“Two years after it took the ax to a range of employee benefits, Microsoft is introducing new perks for its staff. The plan, known as MyMicrosoft, was unveiled to the Redmond, Wash., masses this week,” Jo Best reports for CNET News. “It also revealed that ‘the towels are back,’ referring to the popular towel-laundering service for sweaty staff washing at work after exercising or cycling in to campus, a perk that was axed in the benefits cull in 2004. Those cutbacks followed a call by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for the software giant to make $1 billion worth of cuts. At the time, he warned that even Microsoft’s free soda policy was under review… Now, after a series of high-profile defections, including that of Kai-Fu Lee, who founded Microsoft’s Chinese Labs, to Google, Microsoft is reversing its earlier stance.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Sketchtrain” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Take: That’ll fix everything. We know why they’re really sweating in Redmond now, don’t we? Seriously, forget the towels, they’re all going to need new underpants soon.
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Microsoft suffers from malaise, key defections, Windows Vista struggles, lack of towels – September 16, 2005
HAHAHAHHAHAaaa ah sigh
FOOLS! All of them.
The towels are to mop up the TEARS!
Their benefits are still way better than Apple’s, so I would not laugh, monkey boys.
I work at Apple’s Austin offices and benefits from Apple include occasional free popcorn and nachos. Whoopie!!!!!!
anybody wanna get high?
I guess I can cotton to that. MS was taking a bath.
The employees dished the dirt and wanted to terry apart the place before they fold. Nice blanket statement. It’s a wash, I guess. Hand it to ’em?
towelie, hahahah. good one!
Too bad they can’t ship in consciouses, integrity, and perfectionism to the Redmond, Wash. masses along with the towels.
towelie: ‘ere. <holding breath>
Free towel with every copy of Vista.
You’re going to need one to dry the tears when you find out the upgrades your computer will need to run the premium version.
They copy Tiger and need more RAM, CPU speed and a more powerful video card than Tiger needs just to run the copy. They copy and they still can’t get it right.
>Tom Strong–I work at Apple’s Austin offices and benefits from Apple include occasional free popcorn and nachos. Whoopie!!!!!!>
If you don’t like it, work somewhere else. You’re like the schoolkids of today. “Where’s my breakfast. Where’s my lunch?”
You get paid to work and contribute, not snack.
Free popcorn is just an opc away from free porn. I have no idea what that means. We still love snacks.
I think the towels are for Steve Ballmer after one of his tirades or sweaty developers chant.
Also, Towelie,
TOO DAMN FUNNY!!!
>Tom Strong–Hopefully you were smart enough to buy Apple stock a year or two ago, now that’s a benefit!
Judging by the famous videos of Balmer towels are a must in the MS premises.
Ampar,
Or a “pco”. Think about it.
I thought it meant Microsoft Management was throwing in the towel!
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I can think of one group of people who can’t stand Microsoft’s bad press and are praying Apple gains lots of market share:
developers, developers, developers, developers
You guys wanna get a little high?
“Seriously, forget the towels, they’re all going to need new underpants soon.”
Damn you MDN!! LOL, now I need new underpants. Excuse me.
Too true, Cubert. But what I mourn is the lack of self-referential contradictions. We call it maize.
Free towels?
Now they have something to throw in.
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Right on the money Ron.
Today it’s all about the individual. These guys get paid wages just like the rest of us. They should buy their own towels and snacks. If they want to exercise on the companys time, go join the Army!
Leo
It’s understandable that Ballmer would insist on all those cutbacks of frivolous benefits such as clean towels in 2004. Microsoft only had $2.69 billion in profits that year.
Towels distributed in Redmond, May 2006. Vista released ahead of schedule, August 2006. Never under estimate the power of a rectangular cotton cloth, people.