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The War Of The Word

Posted by michael on from the drinking-the-koolaid dept.

atari_kid writes "For who didn't know Microsoft has a internal blogging service, which is becoming popular with their employees. And even some of their high level managers have their own blog like Chris Pratley, a group program manager (GPM) for Word2002 (OfficeXP) project. Mr. Pratley just blogged on his 'personal philosophical' conversion from a Mac geek to a Microsoft devotee & his interesting perspective on the 'Word Processor' wars of the mid-90's and why Microsoft won."

26 of 511 comments (clear)

  1. Microsoft's most valuable soldier in Word Wars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny
    Clippy!

    Bob is a close runner-up.

  2. Get used to disappointment by freejung · · Score: 4, Funny
    Hopefully the net-dwelling paranoid delusional conspiracy theorists won't descend upon me... :-)

    It's always good to have high hopes, but in this case I'm afraid you'll have to get used to disappointment. Here we come!

    --
    My site: Free Nature Pictures
  3. It's Okay by Paulrothrock · · Score: 5, Funny

    We forgive you. We don't have type 11 errors anymore. You can come back to the Mac any time you want. *opens arms* You sound like you need a hug.

    --
    I'm in the hole of the broadband donut.
  4. It's over, so soon? by mahdi13 · · Score: 3, Funny

    MicroSoft won the Word (editor) war?
    Guess we better let OpenOffice.org and Star Office know right away!

    --
    "Some things have to be believed to be seen." - Ralph Hodgson
    1. Re:It's over, so soon? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      It was on the pinkslip they gave to all the programmers who worked there.

  5. Re:He missed one point by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 5, Funny

    "...functionality as embedding multimedia or animations into your documents."

    So, do you have to print those out as flipbooks or what?

    --
    Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
  6. Now look what you've gone and done by woodhouse · · Score: 4, Funny

    You slashdotted microsoft. Another tiny web site bites the dust. I hope you feel proud of yourselves.

  7. Fuck Me by ribena · · Score: 2, Funny

    Does he actually do any work or just write his blog?

  8. Apparently Word's Grammar Checker... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...isn't used.

    For who didn't know Microsoft has a internal blogging service, which is becoming popular with their employees.

    Eh now?

  9. the abbreviated version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    1. Microsoft bloggers are very enthusiatic about Microsoft.

    2. If you get turned down for a job at Apple you might not like the computers so much any more.

    3. Asian versions of software are complicated.

    4. Microsoft puts out crappy products at first and then listens to customers to improve them.

    5. Other companies make mistakes and Microsoft almost always takes advantage of the situation.

    6. Having a huge monopoly in operating systems and file formats gives Bill Gates a huge erection. I swear you can see it during meetings.

    (Okay I made up that last one.)

  10. The MS Method by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    "...the customers in Japan had largely dropped their resistance to Word."

    "...So, that in a nutshell is the Microsoft method."

    Translated: Resistance is futile.

  11. Grow a pair! by dillon_rinker · · Score: 4, Funny

    I've been a little gun-shy of blogging about Word for fear of being inundated by what are as far as I can tell a gang of "net thugs" who roam the net making outrageous claims about Microsoft and its behavior

    Puh-leeze, Chris, you manage a flagship product for one of the richest monopolists in the country, one that has de facto control of the IT market, and you're afraid of emails from 13-year-old kids?

    Try to at least ACT like a man.

    1. Re:Grow a pair! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Of course he is afraid, they are all script kiddies, armed with exploits to Microsofts security holes.

  12. Re:Fsck Me by donnyspi · · Score: 3, Funny

    Does anyone here actually do any work or just write on Slashdot?

  13. net thugs? by GillBates0 · · Score: 4, Funny
    I've been a little gun-shy of blogging about Word for fear of being inundated by what are as far as I can tell a gang of "net thugs" who roam the net making outrageous claims about Microsoft and its behavior, motives, etc in every public forum they find (none of which information they are privy to, little of which they have evidence for, and basically all of which I find personally offensive, not to mention incorrect - since they often are implicitly about me and therefore I for one know them to be incorrect).

    does that word mean what I think it means? .
    .
    .
    S-L-A-S-H-D-O-T?

    --
    An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
    1. Re:net thugs? by ch-chuck · · Score: 5, Funny

      ...making outrageous claims about Microsoft and its behavior, motives, etc in every public forum they find

      That would also be an apt description of the Msft marketing dept.

      --
      try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
  14. Re:WP 5.1 - those were the days by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    I ... am ... a ... competent VBA programmer

    Oxymoron detected.

  15. What the hell.... by vwjeff · · Score: 2, Funny

    are you talking about? Please don't post offtopic comments. Oh, BTW Bob would kick clippy's ass any day!!!

  16. Printing out Quicktime videos by AtariAmarok · · Score: 2, Funny
    "So, do you have to print those out as flipbooks or what?

    At ~ 30 frames per second, you could print out a 20 minute video on a mere 36,000 sheets of paper.

    --
    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
  17. "internal" blogging service by pyrrho · · Score: 3, Funny

    you've played right into their hands... things posted to the net are now considered "Microsoft Internal".

    !!!! :)

    --

    -pyrrho

  18. A priceless line... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Didn't anyone catch this:

    "reverse-engineering" the WordPerfect file format (documentation for which was jealously guarded, as was the norm back then).

    I think it might still be the norm...

  19. Re:You lost me... by k4_pacific · · Score: 2, Funny
    the perfect feature-laden product which will be impossible for 90% of people to learn

    Emacs?

    --
    Unknown host pong.
  20. Re:The Old New Thing by bonch · · Score: 2, Funny

    'cause everybody loves Raymond.

  21. Re:Chris Pratley by blamanj · · Score: 3, Funny

    I rather like Microsoft's newfound interest in what they call "transparancy."

    Since this is Microsoft we're talking about, shouldn't the more appropriate word be glasnost ?

  22. type 11 error? by Ffakr · · Score: 2, Funny

    so, Apple lost a customer because he, a computer developer, couldn't troubleshoot a Type 11 (hardware exception) error? Geez, I'd have fixed it if he'd have just asked nice.

    --

    I'm not feeling witty so bite me

  23. Re:Interpretation? by greygent · · Score: 2, Funny

    You must feel like quite the man. Oh those little people!