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The Tech Interviews of Yesteryear
nihilist_1137 writes: "Cnet has a collection of interviews with some of the 'biggest movers and shakers' of 2001. It focuses on their plans, ambitions and fears. Included is Sir Arthur C. Clark, Bill Gates, Will Wright, and Bill Joy, to name a few." It''s a fairly eclectic bunch of interviews collected from the last year, not ones done specifically for 2001 nostalgia.
And we're obviously going to spend a lot in marketing because we think the product sells itself...
AH! It's all so clear now!
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Book(n): Utensil used to pass time while waiting for the TV repairman
They said "give", didn't they?
and have you sign equally daunting NDAs before you actually get to see the code.
So? It would still be fascinating. I'm not doing this just out of open-source altruism, you know: it's just always been a dream of mine to see the code for a part of Office.
Plus... I want to see if I'll get a reply. :D
For anyone interested, here's the email I just sent them:
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Salutations;
I am a user of Microsoft products, Windows and Office among others. I follow various pieces of Microsoft press with interest and intrigue, and I recently read Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates' interview with C|Net.
Referencing the section of Mr. Gates' comments referring to open source software:
"I don't know that anyone has ever asked for the source code for Word. If they did, we would give it to them."
Taking Mr. Gates' comment at face value, I hereby request a copy of the source code for Word. I would be fascinated to learn from such a program. It has long been an ambition of mine to see exactly what goes into the Office suite's programs.
I am completely serious in this query, and would appreciate a reply in the same vein.
Thank you,
(My real name, which I decline to place on Slashdot thank-you-very-much. ;))
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They said on the page that they would have someone get back to me within twenty-four hours using the email address I provided. Anyone interested in the reply can email me and request it.
Pain(n): when you're telnetting into a box doing somethin cool, and some luser calls for help with a 'critical error' ad
Ya must be a youngin, so we'll all forgive ya. Pac-Man, an arcade classic produced by Namco, involved a small yellow spheroid. The goal of the game was to gobble up dots and fruits for the benefit of Pac-Man. The analogy fits the Open-Source movement rather well, in my opinion. Open programmers make use of those resources that have been left for them to access. Meanwhile, companies that actually care about such petty things as profit and market shares, represented by the ghosts in Gates' Pac-Man analogy, attempt to waylay the Open programmers. These programmers can only combat the corporation by consuming fruit, obviously representing killer ideas that are worth implementation. The whole epic takes place in a maze that is oddly similar to a cubicle forest, further reinforcing the analogy.
Pax Digitalia