Wired News reports that many Microsoft employees are choosing iPods over competing portable music players that use the Windows Media format. Drawing on an anonymous Microsoft manager as its source, the story reports that the trend concerns company executives to the point that employees are “hiding their iPods by swapping the telltale white headphones for a less conspicuous pair.”
The idea that the iPod is popular among Microsoft employees isn’t exactly new or earthshaking. But the Wired News story has caused a minor stir, complete with a Slashdot post. Excerpts from some of the commentary thus far:
Ed Bott: “I have no doubt that lots of Microsoft employees own iPods. But taking an offhand remark from an unknown source (who may or may not have a hidden agenda and who may or may not know what he’s talking about) and extrapolating it to the entire campus is just silly.”
Doug Thews: “Do Microsoft employees own iPods?? My answer is, WHO CARES! … It’s this kind of tactic (both sides) that really irritate me about “technology camps”. Why is it that when you work for one “camp”, you MUST NOT OWN any other product that can be considered to infringe on any of their product lines?”
Jupiter Research’s Michael Gartenberg: “Geez, I doubt it’s policy, but it’s a little tacky to be walking around campus with an iPod, wouldn’t you think? You don’t have to be scolded about something to know it might not be a career enhancing move. Sort of like working at Coke and ordering a Pepsi for lunch … “
Jupiter Research’s Joe Wilcox: “I assume iPod usage has got to frustrate, maybe even irk, some of the folks over at the Windows Digital Media division. But I see more of an opportunity than a problem. In fact, I would argue that Microsoft would make even better products if more employees used other vendors’ goods. Microsoft developers and their hardware partners could learn lots from the iPodders and use that knowledge to improve PlaysForSure-logo products.”
Microsoft’s Robert Scoble: “I think it’s a positive thing to study your competitors and figure out what they’ve done well and look at what you aren’t doing well and improve it. Does it do Microsoft any justice to stick our heads in the sand and pretend that Apple doesn’t have a better product? No. The market has spoken. … That all said, if there’s a product that comes out that’s arguably better than the iPod in end-to-end experience you’ll be first to know it. Why? I’ll be the first to jump up and down and say it.”
Engadget:”We can understand the people charged with killing the iPod feeling put out, but for as much smack as people talk on Microsoft, we have a hard time believing that the boys at the long rosewood table are troubling themselves over something as silly as this.”
UPDATE: Considering the above in the context of the Bill Gates photo phenomenon that swept the Web a few weeks ago, this was probably inevitable. (Thanks, Brian, for pointing that out.)
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