Microsoft R&D Burgled: Only Apple Products Stolen

Brandnames by arose · 2013-01-08 04:48 · Score: 3, Insightful

Doesn't that make you feel all better about paying the premium for Tide^H^H^H^HApple?

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Re:Brandnames by arose · 2013-01-08 04:50 · Score: 3, Informative

Disregard the crappy generic link, here's the real Tide.

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Analogies don't equal equalities, they are merely somewhat analogous.
Re:Brandnames by nine-times · 2013-01-08 05:53 · Score: 1

Whether you think Apple products are "better", they're certainly functionally *different* from the generic counterparts.
Re:Brandnames by dan828 · 2013-01-08 06:30 · Score: 4, Insightful

And like any thief, these people knew that they'd be able to sell the Apple products for better prices than anything else. Wanting to limit their exposure, and get the most money for their risks, of course they picked the stuff that they could turn over faster and for more money. It doesn't say anything about what stuff is better, just what sells for more.
Re:Brandnames by NatasRevol · 2013-01-08 07:04 · Score: 2

Yeah, I hate when I keep having to enter my 25 digit license code.

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Re:Brandnames by arob28 · 2013-01-08 09:10 · Score: 5, Funny

Detergent as currency? This takes money laundering to a whole new level.
Re:Brandnames by hairyfeet · 2013-01-08 09:28 · Score: 1

While this is true, same as the most stolen car is the Camry because the parts are worth more than the car, you DO have to admit that its pretty funny that even a thief wouldn't touch Win 8 or Surface. Maybe they could turn that into a marketing slogan? "Afraid of data theft? Use Win 8, its so nasty even thieves won't take it!"

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Re:Brandnames by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-08 09:51 · Score: 5, Funny

One of the funniest jokes I ever heard was when the first windows phone came out: They said they hated it so much, they went to a store and left the phone on the passenger seat of their car with the window rolled down. When they came back... there was another windows phone next to it.
Re:Brandnames by Dahamma · 2013-01-08 10:14 · Score: 2

you DO have to admit that its pretty funny that even a thief wouldn't touch Win 8 or Surface
That's not true. Identity thieves love Windows.
Re:Brandnames by dudpixel · 2013-01-08 14:36 · Score: 1

It doesn't say anything about what stuff is better, just what sells for more.
...which has a lot to do with what the general public thinks about what stuff is better...

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Re:Brandnames by sh00z · 2013-01-09 09:00 · Score: 1

I thought that was a Zune joke.
Re:Brandnames by arose · 2013-01-10 17:07 · Score: 1

And back we go to Tide and the "thinking" the "general public" (actually wide target demographic) presents to justify their emotional product selection.

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Analogies don't equal equalities, they are merely somewhat analogous.
Re:Brandnames by dudpixel · 2013-01-13 16:14 · Score: 1

I'm not sure what your post meant - I didn't really understand it, but I just wanted to clarify that I was saying that people will generally pay more for something that they perceive is of greater value.
The funny thing is that it sometimes works the other way, people perceive something as being more valuable if the sale price is higher, but this isn't what I was originally getting at.

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makes sense by netwarerip · 2013-01-08 04:49 · Score: 5, Funny

They were likely the only things of value in the building.

Re:makes sense by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-08 05:13 · Score: 1, Insightful

Seriously? Modded "insightful". God damnit I hate this place now.
Re:makes sense by Sez+Zero · 2013-01-08 05:30 · Score: 5, Funny

"And nothing of value was lost", said everyone at the Microsoft R&D center.
Re:makes sense by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-08 05:32 · Score: 2, Insightful

Seems like the thieves were better judge of value.
Re:makes sense by kelemvor4 · 2013-01-08 06:16 · Score: 5, Insightful

"And nothing of value was lost", said everyone at the Microsoft R&D center.
Yep. Regardless of how you feel about one company or another, an unreleased product from company A is almost certainly more valuable than a commonly available product from company B. My suspicion would be that the thieves were probably employees or contractors at the MS site (cleaning or other cheap labor crew or some such) and knew they could get a quick buck for the Apple products. They probably didn't even know what some of the other stuff was. Asserting the apple products were selected because of their superiority is about as silly as the tongue in cheek assertion that Steve Jobs is really responsible for NY Crime rates due to the theft of Apple products.

