solid2snake
Banned
ypo said:
well, they would had use everything again except the mobos. the cases, drives and HDD were ok.
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Microsoft fires Robert Delaware over RROD whistleblowing
- Thread starter Visualante
- Start date
well, they would had use everything again except the mobos. the cases, drives and HDD were ok.
Psychotext
Member
At a guess, put new motherboards in the cases and sent them out.ypo said:
I'll just quote this because it's a lot nicer than the post I was going to make.ghostlyjoe said:
...and I don't think anyone disputes the chain of events, but there are some who don't mind the busted systems and think everything was wiped away the moment Microsoft offered an extended warranty for the three red lights error. These people are sheep.
Canadian Maniac
Member
Dave Long said:
Okay, your internet rage, which accomplishes nothing, is duly noted. Bonus points for referring to people who disagree with you about the severity of the problem as "sheep."
Psychotext
Member
ghostlyjoe said:
They're two completely separate issues though. Even if you respect the guy for speaking out and hate MS for the RRoD fiasco... the guy broke the terms of his contract and got fired plus he broke the terms of his NDA and he's getting sued.
There really isn't a need for sides in this, because all parties are in the wrong (morally / legally).
Flachmatuch
Member
Psychotext said:
Errr...yeah. One is in the wrong for causing damage to a few hundred thousand people, and the other is in the wrong for not respecting an NDA that only helped to hide this fact. Completely comparable :-DDD
And seriously, NDAs? People can't discuss their work (mostly because everything they do and think of at work belongs to the company they work for) and that's quite OK and normal? Baaaaaaaaaa
Psychotext
Member
That's an idiotic suggestion. They'd receive them straight back, costing them even more money than replacing the faulty parts at the factory.ypo said:
Who said they were comparable? I said they're both in the wrong. If you can't respect the law and contracts that you sign then you're going to get fucked... and deserve little sympathy.Flachmatuch said:
If he had done this right at the start to force MS to admit the problem and fix it then he would have been an actual whistleblower and it would have been a different story.
*sigh* 90 days. They only had to work for 90 days and then you were liable for repairs. The launch was more important than if the consoles worked for more than 90 days.Psychotext said:
It's pretty clear they knew what they were doing, and that's why this man's information and that of others is so important. Microsoft seemingly released the console knowing they had problems, and the warranty (which at 90 days was industry WORST and hadn't been seen on a games console in some time) was made short enough that consumers would have to pay for repairs.
It doesn't matter that they later extended it. The point is, they knowingly fucked us all over right out of the gate.
Psychotext
Member
If they had failed testing they wouldn't have lasted 1 day. They'd have all been DOA.Dave Long said:
travisbickle
Member
KHarvey16 said:
Yes, isn't that a scenario stated by the "whistleblower"?
What is wrong with you? Can't you understand that with the issues the console has, they knew they'd work "for awhile" and would eventually fail due to heat issues? Some people had problems on day one. Some people had it in a month. Some had it months later. Consider also that the console was shipped in November... kinda cold that time of year, eh?Psychotext said:
This post makes me think you're just trolling. No one can be so dumb.
Flachmatuch
Member
Psychotext said:
Yeah. We should forget that MS have lied about this stuff for years, but breaking an NDA and pointing that lie out...wow, that MUST be punished. Anyway, are you forgetting what company are you defending here?
So, are you suggesting that he shouldn't have done this because we're all done with it and no more info is needed? And could you link the press release or whatever with the official failure rate figures in the meantime? Seriously, people believe in the goodwill of fucking Microsoft? That they're like a person, and a pretty nice one too?
:lol
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2008/09/t...ects_that_killed_millions_of_xbox_360s-2.html
Where can we read this full report?
I like how a lot of the people here are almost exactly parroting Microsoft's corporate line on the article: "This is all old -- nothing to see here -- move along folks!" :lol
I asked Microsoft to confirm or deny 35 different facts contained in this story. Instead, I received a formal statement from a Microsoft spokesperson, saying the company had already acknowledged an unacceptable number of repairs to Xbox 360 consoles and responded to the hardware failures with a free replacement program. The statement also said, This topic has already been covered extensively in the media. This new story repeats old information, and contains rumors and innuendo from anonymous sources, attempting to create a new sensational angle, and is highly irresponsible.
I asked Microsoft to confirm or deny 35 different facts contained in this story. Instead, I received a formal statement from a Microsoft spokesperson, saying the company had already acknowledged an unacceptable number of repairs to Xbox 360 consoles and responded to the hardware failures with a free replacement program. The statement also said, This topic has already been covered extensively in the media. This new story repeats old information, and contains rumors and innuendo from anonymous sources, attempting to create a new sensational angle, and is highly irresponsible.
Flachmatuch
Member
dLMN8R said:
Yeah, thank God most people are like you: smart enough to follow orders and keep their mouth shut :-D
Flachmatuch
Member
Nerevar said:
Maybe in a world that had nothing more than videogames. Although you're right, this is a pretty realistic view on a gaming forum :-D
Psychotext
Member
Strawman much? I think the guy was in the wrong... therefore I must be defending MS?Flachmatuch said:
So consoles didn't fail testing and get sent out anyway then?ypo said:
Canadian Maniac
Member
border said:
Okay, so from the quote Microsoft admits flat out the failure rate is unacceptable and is trying to respond as best they can. Lacking a functional time machine, the extended warranty program is what they came up with.
