M$ Fires Xbox Employee Who Talked About Hardware Failures

[Jack Torrance]

Microsoft Fires Xbox Employee Who Talked About Hardware Failures

An employee that went on record about the Xbox 360's failure rate has been summarily terminated by Microsoft, Dean Takahashi revealed.

by James Brightman on Monday, September 15, 2008
Microsoft Fires Xbox Employee Who Talked About Hardware Failures

A little over a week ago, we posted a story pointing to Dean Takahashi's fascinating report on the absurdly high hardware failures occurring with the Xbox 360. Microsoft apparently knew about these problems as the units were coming off the production line but decided to launch the console anyway. Most of Takahashi's sources were deliberately anonymous, but one person did not mind putting his name out there, despite the high risk involved.

Robert Delaware, who was a contract employee that served as a game tester, has indeed been let go, and his manager told him it was because he spoke on the record without permission to Takahashi. Furthermore, Delaware could be facing civil charges from his former employer. "I don't regret it," he told VentureBeat. "I'll fight it. If they want to come after me, bring it on."

Takahashi called the firing by Microsoft a "witch hunt mentality" even though the company is within its rights to let Delaware go. "People like Delaware are more useful hunting down bugs and fixing problems. I think the company really should apply their energy in different directions, like making sure that consumers are treated right. The firing disappoints me, and I wish Delaware well," Takahashi added.

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/ne...ailures/?biz=1

[xtop]

he doesn't regret it and wants a multibillion dollar company to bring it on? smart move

but no offense to the op, but who cares? a guy got fired and they have every right to fire him.

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

Maybe I'm not saying this right, but now, its offical. Now, it seems like they're in a state of denyal when it comes to hardware breakdowns.

[dialog_gvf]

Undoubtedly he violated his NDA, which is grounds enough to be fired.

Microsoft is notorious with those. Heck, paidgeek couldn't even talk publically about the VC-1 encoder while a certain ex Microsoft veep was going around telling everyone how helpful they were to everyone to encourage its use.

Gary

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by xtop

but no offense to the op, but who cares?

People that bought a 360 or is thinking about buying one?

If I was unaware of the 360's problems, it would make me think twice about buying it.

a guy got fired and they have every right to fire him.

Unfortunately companies can fire employees for telling the truth.

[xtop]

i meant who cares if the guy was fired, thats what the article is about. everyone knows about rrod by now, there's nothing new there.

[dereksworl]

Originally Posted by xtop

i meant who cares if the guy was fired, thats what the article is about. everyone knows about rrod by now, there's nothing new there.

Who cares about Microcost period?

[Mr. Hanky]

Imagine all of the other skeletons in MS's closet that we don't know of, because a certain person wants to keep their job!

[jadedeath]

Originally Posted by Mr. Hanky

Imagine all of the other skeletons in MS's closet that we don't know of, because a certain person wants to keep their job!

Like what Bill Gates REALLY did with that goat he had shipped to his office along with the pink tu-tu.

Logan

[Bigdog]

Lets not forget that the guy was a game tester, we are talking about maybe at best a 20k a year part time position that basically can be filled by a 16 year old kid if needed. I dont blame microsoft for canning him!

[jadedeath]

Originally Posted by Bigdog

Lets not forget that the guy was a game tester, we are talking about maybe at best a 20k a year part time position that basically can be filled by a 16 year old kid if needed. I dont blame microsoft for canning him!

I blame Microsoft for most things.

Including the weather.

With how hot the 360's have been running, they're a prime source of global warming.

Logan
P.S. I'm being facetious.

[AliceT]

The title of this thread is misleading, the guy was NOT an employee of microsoft. He worked for another firm who farmed out jobs as testers. He was an employee of this other company, not MS. MS just told the firm they did not want him anymore since he violated the NDA. No matter what you think of MS, they only did what was right as far as the NDA. If he breaks an NDA and nothing happens, then anyone in the future that breaks an NDA and gets fired could sue and claim that they arent going after everyone that breaks it.

[mightypen]

1. This is why gaming writers should not be considered real journalists.

2. Of course he was fired, he violated the NDA. What do you expect will happen when you do that? Is your five minutes of internet fame really worth your livelihood?

[Mr. Hanky]

The idea of an NDA is all well and good when it comes to protecting intellectual assets. However, the problem is that the mechanism evidently lacks a "whistleblower protection". I believe that clause would be relevant for the situation of this topic. So the avenue is left open for companies to exploit the enforcements of NDA for purposes beyond its fundamental intent.

While others may stand by a strict cause-effect reality of NDA as a justification for losing your livelihood, I object on the grounds that reporting a nefarious element that is present with a company or its product should be excluded as a legitimate breach of NDA. It is a completely separate issue from protecting intellectual property (which should be the focus of NDA), rather a valuable component of consumer protection. Someone should not lose their job for that.

[quexos]

If I could work for a High Tech company it would be Pixar, I don't think I would want to work for MS.