Saturday, March 11, 2006

hilarity: promise & leave

Slashdot featured a Business Week online article this morning in which David Cole, head of MSN and the Personal Services Group, boldly announced:

Over the next 3-6 months, we'll ship more innovative technology into the marketplace than during our entire 10-year history.

As a stand-alone quote, it's a whopper. But the Leprechauns over at BWO weren't content to let him fire this one off without a bit of pre-St. Patrick's Day mischief. Here's how the quote is presented in the article (my italics):

A slew of other features are on the way, the company says. "Over the next 3-6 months, we'll ship more innovative technology into the marketplace than during our entire 10-year history," writes Cole, who said in February he'll be taking a year's leave of absence starting in April.

Takes some of the wind out of the sails of the announcement, doesn't it? Hyperbole makes the software world go 'round, but if you're going to peddle in ultra mega-hyperbole, have the good grace to be there to answer for yourself when the inevitable happens.

My hat is off to the tricksters at Business Week Online for giving me a chuckle. After laying down 6 yards of mulch, I needed it.

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