Handling opposition, China-style [1, 2]

Microsoft chose not to engage properly with GNU/Linux after its Hormail overhaul (it was a mess) and users are said to be ditching the service.

Hotmail posts decline in traffic in U.S.

Many Hotmail users are threatening to leave the e-mail service in the wake of its most recent redesign. Turns out, though, that even before the revamp, they were on their way out, at least in the U.S.

It's not just about GNU/Linux though. Long-time customers complain about the new interface, which is casting dust on the myth of Microsoft as a Usability Supreme.

Microsoft isn’t having much luck with the redesign of Hotmail, which is currently playing havoc with thousands of user’s emails.

From watching many of the comments closely, it becomes clear that angry users recommend to peers that they ditch Hormail. Some recommend a similar service from the company starts with a "G". Microsoft is going frantic and is allegedly deleting comments it does not like.

Microsoft insists Hotmail redesign hasn't left users out in the cold

MS has also apparently deleted over 1,500 comments from its Windows Live blog since we told a perplexed company spokesman about the grumbles being posted on its site yesterday.

If true, this would not be the first time that Microsoft does this. There is substantiated precedence where Microsoft tried to hide the XBox360 blunder.

Microsoft deletes mass Xbox 360 crashing claims from Forza 2 forums

In what appears to be an effort to conceal the over 900 replies gamers provided on the official Forzamotorsport.net forums about Forza Motorsport 2 crashing on the Xbox 360, Microsoft has deleted the long thread, now stating that it’s “exclusive content for registered forum users” only. However, the thread was removed entirely, even to registered members.

There is always a good excuse at hand. ⬆