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A Microsoft-Speak Timeline - From Altair to Zune

Posted by Zonk on from the always-he-is-looking-to-the-future-to-the-horizon dept.

netbuzz writes "No company has had more to say about software over the past 30 years than Microsoft (for better or worse). How they've said it — the actual language used — reveals a lot about the company's evolution and is the focus of a new timeline. There's a look back at a 'tag cloud' provided by the Seattle P-I. In addition to analyzing the linguistics of about 90 documents, there are also links to such gems as Bill Gates' Playboy interview and his famous 'Open Letters to Hobbyists.' From the article: 'We're talking all the way from Altair to Zune, with stops along the way for every technology the company developed, bought or borrowed, right on through to current entanglements with Vista, Linux and Google. The tool allows for an at-a-glance view of company priorities as they evolve and shift.'"

9 of 114 comments (clear)

  1. Re:The most surprising thing to me by camperdave · · Score: 4, Funny

    Was the missing three years- just what in the hell was Microsoft doing from 1977 to 1980 anyway?

    Downloading CPM on a 300 baud acoustic modem?

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    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  2. Open by Caesar+Tjalbo · · Score: 3, Funny

    I could've known Gates' "Open Letter to Hobbyists" is in a closed format.

    --
    "I'm not much interested in interoperability. I want substitutability. I want to be able to throw your software out."
  3. Re:The most surprising thing to me by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 2, Funny

    They were probably watching Star Wars and figuring out if they have enough computational power to design themselves a deathstar. I doubt they were listening to the Bee Gees.

  4. animalbabies? by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 2, Funny

    Anyone know the context in which the word "animalbabies" appears in the Bill Gates April 1987 Byte Magazine article?

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    This guy's the limit!
    1. Re:animalbabies? by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 2, Funny

      Maybe they asked him what he ate for breakfast.

      --
      Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
  5. Interesting phrases appear by truthsearch · · Score: 2, Funny

    87: programmatic programmers propose protocol redesign
    87: excel expertise fact fixing
    87: foolish formulated graphical guiding
    95: maintenance march messy
    95: studying super tracking users
    98: undermine unintentional unix users

    --
    Developers: We can use your help.
  6. Windows CeMeNT by viking80 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Our shop is 100% Microsoft, including:
    Windows Ce
    Windows Me
    Windows NT

    Due to the flexibility, nimble, responsive solutions we have, we call this

    Ce-me-nt

    --
    don't cut it off www.mgmbill.org
    1. Re:Windows CeMeNT by WilliamSChips · · Score: 2, Funny

      If you used Windows 2000 instead of 95 you would have a ton of cement.

      --
      Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
  7. in the recent speeches... by corerunner · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm intrigued by the prominence of "blah"... maybe Bill is borrowing George W's approach of deliberately dumbing down the audience

    --
    "Don't hate the media, become the media." -Jello Biafra