Also, if you follow the news here at all you'll see that missing development products from large companies attract great attention from law enforcement. Missing ipads get filed away as a report somewhere and if they happen to catch the guy, then everyone is happy. If not, MS is out, what maybe $2k that they can now write off? What missing ipads don't get are federally funded investigations.
Re:makes sense by girlintraining · 2013-01-08 06:33 · Score: 1

They were likely the only things of value in the building.
Correction: They were the only things of value that were highly visible, lightweight, and easily gathered and thrown in a car in a few minutes. You can bet there were also computers there. LCD monitors, boxes, etc., could all be dismantled and sold off for parts. The people who worked there likely also had personal electronics there -- laptops, cameras, mp3 players. And if it's anything like most corporate buildings, there were at least a few giant LCD/plasma screens in the lobby or in the meeting rooms, as well as A/V equipment for teleconferencing, etc.
I know of a person who cleaned out five floors of a skyscraper as part of a coordinated multi-person burglary, utilizing semitrucks, service elevators, and some very "Ocean's 11" social engineering. They were only caught because one of the guys wanted to get out of the criminal enterprise and turned state's evidence. So don't think it was the only thing of value -- no sir, it was just a crime of opportunity and our bundling thieves went for what they knew was valuable and in plain sight.

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Re:makes sense by Sir_Eptishous · 2013-01-08 06:48 · Score: 2

bundling thieves
Is that like stealing someones cable tv but ignoring their 10mbit internet connection?

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Re:makes sense by GreatDrok · 2013-01-08 06:52 · Score: 4, Funny

'"And nothing of value was lost", said everyone at the Microsoft R&D center.'
I don't know, the loss of valuable prototype gear is pretty bad. Good job they can just go back to their prototyping organisation (colloquially known as 'Apple Inc') and get some more. Without these important devices, Microsoft wouldn't know what to do next with their production gear.

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Re:makes sense by Quiet_Desperation · 2013-01-08 07:07 · Score: 1, Redundant

And apparently this place hates you, too. :-)
Re:makes sense by pionzypher · 2013-01-08 07:36 · Score: 2

Puppy?

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Re:makes sense by UnknowingFool · 2013-01-08 07:54 · Score: 3, Insightful

They were likely the only things of value in the building.
I would think the research there is valuable. It however isn't easily sold on the street. It's like breaking into a mansion and stealing the silverware and ignoring the priceless art on the walls.

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Re:makes sense by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-08 08:29 · Score: 1

They probably didn't even know what some of the other stuff was.
I'd hedge a bet that Apple has much better brand recognition for most of their products. Their designs are distinct, their logo really hasn't changed much over the years, and Apple products 'feel' easier to use by many. If you set down a couple of Apple products and a couple of Microsoft products side-by-side and told somebody to pick one for themselves, odds are that they'll pick something Apple made.
Re:makes sense by tattood · 2013-01-08 13:03 · Score: 2

According to my criminal contacts, the average used pc laptop has almost no resale value and isn't worth stealing.
You mean Eddie Crispo?

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Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-08 04:49 · Score: 3, Funny

Yesterday's news tomorrow :P

Re:Slashdot by phrostie · 2013-01-08 05:29 · Score: 1

background audio taken the theft:
"It’s got to ask uss a question, my preciouss, yes, yess, yess. Jusst one more question to guess, yes, yess.”
Re:Slashdot by Em+Adespoton · 2013-01-08 07:55 · Score: 1

tomorrow? I'm pretty sure I read it on slashdot today.
Don't worry; it'll be on the main page tomorrow as well.
Re:Slashdot by HaZardman27 · 2013-01-08 08:23 · Score: 1

Oh no, a news aggregate site isn't getting trivial bits of tech-world news out to the public immediately! This story has such impact on my life, I absolutely needed to know about it yesterday!

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as much as I'd like to make a joke... by MickyTheIdiot · 2013-01-08 04:51 · Score: 5, Informative

It was an R&D center for making Apple software, so there probably were no Surface tables around...

