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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Hello SIGCIS,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Any of you not currently too busy obsessing over the unravelling of American democracy might hope to find solace in Bloomberg’s “oral history” composite story of the creation and launch of the original Xbox. It’s an interesting article on a topic I haven’t come across much previous writing about. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-01-06/xbox-the-oral-history-of-an-american-video-game-empire">https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-01-06/xbox-the-oral-history-of-an-american-video-game-empire</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>And yet… what should it contain but the following sentiment attributed to one of the Bungie guys whose <i>Halo</i> game became as the key Xbox title after the fledgling company was acquired by Microsoft:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b>O’DONNELL</b> In 2000, we all moved out here. We were in temporary quarters in Redmond, right next to the Expedia people. I can’t even begin to describe the difference in personality between someone who would be a crazy game programmer or artist from Bungie and the super, straight-laced, programming, historian-type, Expedia people. We built our own space, and we said, “We’re going to have electronic locks that only Bungie people can open.” We didn’t even let Ed have a key.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>That’s right. Twenty years ago, Microsoft was staffed largely by “programming, historian-type, Expedia people”. Undoubtedly the oddest phrase I’ve heard recently, despite tough competition from “a mob loyal to the President has occupied the Capitol building” on NPR yesterday.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Best wishes,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Tom<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>