BravoSuperStar
Member
border said:
I read it last week. What exactly is this stunning new revelation or info you are reffering to?
Flachmatuch
Member
Psychotext said:
True, this is not a purely logical deduction, but that's the impression that you give me - you're bringing up a relatively minor technicality (in this case) vs obvious ill-will (or whatever knowingly shipping products that don't work is considered), that's just clutching at straws. Logical, but still pathetic.
If anybody has signed an NDA in person, not an online app (though I'm sure it works out the same), you know that if you speak about what it's against, you're going to get in shit. Hence the Non Disclosure Agreement. Microsoft has every right to burn this guy regardless of the topic.
Canadian Maniac
Member
herod said:
Uh...no. This would be like MS nuking Mexico because an illegal immigrant dropped some litter after signing an agreement that specifically stated if he littered the US would nuke Mexico.
Except that, as noted already, nearly 1/3-1/2 of hardware failures are not covered by the extended warranty.Canadian Maniac said:
The events pre and post launch were not known, nor were the explicit numbers of defects in the varying stages of production. Takahashi's article has a level of detail not seen elsewhere.SuperEnemyCrab said:
Flachmatuch
Member
Canadian Maniac said:
And that piece of paper would make it all right :-DDDDD Wow :-D
Hope the guy wins and the guy pretty much opened up a huge can of worms and potential lawsuits for MS via loyal Xbox360 customers who bought their launch 360 and it failed and MS had they fixed for a fee. I can just see the huge lawsuits coming. This one guy pretty much can/will cause MS to go on it's knees if they don't hush up the true story of why the Xbox360's failed badly. Bravo to the guy, who may just be a martyr for the gaming enthusiasts and bad on MS trying to keep him quiet, NPA or not, if the government gets involved, than the guy could not face legal charges, as MS could be charged for "fraud" by providing faulty service for a "product" I'm tagging this thread for legal litigation and where this goes 
Flachmatuch
Member
I'm just glad there are so many people standing up for the right of huge business entities to give us shitty stuff and not let us know about it.
Canadian Maniac
Member
Flachmatuch said:
...what?
herod said:
No one was twisting this guy's arm for this information, he provided it of his own free will. I understand there's nothing anyone can say to stop your hamfisted Microsoft bashing, but try to go about it in a slightly more intelligent way, it just makes you look bad.
BravoSuperStar
Member
border said:
*shrug* I thought most of it was known, just not in hard percentages. But no wonder he was fired, thats clearly not "whistleblowing" in any sense of the word. Thats releasing private company data to the public. I feel they are justified in firing him. Suing might be kicking him while he's down, but you play with the bull your gonna get the horns. He asked for it anyway...
Except that data didn't come from him. That's why I asked if you'd read the article. All he did was discuss the scenario where Disc-based system updates borked a few systems.....and note that testers found a lot of ways to break/freeze up systems. He has a few details on the NBA2K and Dead Rising RRODs, but the meat of the article isn't coming from Delaware.SuperEnemyCrab said:
brain_stew
Member
It might have been a noble cause but it was utter stupidity on his part, any organisation would do exactly the same and he should have known that.
BravoSuperStar
Member
border said:
You are right about that but he is still publicly discussing things that would clearly fall under the NDA/contract he signed, which is my point. I'm sorry the guy lost his job, and MS makes a unreliable console, but from a strictly business standpoint MS has every right to go after him. His statements are why I got the impression he was an attention whore to begin with, so that might be inaccurate, but his 'bring it on" quote isn't exactly subtle.
B-Rad Lascelle
Banned
Just to throw some gasoline on the proverbial fire, it wouldn't surprise me if Robert Delaware didn't have a signed NDA in play here. Granted, it's actually more LIKELY that he did have an employer confidentiality agreement of some kind given that he was contracted through a temp agency (be it Excell Data, Volt or somewhere else) and he wasn't a direct employee of an outsourced third-party.
But it wouldn't surprise me if he didn't.
From a legal standpoint, Microsoft feels that its accountability bases are covered so long as repairs are offered free of charge for any technical defects encountered... regardless of whether it takes 1, 3 or 12 repairs to get a functional system in people's hands. Unless the "inconvenience of a repair" can ever be deemed as sufficient grounds for legal action, they're probably right.
Finally, Robert Delaware clearly made the decision he did by contributing his name & story to Dean Takahashi's VentureBeat article with the explicit intention of getting fired and martyring himself. Don't for a second think he intended differently.
But it wouldn't surprise me if he didn't.
From a legal standpoint, Microsoft feels that its accountability bases are covered so long as repairs are offered free of charge for any technical defects encountered... regardless of whether it takes 1, 3 or 12 repairs to get a functional system in people's hands. Unless the "inconvenience of a repair" can ever be deemed as sufficient grounds for legal action, they're probably right.
Finally, Robert Delaware clearly made the decision he did by contributing his name & story to Dean Takahashi's VentureBeat article with the explicit intention of getting fired and martyring himself. Don't for a second think he intended differently.