A widespread technical issue stemming from Microsoft’s Azure service disrupted various businesses globally on Friday. The outage impacted services ranging from customer communications to financial transactions.
Amidst the disruption, a 1995 interview resurfaced where Apple co-founder Steve Jobs criticized Microsoft’s products, claiming they lacked originality and taste. Jobs highlighted that Microsoft’s products lacked cultural depth and original ideas, attributing this to their lack of “taste.” He also expressed concern about the quality of their products, citing the example of proportionally-spaced fonts, which he believed Microsoft borrowed from Apple.
While acknowledging Microsoft’s success, Jobs stated that their products were “third-rate.”
Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike confirmed that the outage was not a cyberattack but a software update issue affecting Microsoft Windows systems. The issue has been resolved with a deployed fix.
The outage affected various sectors including financial institutions, airlines, hospitals, and media channels worldwide. In India, it caused airline check-in systems to crash, resulting in flight delays and cancellations. While the situation has improved since the initial disruption, passengers are still facing challenges at airports, particularly at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.