But it would be extremely funny if there were left out in the open for all to see.

Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by Cinder6 · 2013-01-08 05:11 · Score: 4, Insightful

It's entirely possible that a Surface tablet was around to compare/contrast how the software runs on the different platforms.

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Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by tlhIngan · 2013-01-08 05:13 · Score: 4, Informative

It was an R&D center for making Apple software, so there probably were no Surface tables around...
But it would be extremely funny if there were left out in the open for all to see.
Actually, according to the article... Microsoft's phones and tablets were still there. They did find 5 iPads missing, though.
Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by girlintraining · 2013-01-08 05:22 · Score: 4, Insightful

It was an R&D center for making Apple software, so there probably were no Surface tables around...
Unlikely. Microsoft sports a very aggressive corporate culture where if you don't use Microsoft for everything, you're "not a team player." This is the company that watched its entire mail service (Hotmail) implode because the edict from on high was they had to use IIS exclusively. It simply couldn't handle the load, regardless of the number of servers and load balancers they threw on... with much chagrin they rolled back to Apache. Linux is used on print servers internally to this day, though it's a dirty secret. They may have had iPads there for development work, but you can bet many of those developers also had Surface tablets because they have to develop for those as well.
Considering how few of them have sold so far, it's safe to say the product launch, er, exploded on the launch pad. But Microsoft, being Microsoft, will still demand their employees use them or else. I'm sure they'd still be demanding their employees avoid ipods and use Zunes, but we all know what happened there. :)

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Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2013-01-08 05:55 · Score: 4, Insightful

I wonder if the thieves were at all cautious about stealing MS hardware from MS because of how tightly some tech companies are known to control pre-release or dev versions of hardware?
Most likely, the fact that it's easier and quicker to flip stolen iDevices for cash was the reason; but I know that I'd be a bit nervous about stealing a contemporary 'appliance' type device in a situation where it might be some kind of specially blessed dev unit. Modern hardware has at least 3-4 globally unique numbers burned in, and tends to call home frequently, and it wouldn't be a big surprise if dev gear(for reasons of loss prevention or UX testing) is stuffed to the gills with analysis and reporting software...
Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2013-01-08 05:59 · Score: 1

Apple servers must have been pretty dreadful indeed(and their partnership on various matters with IBM rather weak) if the stuff that MS was selling as 'server' operating systems in the 1994-1996 period counted as an improvement... That would have put them on NT3.x or NT4...*shudder*
Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by rsborg · 2013-01-08 06:06 · Score: 1

Unlikely. Microsoft sports a very aggressive corporate culture where if you don't use Microsoft for everything, you're "not a team player." [snip] They may have had iPads there for development work, but you can bet many of those developers also had Surface tablets because they have to develop for those as well.
This is bullshit. Many folks I know personally at Microsoft sport Macbook Pros (running Windows mostly). Not sure about the phone thing, but if it runs Windows, it's definitely kosher.

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Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-08 06:11 · Score: 5, Informative

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he discovered that Apple used Windows servers almost exclusively because Apple didn't have great server offerings.
At some point you either have to make a truly competitive product, or realize you shouldn't be in that market.
No, Apple used Solaris and IBM AIX. Back then, Microsoft didn't have great server offerings either. (This being Slashdot, lots of people will say it still doesn't.)
Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by LordLimecat · 2013-01-08 06:15 · Score: 2

Linux is used on print servers internally to this day,
Id be interested to know why that would be a necessity; ive seen Windows servers handling a pretty large number of printers.
Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by davydagger · 2013-01-08 06:30 · Score: 1

there was this thing called rhapsody.....

it was a bigger joke than NT. I hear rumors of A/UX, apples first go at unix.
Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by Eirenarch · 2013-01-08 06:33 · Score: 1

While MS as a company is big about dogfooding (as every company should be) they don't force employees to use particular product. Of course when you get a new phone as Christmas bonus or something it will be a Windows Phone but this is different from what you describe.
Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-08 06:39 · Score: 2, Interesting

It was an R&D center for making Apple software, so there probably were no Surface tables around...
Unlikely. Microsoft sports a very aggressive corporate culture where if you don't use Microsoft for everything, you're "not a team player."
As an employee, I can tell you that isn't even remotely true. The one and only case where I've heard any pressure happening about use of Microsoft products in field sales and support.
Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by shutdown+-p+now · 2013-01-08 06:42 · Score: 2

Microsoft sports a very aggressive corporate culture where if you don't use Microsoft for everything, you're "not a team player."

