Microsoft fires quality assurance whistle-blower

Are we entering an age where one can get into more trouble for telling the truth than telling lies?

Why not spend more resources on making your XBox work, rather than spending those resources covering up the problem.

It's unbeliable, that after nearly 3 years on the market, the XBox is STILL not reliable... It's clear to see you sacrificed quality big time, and royally screwed consumers over, in the race to be first to market. I also applaud Sony for not allowing themselves to be rushed by you into releasing shoddy hardware, instead taking their time, and releasing when the hardware was ready/.

Let's get real here. The guy was NOT a Microsoft employee, he was a contractor. That means he (a) was not kept in the loop and has a very narrow base of information, (b) is not in any position to be a spokesperson about what happens at Microsoft, (c) could not be "fired" in the traditional employer/employe sense, and (d) was just stupid about revealing internal information (or opinion) about what was effectively his CUSTOMER not his employer.

How would you like it if I came into your shop for a visit, signed a non-disclosure agreement so you could freely talk about your internal challenges, and then ran out and gave a press interview revealing things I learned while I was visiting you? That's what this guy did. And yes, he should face legal repurcussions or else NDA's aren't worth the "paper" they are written on.

Shouldn't that read : " I also applaud Sony for not allowing themselves to be rushed by you into releasing shoddy hardware, instead taking their time, and releasing when their shoddy hardware on their own time schedule."

I can't believe anyone is actually suggesting it is acceptable to use NDA's to cover up for the sale of goods unfit for purpose! I suppose it would also be OK for Burger bars to use them to cover up about BSE infected beef and drug companies to use them to silence people over drug side effects?
The sale of goods act makes it an offence to sell goods unfit for purpose, this does include exploding power supplies by the way.
More power to the guy and the law should protect whistleblowers who are prepared to stand up and tell the truth.

Don't defend that guy. It doesn't matter if he's a contractor, or an employee, or even a journalist. If he signs that NDA sheet, he's obligated--by law--to not violate it. Yes, Microsoft should make a big example of him, so clowns like him think twice before opening their mouths when they shouldn't, or at least not sign an NDA if they can't keep their trap shut.

That guy was also not a "whistle blower." The flaws in the XBox 360 were already apparent, and undeniable. What did the public really gain by learning about Microsoft's production practices, besides more ill will ammo?

maybe not as much as when I was there... but i spent 5 years as a contractor at M$. i was kept more in the loop there as a contractor than as a full time employee at other companies i've been at.

and yes, one can be fired for any reason at any time as a contractor/temp. when i was there they were effectively my employer (or so the supreme court said when they finalized the lawsuit against MS).

now, duh, he wasn't a spokeperson. they are professional communicators that put forth the companies official position. 

regardless of his employment status, obviously revealing internal information is a fireable offense. given he didn't profit from the information disclosure, and the nature of the information disclosed it might be appropriate to think of him as a whistleblower.

i doubt this incident will cause microsoft to change its practice of having an army of temps to 'grunt work' (manual QA, for example), but this incident is an example of the risks they take on when they do rely upon contractors for their QA.

so, he deserves to lose his job... does he deserve to lose a lawsuit? should he be in debt for the rest of his life? Should he be put in jail; revealing trade secrets can result jail time. 

should investigative journalism (a dying beast already) be put to death? (that's what would happen if people who weren't authorized to speak to press didn't speak to press).

we may not want this man to be our employee (and he did risk his entire career, as employers google future prospects), but I am glad he did speak.

el io

Jack: The guy was a QA engineer, one of many that MSFT obviously didn't listen to when they should have. I can appreciate the position he's in, since being a QA engineer in the XBox360 fiasco quite likely won't look good on his resume without some accompanying explanation. Granted, neither will being a whistle-blower...

My position is that in a case like this, whistle-blowing or peaceful protest isn't necessarily wrong, as long as it's honest and you're willing to take the repercussions. It sounds like this fellow was ready to take his lumps before he even decided to speak out. It's also possible that whatever NDA he agreed to has expired or is otherwise legally inapplicable to this situation anyways.