Xbox 360 whistleblower fired

Comments

• The moral thing to do? He signs an NDC and then ignores it? Twat. Posted by bob, uk
• I'm delighted he's done this. My Son had his xbox "mended" three times. They said it was not their fault.
  In the end he just went out a bought another one. Posted by Sue Newman, uk
• bout time had my xbox replaced atleast 6 times in about 5 months and they kept saying it was fine liers brilliant thing to do hope this leads somewhere Posted by Max, UK
• Whilst in prinicipal I can see how a badly written update could kill an Xbox (I'm guessing that the Xbox has cooling issues - throw enough hard calculations at it, in a tight enough loop and you could probably kill one by making the CPU overheat).
  
  But, I think it's highly unlikely that Microsoft would do this on purpose (I mean, it's hardly good for their reputation, is it)?
  
  Posted by John B., UK
• @Bob. If anyone is the twat its you. Why shouldn't you be able to critcise those that employ you? The whole NDA thing is like getting married but only but you'll only stay so if your person says anything bad about you to their firends. You may think like the Borg but the rest of is are happy enough being human Posted by Pete, as6p7n6et
• Pete: "Why shouldn't you be able to criticise those that employ you?" In a normal employment you should be able to, but he signed a confidentiality agreement as part of the the Terms and Conditions of his employment. He agreed those terms when he took the job and took money from his employer on the basis he agreed with those terms. If he felt so morally outraged by this state of affairs he shouldn't have taken the job.
  
  I'm no lawyer, but I reckon he hasn't got a leg to stand on (at least if the NDA was written properly). Posted by John B., UK
• @ John B. I think you completely missed the point. He is in no way complaining he's been sacked and how would he have known the information before he took the job? He's not a mind reader.
  
  I'm surprised anyone would even consider buying a 360 any more. If you buy one the only guarantee you really get is that you are going to have problems with it due to it's poor design and MS's complete inability to address it's issues.
  
  It's down to guys like Robert to let us know these problems as it's in the customer's best interest. Posted by Root Ginger, UK
• He has not given away any research material or other confidential Company info. Just that there is a problem with the product (Xbox360) which MS has kept quite about. I personally feel the NDA does not cover you complaining about your company or disclosing problems with their products if there is a serious fault. Which this seems to be with the Xbox360 Posted by Evans, UK
• @Root. No, I get the point, but he accepted a job with a gagging order. "He's not a mind reader." - no, but it's common knowledge around these parts that Xbox's overheat for fun, so the assertion that they can be killed with bad code is hardly groundbreaking.
  
  If he felt badly about it he should have quit and kept his mouth shut. Now on the other hand, if you work for an employer who commits a serious crime, then there's a moral obligation to inform the authorities, but does the bad Xbox 360 design constitute a crime? Would anyone have the balls to take Microsoft to court on fraud/deception charges? Posted by John B., UK
• @bob, UK
  You obviously don't know the difference between a moral principle and a legal one. Whereas he may have been wrong in the eyes of the law in relation to his work contract he was right morally in that he was refusing to hide something which consumers should have a right to know. Personally I would like to see the enforcement of NDCs better regulated, for example if I work for a company which is producing an item which is known to have serious and dangerous flaws am I supposed to keep stum??? Posted by Fra, UK
• Whilst breaching a Confidentiality agreement is the wrong thing to do, this scenario justifies it completely. I am one of the millions of disgruntled Xbox 360 owners and am bitterly disappointed at how we the consumers have been cheated. Posted by puneet, UK
• I've heard a lot about the Red Ring of death and don't know how often people experience this. Is there any stats for Uk models? My brothers got one and it was good but very loud. After hearing how loud it was and seeing the blu ray option, I brought a PS3. Personally I like the ability to play on-line for no additional cost. Posted by rico, UK
• MS has kept quiet about it? They just recently had a massive press release about the situation, and even before that, they've widely acknowledged the faults of the 360, and they even repair all red ringed units for free. True, it shouldn't happen in the first place, but that's not the point here..
  
  What was he trying to do? He was just telling us what we already know, and what MS themselves have already said, and in doing so, breaking his contract with them.
  
  I'm not surprised he was fired, and he most definitely deserved it. Seems to me like he was just trying to play hero. Posted by Snowblind, UK
• I have both consoles.
  America's Microsoft Rushed the Xbox 360, just like the alleged "moon landing" was rushed.
  The Japs Never rushed, they were concerned with getting it right.
  
  Americans spent 1 million of public funded money to develop a pen that wrote in zero gravity.
  The Russians used a pencil.
  
  PS3 Rules.
  The End. Posted by Mr EyeDontGive A, UK