Vista Ship Gift, Part 2
It's a Microsoft tradition that the people who worked on a project get a copy of the project when it ships. I've got copies of OS/2 1.1, NT 3.1, Exchange 4.0, 5.0, 5.5 and 2000 on my shelves, for example, all with their shrinkwrap untouched.
Well, my copy of Vista finally showed up yesterday, and the ship gift people totally outdid themselves this time.
Here is.
Front:
Back:
Side:
You probably can't make it out in the pictures, but across the front and back is a subtle wash consisting of code - don't know what code it is, but it's code.
On the front is the word "HANDCRAFTED" and the Vista logo
On the back is the text:
"BY YOU
We build software line by line, idea by idea, side by side. Our software is an expression of ourselves, our best moments, our toughest challenges, our greatest hopes. So it's a strange and beautiful day when this handcrafted product leaves our labs and appears on millions of computers around the globe. Remember this day. You have changed the world."
Inside the fold is a collection of pictures, some from the ship party, some from inside Microsoft:
I normally don't open the packaging on my ship gifts but in this case I made an exception, because again, this one was special.
Front:
Back:
Side:
The text on the back reads:
"FOR ALL THE...
Delighted customers, great ideas, tough deadlines, clever solutions, lines of code, pages of specs, runs of automation, lines of text, screens of UI, missed dinners, fixed bugs, inspiring teamwork, countless iterations, courage to break the rules, time away from loved ones, times you rose to the occasion, late nights, early mornings, delayed vacations, chances you took, long meetings, short meetings, canceled meetings, killed features, features that wouldn't die, crashed machines, moments of victory, moments of defeat, coffees, doughnuts, pizzas, beers, relentless dedication, blood, sweat, and tears.
THANK YOU"
And I want to thank whoever it was on the product team that designed this packaging. It's absolutely awesome, and I think it totally captures the effort that went into Vista. I especially love the text on the inside package.
It's funny - when the commemorative edition started showing up, I noticed something unique. In my 22+ years at Microsoft, I've NEVER seen people take the "thank you" copy of the product out and show it to others. But when we got this copy, there were lots of people walking around the halls showing the box off to others. Every one of them called out the text on the package as being meaningful.
Comments
Anonymous
February 09, 2007
Wow. I guess it's really touching when people spent their life on the product received those gifts. :DAnonymous
February 09, 2007
So, is now a good time to ask why my Vista multimedia experience looks like this? http://img518.imageshack.us/my.php?image=posat1.png I saw this during the beta, but assumed it would be fixed before release. The black background on the slider for Media Center disappears if you wave the mouse over it; nothing ever appears in the rightmost space. I'm not really clear on why "Windows Sounds" is in a different font, has no separator within the group and has that thick border around the mute button, but dragging it off the screen sort-of changes things. On top of this, my audio hardware no longer accelerates anything and the sound quality of most games is dramatically reduced. The Windows sounds are too quiet, which isn't your fault, except that it means I don't have a useful way to establish the volume in the first place, and you haven't helped with this. In fact, accessing the mixer is a pain, because double-click doesn't work. I've been following this blog and think some of the Vista changes are welcome - they certainly would be if they didn't affect games - but so far, as a consumer, I'm not realising any benefits from the changes. I suppose you're going to tell me that Vista's great for "enjoying premium content" (which I'm told doesn't affect "viewing medical images"?!) If this is your team, I wish you'd tell me either what's affecting my system, or why Vista was released like this. Disappointedly, James.Anonymous
February 10, 2007
When we release a product to market at MS, tradition holds that everyone involved in building it is usuallyAnonymous
February 10, 2007
Larry, you should put it to good use and install it on the 386.Anonymous
February 10, 2007
Guys, well done. Your gift is well deserved!Anonymous
February 11, 2007
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February 11, 2007
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February 11, 2007
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February 12, 2007
They should've sent the beta testers one of those. :P I still have my commemorative XPSP2 CD with the text "I came through for SP2" on the back.Anonymous
February 12, 2007
我刚买了VISTA的busness版本，感觉很不错。感谢你们的开发.Anonymous
February 12, 2007
I got one too, but I burnt it as soon as I receieved it. Just a joke. Anyway, it just feels great when you hold your archievement in your hand.Anonymous
February 12, 2007
oh! very good , haha.Anonymous
February 13, 2007
刚在其他地方看见了一些争执,我想不管是Windows还是Linux,不管是收费还是免费,它们都代表了人类的智慧,他们的创造改变了这世界,我向创造这些奇迹的人们致敬。Anonymous
February 13, 2007
Wow, did you see those photos? White text on a blue background. Now admit it. You recognized it instantaneously.Anonymous
February 13, 2007
投递微软公司有着这样一项传统,当一项工程完工,参与这项计划的员工都将得到一份最终成果,每一代 Windows自然都是如此.我们以前很少看到这样的东西,但这次的Vista版据说因为设计实在出彩,许多员工都把它拿了出来向同事炫耀.一位名叫Anonymous
February 14, 2007
真的很感动！！！！！特别是那段文字——“for all the...”！ Thank you all,too!!!Anonymous
February 14, 2007
哇！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！Anonymous
February 14, 2007
vista是我见过最棒的操作系统了！vista是你们的杰作，荣耀，为你们喝彩！Anonymous
February 18, 2007
What is it so good about Vista? So far I see no reason for upgrading.Anonymous
February 19, 2007
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February 21, 2007
mmm.. nice design, I must say..Anonymous
February 23, 2007
Luogo molto buon:) Buona fortuna!Anonymous
February 27, 2007
It's definitely a unforgettable memory for you
