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Microsoft Documentation Declared Unfit For US Consumption

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the time-to-see-the-self-documenting-code dept.

anomalous cohort writes "Washington DC judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly announced during the ongoing Microsoft antitrust hearings that their documentation is unfit for US consumption. This is relevant in an antitrust hearing as poor documentation on how to inter-operate with Microsoft's products is seen as an unfair barrier to entry for companies who compete with Microsoft. Others see this as yet another example of their crumbling hegemony or indolence as their empire burns."

17 of 243 comments (clear)

  1. This is good. by WK2 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Acknowledgment is the first step to recovery.

    --
    Write your own Choose Your Own Adventure. http://www.freegameengines.org/gamebook-engine/
    1. Re:This is good. by gameboyhippo · · Score: 1, Funny

      What's there to acknowledge? I think MSDN is one of the best sources of documentation EVER. Trust me. Every program in Delphi? Way more difficult than going to MSDN to learn how to interface with SharePoint. They even have documentation on how to interface with things that they suggest not interfacing with such as the Excel COM object. I think that whoever decided that the documentation is not good for US consumption hasn't ever had to program before.

  2. Fair and balanced by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 5, Funny
    From TFS:

    "...Others see this as yet another example of their crumbling hegemony or indolence as their empire burns."

    In this day and age of increasingly biased reporting, it is nice to see that Slashdot continues to present an objective, fair, and balanced approach to covering the issues.

    Scuttlemonkey could work wonders for the Middle-East peace process!

    1. Re:Fair and balanced by An+ominous+Cow+art · · Score: 1, Funny

      Or maybe, just maybe, Slashdot is fair and balanced, and Microsoft really is a nest of black-hearted villains.

    2. Re:Fair and balanced by Foofoobar · · Score: 2, Funny

      Dude... that's not an icon. Thats an actual photo! Him and Ballmer run over children on the weekend in their 'cube' shouting 'DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS'! Watch out for that things photon chair-pedoes!

      --
      This is my sig. There are many like it but this one is mine.
    3. Re:Fair and balanced by Spy+der+Mann · · Score: 2, Funny

      the Middle-East peace process

      Middle-East WHAT?!

      I think he meant the Middle-East piece process.

  3. It's a step... by spazdor · · Score: 4, Funny

    Documentation unfit. Awesome.

    Now what about the software?

    --
    DRM: Terminator crops for your mind!
  4. Man... by scubamage · · Score: 4, Funny

    When will this unjustified persecution of undocumenting coders be stopped!? If I can understand 15 layers of recursion with pointers to 8 dimensional arrays and no documentation, you should be able to as well!

  5. All code is self-documenting... by ivandavidoff · · Score: 5, Funny

    For coders, at least. Documentation is for auditors.

  6. Re:Consumption by arizwebfoot · · Score: 1, Funny

    No, they will just become confused, unamused, bemused, and left feeling used.

    --
    Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
  7. Oblig. Lucas reference by nawcom · · Score: 1, Funny

    Others see this as yet another example of their crumbling hegemony or indolence as their empire burns.

    One only knows how to reach complete happiness in computer software when they have felt the power of the source. Use the source Steve! ...gg..GAHH!! *dodges chair*

    1. Re:Oblig. Lucas reference by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      There is no chair.

  8. Unfit for consumpution? by Hawthorne01 · · Score: 1, Funny

    Don't eat it, then!

    Or did they mean it's not good for tuberculosis?

    --
    "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
  9. Seriously? by HerculesMO · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've read lots of MS Documentation over the years -- white papers, APIs, and just general guidelines for things.

    It's damned good documentation. It may not go to the border of 'special olympics' readers for Apple users, but for the majority of developers that are working on 'interoperability' the documentation is quite good. Not amazing, but the irony is still lost on me that a lawyer decided somebody else's documentation was bad.

    Have you ever read the way bills are introduced into law? Jeez.

    --
    The price is always right if someone else is paying.
  10. Typical Slashdot... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    *** crumbling hegemony or indolence as their empire burns ***

    Woo - Slashdot FUD.

    Funny - I don't see anything burning. I think that stagnant smell you are sniffing is Linux on the Desktop ;)

  11. You've noticed it *is* called slashdot by patiodragon · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...and not back-slashdot.

  12. Minesweeper by Charles+Dodgeson · · Score: 2, Funny

    can you (or anyone for that matter) give me some example of "good things" to come out of Microsoft

    Minesweeper. The best thing they ever did.

    --
    Prime numbers are exactly what Alan Greenspan says they are -S. Minsky