha habido varios casos más o menos sonados de gente que se dice que ha sido despedida de su empresa por escribir un blog, como Queen of Sky, una azafata de Delta, o Mike, un empleado de una subcontrata…

  131. g linked to this post on February 22, 2005

    Microsoft y los G5

    Estos días se habla mucho en la red de periodistas y otros trabajadores que han sido despedidos por “saber darle utilidad” a su blog. Fue muy sonada la “compra” de varios blogs de renombre en la campaña electoral de…

  132. Iggy Uncensored linked to this post on April 26, 2005

    Microsoft using MAC’s to make advertisements

    A year or so ago a Microsoft employee was fired for publishing photos of Microsoft rolling Apple Macintoshes into their offices. Are those machines being used to produce advertisements for …

  133. Iggy Uncensored linked to this post on April 26, 2005

    Microsoft using MAC’s to make advertisements

    A year or so ago a Microsoft employee was fired for publishing photos of Microsoft rolling Apple Macintoshes into their offices. Are those machines being used to produce advertisements for …

  134. Nirmalya's blog linked to this post on June 1, 2005

    Blogging As A Job?

    [via Slashdot] The Wall Street Journal’s online edition is carrying a story about some companies hiring staff as full time bloggers….

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