March 10th, 2026
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A snappy answer when asked about dressing casually at IBM

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

I noted in the past that Microsoft engineers had trouble fitting into the IBM corporate culture when on temporary assignment at IBM offices in Boca Raton, Florida. In particular, they struggled with so-called “security violations“. I noted that one such category of security violation was “wearing shorts to work.”

Bearing this in mind, you may appreciate this brief incident.

One of the Microsoft developers beeped his badge to enter the building while wearing his usual shorts and sneakers.

An IBM employee sarcastically asked, “Dressed a bit casually today, huh?”

The Microsoft employee replied, “Oh no. I dress like this every day.”

Category
Old New Thing
Topics
History

Author

Raymond Chen

Raymond has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 30 years. In 2003, he began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing (Addison Wesley 2007). He occasionally appears on the Windows Dev Docs Twitter account to tell stories which convey no useful information.

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  • John McCormick

    I remember back in the time I worked at Microsoft (11/93-03/97) you were always in a suit. Did that ever change?

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