Bullshit. You see iPhones and MacBooks aplenty, and quite a few Android phones as well, by just walking through the corridors of any office building on MS campus.
Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by girlintraining · 2013-01-08 07:39 · Score: 1, Troll

This is bullshit. Many folks I know personally at Microsoft sport Macbook Pros (running Windows mostly). Not sure about the phone thing, but if it runs Windows, it's definitely kosher.
*facepalm* *headdesk* *strangles self with mouse cord*

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Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by dvNull · 2013-01-08 07:49 · Score: 1, Informative

Microsoft sports a very aggressive corporate culture where if you don't use Microsoft for everything, you're "not a team player."
This is not true. I know many people @ Microsoft who use iphones. I even know a few who dual boot linux on their laptops or who have macs.

Linux is used on print servers internally to this day, though it's a dirty secret.
This is not true either.
Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by Billly+Gates · 2013-01-08 07:52 · Score: 1

It is a good thing then for you guys Bill Gates no longer works there. My hunch, is if he wont even let his family use one and hasn't worked there in a decade he would be quite irritated and flabbergasted.
I would surely not want to see that outside of testing purposes if I were a top guy and would make you all eat the dog food. Remember your old saying?

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Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by Billly+Gates · 2013-01-08 07:59 · Score: 2

This is bullshit. Many folks I know personally at Microsoft sport Macbook Pros (running Windows mostly). Not sure about the phone thing, but if it runs Windows, it's definitely kosher.
*facepalm* *headdesk* *strangles self with mouse cord*
You know when I was a kid I personified my computer after I learned it has AI. I still think of it as a crude primptive set of conciousness. Forcing Windows on a Mac is like .... like watching an animal being tortured and shriveling in pain.
I know it is not likely that and is irritational to think that but it feels wrong on so many levels. That or like putting ketchup and how grade $80 steak at Ruths & Christophers.

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Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by UnknowingFool · 2013-01-08 08:04 · Score: 1

iPads don't run Windows. One of the suspected the Kin took 18 months to develop a new phone instead of the projected 6 months was that Danger used Java. The newly bought out Danger developers were ordered to use WindowsCE which would take much longer.

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Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by HiThere · 2013-01-08 08:05 · Score: 1

An interesting claim, but Mac's OS 7.2 was a perfectly decent single-tasking OS (on a Mac II). I can't really comment about OS 9, as I never used it.
FWIW, I preferred OS 7.2 to any other OS I had access to. So much so that I was able to hang onto it for years after the company officially decided to go with MSWind95. Within a year of the time I gave it up, I had Red Hat 4.x (or perhaps 5.x) installed in a partition, and was using it whenever I could. I did *not* like MSWind, even after using it for a year. But I didn't think that that version of Linux was as good as Mac OS 7.2. Still, it was already perfectly capable at most single-threaded server tasks (i.e., it didn't support SMP well, but nobody else did either). It just didn't have many applications. No word processor except Lyx, e.g. (I ended up using Mozilla [or perhaps Netscape] as a word processor.)
OTOH, I can't compare with Solaris, so I may be being unfair to them.
P.S.: Linux is *still* shy on end-user applications in specialty areas. E.g., the music notation editors have finally gotten good enough that I've been able to switch my wife over to them, but *I* need to do the final editing, because I need to adjust the note sizes and layout. This is easy in, e.g., Finale (MSWind & Mac), but on Linux it means using Frescobaldi, which is basically a fancy text editor. It does the job, but it's not friendly to musicians...unless they are also programmers.

