Even Microsoft wants G5s

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This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on October 23, 2003). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.

UPDATE: Please take the time to read my followup post, Fifteen Minutes of Fame, for my thoughts on what happened after I posted this picture, why it happened — and most importantly, why I don’t blame Microsoft for their actions. Thanks!

It looks like somebody over in Microsoft land is getting some new toys…

Microsoft's shipment of G5s come in

I took this shot on the way into work on the loading dock (MSCopy, the print shop I work in, is in the same building as MS’s shipping and receiving). Three palettes of Dual 2.0Ghz G5’s on their way in to somewhere deep in the bowels of Redmond. Hopefully they’re all in good condition when they arrive — the boxes are slick enough that a few of them took a bit of a tumble (you can see them back in the truck)!

443 thoughts on “Even Microsoft wants G5s”

  3. Hello. Greetings from France.
    So please excuse me for my bad english. :))

    You should have been more cautious in choosing your employer. Remember Microsoft is a worldwide corporation, and corporations don’t like freedom at all (remember NDA, EULA, DRM, and so on…?). Not exactly what one could call “freedom” !

    They like “security through obscurity”. You don’t have to know more than they wish, and you are not allowed to say anything if you’re not working for the propaganda (er… public relations) department.

    Your only freedom while working in corporations is to pay for their services and to work like a slave as an employee in order to be able to pay their services.

    Corporations are not democracy, but rather corporate republic. A corporate republic is a representative republic where the more money you have, the more power you have in thruth.

    A democracy is a form of government where people take the decisions, not corrupted representatives (parliament, senate or whatever name).

    As for a computer comparison, corporate republic could be a client-server model. The biggest server you have, the more customer you have, and they have to conform to your will in order to be processed. And democracy could be a peer-to-peer model, where you doesn’t have to ask an authorization in order to do anything.

    It seems you are liking freedom, so I recommend you to work for an open-source employer. They aren’t NDAs nor EULAs (except GPL, which in short says “do what you wish”) in opensourcing, and you also have full freespeech rights.

  5. Somos Solidarios a sua causa, estamos com você Brazil. (We are Solidary you cause, we are with you Brazil)

  7. Hello! > All over news in Brazil talk about your pic of G5 arriving in Microsoft > – That was amazing! >>
    You should register that “Even Microsoft wants G5” and sell it to Apple!!!!!! > Best regars! > :) Maria – Made in Brazil

  11. Foda-se, The Bill…
    Esta foto é a prova que você se rendeu ao MAC e está provando que está merda de Windows é um côco.

    Continue conmpanheiro… denuncie…

  12. MS fired a guy for blogging?
    I dont believe this, just tell me why this Suckers did it? It’s just a fuck blogg, I can put what i want, it’s mine, but get fired because of a photo, It seens like you dont have freedom of speech.

  14. Como um cara pode ser burro ao ponto de postar uma foto dessa e nao pensar que isso poderia comprometer ó seu emprego.
    Como é burro.

    Mas boa sorte no futuro.

  15. you should post the full text of the NDA that you signed before becoming a temp. Sorry, I can’t sympathize all that much with you – the firing doesn’t have anything to do with what was on the pallettes. It could have been a few cases of Coke and the end result would be the same. Live and learn, next time don’t get too upset when you reveal to the entire world your personal life. No one really cares.

  18. we’ve had run in’s with the corporate giant before now, its like they own everything, ah well bad luck matey i guess but at least we know M$ likes fruity pieces of electronics also ;)

  19. huahauhaa.. u r famous here in Brasil..
    But, well, Microsoft sucks..
    Why don’t u try get a job at the MAC company??

    u make people see that even Microsoft want a G5.. so.. try to knock at the MAC company..

  22. Esse cara é muito corajoso e burro ao mesmo tempo, mas de qualquer forma gostei da coragem e mostrar
    ao mundo que a microsoft não é independente.

    Agora vamos ver se pelo amor de Deus abaixe os valores do Microsoft.

  25. You should feel relieved you are no longer a part of a power-hungry company that shoves sub-par technology down everyone’s throats. Get yourself a 17 inch PowerBook, write a novel, and live comfortably on the royalties for the rest of your life.

  26. You should feel relieved you are no longer a part of a power-hungry company that shoves sub-par technology down everyone’s throats. Get yourself a 17 inch PowerBook, write a novel, and live comfortably on the royalties for the rest of your life.

  33. Good Luck Michael…

    These Macs are more than likely heading to the MacBU department… Frankly I’m surprised they weren’t in there sooner…

  35. first i thought. cool! Microsoft get bonus points for buying G5!

    then i read the result. and think this sucks! Microsoft get -ve -ve
    points for harassment. yet another nail in their coffin.

    how many of you bloggers are using Microsoft OS etc? I’d advise you
    to drop it….even though they want you – the next version of their
    OS will have blogging capability. think of this guy before anything else

  36. It is Microsoft’s right to decide who works for them. I definitely would not hesitate to fire anybody working for me who felt it was a good idea to take photos of anything business related and post them publicly, ESPECIALLY when those photos relate to a competitor. Your lack of common sense got you fired. What value would Microsoft possibly have in keeping you around? You have shown your employer that you cannot be trusted to use your better judgement. What is left?

  39. É por isso que eu digo: “Viva o Software Livre, vida longa ao LINUX”.
    O Brasil domina!!!!

    IN SURF WE TRUST!!!

  40. Olha isso… fala sério… depois dessa eu falava pra todo o mundo como é a segurança lá na Microsoft… se eles querem te fuder, fode com eles antes.

    I can’t belive that it is true… if i were u, i would run and tell EVERYBODY IN THIS FUCKING WORLD how does microsoft security works… if they want to fuck u, u should fuck them too!

    BRASIL (with an S because this is how WE speel!!) RULEZ THE INTERNET!!

    WE HAVE ALL OF THE BEST HACKERS EVER!

  43. Dam about your job ay.
    Congratulations on getting the top spot in the Sci/Tech News section on google.

  44. It is a very serious issue, this one about loyality towards your company getting into conflict with you rights to express your views in public and private.
    In this case I can hardly see that you actually harmed Microsoft or published secret informations. And that this could cause you to loose your job seems to show that Microsoft is a company in conflict with its own selfunderstanding … and probably with reality.
    One point though … if the photos in mention was take inside Microsoft AND in an area with very restricted access, then it is probably a correct decision to throw out people who break the rules. If this was the case, then the photographer should have used his head instead of his camera. But if the Photos was taken in a public area or from a public area, then the sacking would indeed have been a crime in a democratic country with proper trade union rights.

  46. é isso ae… atitude!!! os produtos da MS ate que sao bons, o problema é o monopolio e os precos!!! pelo menos ele FEZ… e mostrou ao mundo o que a microsoft realmente é!!!!
    Gabriel Lisboa
    Salvadoir/BA

  48. Cant belive it, they just kicked u out, shows the attitude of MS.
    U did nothing wrong, so my hunch is that they thought that u are on their tail.
    By sacking u, they blew their cover whatever it is, how stupid..

  50. Ahh Microsoft is just a large company and wants what all large companies want, to get bigger. The blog that was made obviously was not appropriate considering it is inside of a corperate building and should not be posted without consent of the company, but is seems foolish for Microsoft to fire the employee because now thousands are going to see the photo and thus generating mass embarassment for the mega corp. This whole matter is a messy joke and is something I’d expect to see in a tabloid :S.
    Ben Anderson

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