I bet you’re talking about the Easter egg in Windows 98. You can find instructions to get it here.
Yes, if you do a usability test for Microsoft you get to pick anything off the rack as compensation. Before I worked at MS (I’d be ineligible now) I did this a few times. Come in for 2-4 hours, answer some questions or perform some task, and go home with a brand new copy of Visual Studio .NET or Office XP Professional. The only catch is that you aren’t supposed to resell your gratuity.
QED No - this is a real puzzle, that has become a sort of ‘meme’ on the net. Here’s a description - it is fiendishly difficult, and may even (unfairly) require personal information about the Microsoft manager that set the puzzle; that’s why I was hoping Dooku might know the inside scoop.
The thing about developers and computer geeks in general is that they are mostly going to want to use the best (or most familiar to them, which may make it best for them) tool for the job, and are probably a lot less inclined to simply use whatever is officially distributed to them in the name of “this is what we use around here”. This is especially true whenever there is pressure on to make something work NOW.
I suppose I’m more spoiled than average. I have yet to work (except for a month as a temp) where I was limited to using their machine with their idea of software (and privilege restrictions) installed on it. I’ve always brought my own in, connected it to their network, and therefore had all my familiar tools and applications and reference materials right there at my fingertips. It would be a major issue, perhaps of dealbreaker status, if I were seeking a new job. I will be supplying my own tools, like any other craftsman. You will not have anything to say about what is installed on my computer or how I use it.
I have never heard of this “States” puzzle - I asked around and no one else around here has either, other than what you guys know. That means the manager that created it doesn’t work in the Desktop division or I would have found at least someone that knew about it.
Reading the link, I didn’t find any relevance as far as Internal software code names or anything along those lines.
Sorry guys, we’re pretty isolated in the MacBu.
IAAME in the Windows division. For the most part, the view is that you do whatever the heck you want to do to help you get your job done.
You want a different text editor? Sure, some we have site licenses for, others you could req an order for one, or go buy it yourself, or program your own. As long as it doesnt negatively affect others who are working on the same project, go for it.
While we like to use our own beta products, we also use other things on the market to see what we’re doing better and what we’re doing worse.
And it doesn’t stop with just software - if you don’t like your office furniture, go get your own. Don’t like the wall color? Paint it something else. One office I saw was entirely neon lime green - including the employee’s clothing.