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Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-08 08:33 · Score: 2, Informative

Before I quit Apple they were migrating most servers to Oracle Linux - at least in my particular area. They had been using AIX for as long as I remember.
Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by shutdown+-p+now · 2013-01-08 09:08 · Score: 1

There is a good aspect to dogfooding, but when it comes to the point of using your own products exclusively, you risk becoming blind-sighted, not knowing what your competitors do or why it's important. Personally, I do have a Windows Phone, so that I can meaningfully talk about the platform with other people based on factual information and first-person experience, but as a customer, I can't choose it as the best device on the market for my own needs.
Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by Eskarel · 2013-01-08 13:17 · Score: 1

Microsoft are big on dogfooding, as they should be. If the people who make a product aren't using it then they aren't doing their job. I don't mean that using the product is part of their job, but if you make Windows Phones and you don't want to use that phone then you've not made the phone you should have. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't explore your competitors products, but the reason that most of the very best software written tends to be things like compilers and IDEs is because the people who write them use them for a living. When they suck, they fix them.
Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by Jeremi · 2013-01-08 13:39 · Score: 1

An interesting claim, but Mac's OS 7.2 was a perfectly decent single-tasking OS (on a Mac II). I can't really comment about OS 9, as I never used it.
I can comment on both -- Classic MacOS' lack of memory protection was a real problem. Any buggy program (and that technically includes all of them, although some were much buggier than others) could crash the entire OS, costing you all of your unsaved work and possibly corrupting the filesystem on your mounted drives. Truly a painful experience.

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Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by strikethree · 2013-01-08 20:25 · Score: 2

Unlikely. Microsoft sports a very aggressive corporate culture where if you don't use Microsoft for everything, you're "not a team player."
This would be a good idea if Microsoft would listen to the feedback from the employees. Think about how fucked up your processes are when the CEO himself complains and nothing changes: http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/2008/06/24/full-text-an-epic-bill-gates-e-mail-rant/
Just batshit insane to have a culture of eating their own dog food when they will not listen to their own dogs talking about improvements.

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Re:as much as I'd like to make a joke... by HiThere · 2013-01-09 12:57 · Score: 1

I never experiences a drive corruption problem....but then I mainly used development tools and word processors. I agree about the crashing programs, but on a single tasking system that's more a nuisance than a real problem.
It's clearly not comparable to today's systems, but 10 years ago it was about as good as any (again, bar things like Solaris which I didn't have access to).

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Onion called, wants their story back by Tablizer · 2013-01-08 04:55 · Score: 5, Funny

This too closely fits the decades-old stereotype that MS just steals Apple's ideas as their "R&D" M.O.

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Re:Onion called, wants their story back by Anubis+IV · 2013-01-08 05:14 · Score: 4, Interesting

The best Onion stories are the ones that have a hint of truth to them. Unfortunately, some end up having a bit too much truth in them and later come to pass.
Re:Onion called, wants their story back by cold+fjord · 2013-01-08 05:55 · Score: 1, Insightful

Do you get depressed seeing Obama double down on that?

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Re:Onion called, wants their story back by ajlitt · 2013-01-08 06:07 · Score: 1

For a few years now you've been able to buy a razor with five blades and two lotion strips. I'm not sure if one of them lathers, but the handle does vibrate to add an element of danger.
Re:Onion called, wants their story back by H0p313ss · 2013-01-08 06:22 · Score: 2

The best Onion stories are the ones that have a hint of truth to them. Unfortunately, some end up having a bit too much truth in them and later come to pass.

On the economic side, Bush vowed to bring back economic stagnation by implementing substantial tax cuts, which would lead to a recession, which would necessitate a tax hike, which would lead to a drop in consumer spending, which would lead to layoffs, which would deepen the recession even further.
How can you read that and not love the Onion. (For those not following along at home, it was published in January 2001 and also predicted a war in the Gulf.)

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Re:Onion called, wants their story back by theonesandtwos · 2013-01-08 06:49 · Score: 2

I'd like to know who at theonion has a crystal ball and where they got it from. If that was actually written in Jan of 2001...that's amazing.
Re:Onion called, wants their story back by Patch86 · 2013-01-08 08:31 · Score: 1

My jaw actually dropped when I reached that bit. Seriously, if The Onion has access to a time machine they should really tell someone, and not just keep it secret for the purpose of amusing internet satire.
Re:Onion called, wants their story back by Tablizer · 2013-01-09 07:35 · Score: 1

When Ann C oulter claimed that "radiation is good for you", I was dead certain it was from Onion, but turned out to be the real thing. Explains the big Atom's apple.

