Microsoft crimps products after second wave of job cuts

Microsoft is reining in several of its products following the company's second round of lay-offs that kicked off on Tuesday. The software giant isn't killing any products yet, instead it is scaling back its commitment to .Net Micro Framework, MSN Direct Service and its ResponsePoint phone system after letting go of 3,000 staff …

[Anonymous Coward]

Ha ha!

>Similarly, MSN Direct - which provides weather, traffic and other services to devices such as in-car map systems - is also under review

Is this because they've realised that Tom Tom is

a) Beating them in the market place (something to do with being more accurate, faster, cheaper, friendlier and basically, um "better")

b) Going to win the case

[WinHatter]

Less people

less bloated ideas faster system ... well that suits me.

Hope only the bloaters get the sack ... but if HR is as bloated as Vista expect disparagement.

[Eduard Coli]

More of the same

Just because there are cut backs that does not mean the product gets better as most of the time it's the opposite.

Generally key people at a company will be the same people desired elsewhere and thus will find work first in a layoff. Then there are the foot solders who do everything, they get hurt, hurt real bad and thus make up the forced part of the layoff.

That leaves the politicians, like Ballmer for instance, who while being a pile of useless shit will grease themselves into some undeserved spot and will avoid the sack.

[pctechxp]

Why don't they bring minwin to market

Saw a youtube vid some while ago that mentioned minwin which is the Kernel without the bloat that they use internally to test stuff on.

It had a text based interface and seemed to run pretty darn quick in only 1 or 2 meg of memory.

Come on MS, put copies of that on the market (to both Joe public and the system builders) for 40 quid a licence and the revenue will come rolling in.

Its the overprived bloat which is unstable that people hate, I'm sure the Kernel without the flashy garbage works just fine.

[elderlybloke]

Does Microsoft

take any notice of these numerous suggestions from the devoted slaves (er customers)

Question- A year ago did anyone foretell the current situation , cut backs in the products and sacking thousands of the unfortunate workers ?

[N]

Regrets

To see people being laid off whilst the monkey running the show has no doubt made himself indispensable.

I think thant even some zoos would be hard put to employ Ballmer in a cage, not actually as an employee.