>I wonder what happens if Steve Jobs catches you with a Zune at Apple? My guess is, nothing.
Really? The impression I've got from Apple employees I've met is that there would be quite a reaction indeed.
BTW, I worked at MSFT last summer and everyone seemed to have an iPhone. A lot of people used Firefox as their primary browser, and I used Opera. There was nothing impolitic about it. In fact, the only time people mentioned it was to ask me what browser I was using, if Opera's visual tabs caught their eye.
From what what I know about both companies, Steve Jobs' reaction would be much more severe than MS management. Apple doesn't seem to tolerate "different" much - it's either the Apple way or the highway.
His reaction would be severe if you tried to pitch a Zune at him. I don't think he'd feel threatened by seeing an employee using one, the way Ballmer clearly is when he catches somebody with an iPod.
"Hey, I know neither of these guys, have never met either of them, and wasn't actually at the event where the infamous 'Ballmer mocks iPhone guy' incident happened, but clearly Ballmer is threatened and Jobs isn't!"
Plenty of Microsoft employees have iPhones. Microsoft makes several iPhone apps. I know several people whose work laptop is a Mac (usually running Windows). And--as you might expect at any good technology company--Microsoft employees are some of the first to try out any new software or gadget.
Ballmer feeling 'threatened' by the fact that an employee is using a non-Microsoft product? Don't be silly.
Such as their own executive management: http://garywiz.typepad.com/trial_by_fire/2006/03/ballmer_fam...
I wonder what happens if Steve Jobs catches you with a Zune at Apple? My guess is, nothing.