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Money money money by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-08 05:00 · Score: 1

It was information what was stolen, not the devices.

Now the thief can sell for analytics and bloggers the information what kind software Microsoft is cooking for Apple devices.

Like think about screenshots and actual apps of MS Office for iPad.... THAT IS MONEY! Not the devices but the SOFTWARE.

Probably the Gates kids by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-08 05:03 · Score: 1

I seem to remember a Melissa Gates interview where she stated that her kids were not allowed Apple devices. They would be likely to have access to their father's keys, and they would have no need to steal any Microsoft devices.

you know your marketting has failed by ILongForDarkness · 2013-01-08 05:04 · Score: 5, Insightful

When someone breaks into your R & D shop and the only thing they see of value is someone else's gear.

Re:you know your marketting has failed by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-08 05:33 · Score: 1

Or more likley this was done by someone who had a chip on their shoulder againt microsoft and figured this would give them some bad press.
Re:you know your marketting has failed by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-08 05:35 · Score: 1

I think you are using "more likely" incorrectly.
Re:you know your marketting has failed by Nixoloco · 2013-01-08 08:46 · Score: 1

I think he was going for the inverse to Occam's razor.
Re:you know your marketting has failed by asdf7890 · 2013-01-09 06:17 · Score: 1

If they had limited carrying capacity then it'll have come down to known/unknown factors. They'd have some knowledge of how to identify iDevoce versions (as they are likely to be retail units) and know the back-o-lorry market value for the iPads with some degree of accuracy so they'd know what they were walking away with. The surface units they'd know less about in those regards: it is possible that they are pre-production units or otherwise easily identifed as from there rather than the retail channel, which would make them harder to shift even if there were a good price for them generally on the nicked market right now.

Re:Microsoft is finished by phrostie · 2013-01-08 05:06 · Score: 1

it's all part of the new Movie.

Hobbit, 2013

so what we're saying is by nimbius · 2013-01-08 05:06 · Score: 1

id do well to make my next mp3 player a zune?

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Stealing from pirates by theurge14 · 2013-01-08 05:08 · Score: 1

"They're stealing our ship!"
"Bloody pirates!"

Re:I read that as by Tablizer · 2013-01-08 05:16 · Score: 2

Ballmer asked R&D to make a translucent minimalist-style Apple chair.....with a parachute.

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"Turn right at the next dead end" by Tablizer · 2013-01-08 05:21 · Score: 5, Funny

The thieves wanted to rob Apple, but they made the mistake of using Apple Maps to find it.

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Table-ized A.I.

Re:"Turn right at the next dead end" by interval1066 · 2013-01-08 05:51 · Score: 1

Ok, now THAT was funny.

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Re:Microsoft is finished by Enderandrew · 2013-01-08 05:29 · Score: 4, Informative

Microsoft still turns a hefty profit. They've got massive market share and the company is still experiencing revenue growth, though the rate of growth is declining.

http://ycharts.com/companies/MSFT/revenue_growth

Microsoft is losing market share in key markets. There are reasons why Microsoft could stumble, but they are so diversified and have so much capital that it would take a great number of massive failures for them to really go under.

I wonder how much longer Ballmer will remain CEO.

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iPads can be sold/pawned for cash by Enderandrew · 2013-01-08 05:32 · Score: 4, Insightful

Microsoft prototypes can't easily be sold. I see the obvious joke that the Microsoft prototypes were not of value, but in a sense, if they can't be sold, then that is true.

