Microsoft Bob charged $99 to replace your desktop with a cartoon living room
Microsoft Bob shipped a cartoon-house interface that sold about 58,000 copies
The tracker for all of Microsoft's mistakes.
11
days since Microsoft f'd up
161
incidents on record
76
things they broke
56
decisions they made
29
things they killed
21%
of decisions walked back
By the numbers: 21% of their decisions and removals got walked back.
The Record
It looks like you're trying to work; would you like to be watched?
Office 97 shipped the Office Assistant, an uninvited paperclip, on by default
The Windows 98 demo where Plug and Play chose violence
Windows 98 crashed to a blue screen live on stage with Bill Gates at COMDEX
Windows Me shipped on time; nothing else about it did
Windows Millennium Edition shipped to instant notoriety for crashes and driver conflicts
HailStorm: Microsoft politely asked to hold everyone's wallet
.NET My Services proposed centralizing consumers' personal data on Microsoft servers
Microsoft won the browser war and stopped making browsers
IE6 shipped in August 2001 and got no successor for over five years
Windows XP assumed you were a pirate until you called home
Windows XP required retail buyers to activate with Microsoft within 30 days
Microsoft Points: real money in, fake currency out, permanent leftovers
Xbox 360 launched with Microsoft Points, a scrip currency sold in awkward bundles
PlaysForSure: a compatibility promise Microsoft's own player declined
Zune did not support PlaysForSure, stranding buyers of Microsoft-certified music
Welcome to the Social, population: people who own a Zune
Zune launched November 14, 2006 with a brown player and DRM-wrapped song sharing