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2004-08-23 Home Front: Tech

How eight pixels cost Microsoft millions

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Posted by Ptah 2004-08-23 10:04:02 AM|| || Front Page|| [1 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 I was interning at MSFT the summer that Win95 was released and remember talking with the graphic artist/programmer who had made that map. A user used to be able to select what time zone he was in by clicking on the map and having it highlighted. The Indian government didn't like that Kashmir wasn't highlighted when you clicked on (western) India! He and the programmers had spent many hours on it and had used what he called a "UN-approved" world map as their guide, and they were very shocked and disappointed to hear of India's resulting boycott. The map is still there (double-click on the time display in your taskbar and select the "Time Zone" tab), but instead of clicking on your region to highlight the time zone you now must select it from a dropdown. And I doubt that will change any time in the near future.

Posted by Dar 2004-08-23 10:15:28 AM|| 2004-08-23 10:15:28 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 "Some of our employees, however bright they may be, have only a hazy idea about the rest of the world," he said"

Or, many of your employees, brought up in a comfortably liberal democratic republic, where taking offense at cultural slights is considered uncool, puritan, or worse and therefore such slights are to be shrugged off at all costs, are simply unprepared for the level of rancor other cultures are willing to rise to over perceived slights.

Posted by Carl in N.H 2004-08-23 10:24:06 AM|| 2004-08-23 10:24:06 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 While the India-Kashmir debacle represents "eggshell ego" levels of diplomatic hauteur, the Spanish SNAFU is far more egregious:

Microsoft has also managed to upset women and entire countries. A Spanish-language version of Windows XP, destined for Latin American markets, asked users to select their gender between "not specified," "male" or "bitch," because of an ~~incredibly stupid lack of editing~~ unfortunate error in translation.

Posted by Zenster 2004-08-23 11:03:04 AM|| 2004-08-23 11:03:04 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 Given the Spanish cojones deficit issue, a more accurate selection would be "not specified" "female" or "bitch". That seems to cover all the bases.

Posted by Grunter 2004-08-23 12:02:55 PM|| 2004-08-23 12:02:55 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 "female" or "bitch"

How can you tell the difference?

Posted by Raj 2004-08-23 1:04:22 PM|| 2004-08-23 1:04:22 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 "female" or "bitch" How can you tell the difference?

That's easy, Raj. Females enjoy sex.

Posted by Zenster 2004-08-23 3:47:02 PM|| 2004-08-23 3:47:02 PM|| Front Page Top

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