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Re:iPads can be sold/pawned for cash by Patch86 · 2013-01-08 08:41 · Score: 2

Just a guess, but Microsoft probably had Microsoft gear in there for working on, as well as just prototypes. If they're anything like Microsoft employees I know, they'll be following the company orthodoxy of using 100% Windows, except where it is unavoidable.
So those thieves probably walked past HP Elitebooks at about $1000 a pop, or touch-enabled Thinkpad at $1500, and picked up the $500 iPads instead. That's still pretty embarrassing.
Re:iPads can be sold/pawned for cash by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-08 10:03 · Score: 1

While It might be harder to get away with, I seem to remember story's of stolen apple prototypes going for well above retail
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/10/12/1325254/iphone-4-prototype-finder-gets-probation
Re:iPads can be sold/pawned for cash by bfandreas · 2013-01-08 14:23 · Score: 1

The problem is, this is low-brow crime we are talking about. The kind of thief that only doesn't get caught because he steals only easily shiftable Brand-X stuff.
Those types are not in the same networks as execs and rightfully expect to be ratted out if they tried to shift something conspicuous.
Also most likely they are only semi-literate meth-heads who wouldn't know an MS prototype from their ellbow. All those need is the cash for their next hit. Fast.

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20 minutes into the future
Re:iPads can be sold/pawned for cash by gl4ss · 2013-01-09 00:53 · Score: 1

If I was an exec at Google/Nokia/Lenovo/HP/Dell/ or any big hardare player, I'd be willing to pay quite a lot for a MS proto. You know, just to figure out wether it'l turn out more like Kin or Surface. If it's a Surface, I could leave it to the engineers so they can find anything patentable, copiable, hackable, buyable, sellable, anything. I would make sure a spare junior coder spends some time trying to get some software to run on it or something. I'm sure the marketoids would be really interested in knowing what's it does and who's supposed to buy it.
why the hell? it's all the same crap and you got no way of knowing if they'll use the materials in it for a real product and you'd put yourself at the receiving end of a potential hefty fine. sure marketdroids would be interested but that doesn't mean the information would be valuable. it's not like there's any chip manufacturing secrets or such to be found at that lab - they're buying the same shit as everyone else.
but then again, some companies work like that. which is why they're losing money fast. case in point, give someone like you described a courier from mid 2000's. and they'd fuck it up producing a shitty dual screen lg.

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world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.

Random? by edrawr · 2013-01-08 05:32 · Score: 1

Maybe it was totally random- à la Steve Jobs?

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Sauer

inside job by schlachter · 2013-01-08 05:36 · Score: 1

It was surely an inside job. Maybe they thought it wouldn't be as bad for their co-workers if they only stole the Apple stuff.

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My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.

Re:inside job by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-08 06:16 · Score: 1

It was surely an inside job. Maybe they thought it wouldn't be as bad for their co-workers if they only stole the Apple stuff.
Of course it was an inside job, you twit, the Apple stuff was stolen from a R&D building.

need to change the tag by v1 · 2013-01-08 05:51 · Score: 1

from: andnothingofvaluewaslost

to: andeverythingofvaluewaslost

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I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.

Re:Microsoft is finished by davydagger · 2013-01-08 06:28 · Score: 1

microsoft continues to make money from two things

1. xbox - the only product they make people actually enjoy using

2. vendor lock ins, and enterprise sales of windows/office/sharepoint/etc... No one gets excited about their software, they just feel compelled to use it.

Re:Microsoft is finished by Enderandrew · 2013-01-08 06:37 · Score: 3, Interesting

The XBox division has gone back and forth between profit and loss over the years.

http://www.edge-online.com/news/microsofts-xbox-division-loses-229-million/

The enterprise market really is the bread-and-butter for Microsoft. That is what really amazes me. They seem to be alienating the enterprise market in many ways currently.

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http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.

Re:Microsoft is finished by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-08 06:53 · Score: 1

It's estimated that Xbox has not yet turned a profit, and is 3 billion in debt since inception: http://www.neowin.net/news/report-microsofts-xbox-division-has-lost-nearly-3-billion-in-10-years

Re:Microsoft is finished by hawkinspeter · 2013-01-08 07:27 · Score: 1

It's okay, Microsoft have got lots of money; I'm sure they can afford to replace the stolen phones/pads. Besides, they'll have insurance to cover themselves.

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You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe

Re:Microsoft is finished by davydagger · 2013-01-08 08:03 · Score: 1

thats because the enterprise market feels they have no other options.

Large businesses generally have large programs, with large databases that would take millions and millions to switch away from, and the ever present "uncertainty" of the FUD.

they stick with windows because they've been using windows forever, and are scared to change. microsoft's marketing people are adept at FUD(Fear Uncertantiy, Doubt), and playing up already stewed fears of the non-technically competent decision makers.

Re:Microsoft is finished by Enderandrew · 2013-01-08 08:10 · Score: 1

I just converted some large MS SQL databases to Oracle (on Solaris) recently with 10 years of historical data. It doesn't cost millions. But I get your point that many companies do operate under the assumption that Microsoft is the only alternative.

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http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.

Re:Microsoft is finished by blind+biker · 2013-01-08 08:29 · Score: 1

Microsoft is losing market share in key markets. There are reasons why Microsoft could stumble, but they are so diversified and have so much capital that it would take a great number of massive failures for them to really go under.

Microsoft is making a fuckton of money (I'm talking about profits, not just revenue), that is true. And yes, they have an iron grip on the desktop, especially in corporations, and a dominant position that is a gift that keeps and will keep on giving for years to come.

But they are not diversified. People buy Office because they have Windows. And the same reason why they buy Windows Server and Sharepoint. The myth is that if you have Windows desktops, you must use Microsoft on the back-end as well. That's good for MS, but it also means that they're not diversified, because if Windows fails, everything follows, and MS implodes.

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"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.

Re:Microsoft is finished by Melkman · 2013-01-08 08:33 · Score: 1

However revenue is not the interesting part, income is. And net income for Microsoft has been falling lately to 2010 levels. See this chart. Not that this is proofs impeding doom on Microsofts part, just that business hasn't been nice to them lately. A fate they share with many other companies in these difficult times. What is interesting is that neither Google or Apple share this kind of dip.

Re:Microsoft is finished by Enderandrew · 2013-01-08 08:36 · Score: 1

They have:

* Desktop
* Server
* Cloud
* Office
* SQL
* Development
* Games
* Mobile
* Hardware
* Search
* Advertising
* Music

I'd call them relatively diverse.

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http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.

Re:Microsoft is finished by Enderandrew · 2013-01-08 08:37 · Score: 1

I do think Microsoft is on a decline that will likely only be rectified if they change leadership.

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http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.

There are two microsoft researches? by mevets · 2013-01-08 08:42 · Score: 1

I thought Apple was Microsoft Research.

Re:There are two microsoft researches? by gargleblast · 2013-01-08 13:06 · Score: 1

I thought Apple was Microsoft Research.
Yes, there are indeed two Microsoft Research centers. Recall that this theft was from Microsoft R&D in Mountain View.

Re:How did this happen? by lister+king+of+smeg · 2013-01-08 08:50 · Score: 1

iNinjas

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---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.

Apple Products Unsafe by guttentag · 2013-01-08 09:38 · Score: 1

Microsoft was conducting research into the security of their devices versus Apple's. These findings concusively show that your data is more likely to be stolen on an Apple device. Therefore, Microsoft products are more secure.

Re:How did this happen? by Oloryn · 2013-01-08 12:34 · Score: 1

The badge access was probably run by a Windows computer.

Re:Microsoft is finished by Anne+Thwacks · 2013-01-08 23:13 · Score: 1

3 billion in debt since inception

Yes, but they are very small billions!

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Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII

Re:Microsoft is finished by RaceProUK · 2013-01-09 00:52 · Score: 1

microsoft continues to make money from two things 1. Windows 2. Office

FTFY

But you do have a point about vendor lock-in.

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No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun

Re:Microsoft is finished by davydagger · 2013-01-09 12:04 · Score: 1

no one really buys windows, its kinda given(forced) to you when you buy a new computer.

Re:Microsoft is finished by RaceProUK · 2013-01-09 12:16 · Score: 1

Doesn't matter - it's still a sale.

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No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun

Re:Microsoft is finished by davydagger · 2013-01-10 07:45 · Score: 1

yes and no.

it doesn't matter because MS makes money, and the product gets distributed either way.

it does matter, because this type of consumption does not predispose consumers to actually enjoyment of, or seeking out this product over competitors.

In fact the opposite. When given the choice, most people choose not to use windows. People don't actually like using it.

Only so long that can go on for.

Slashdot Mirror

Microsoft R&D Burgled: Only Apple Products Stolen

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