How Creating ZIPFolders for Windows almost got me FIRED from Microsoft!

[@alexclark6777]

"The guy went straight to HR"

[@nekoimouto4639]

Employee: "I consent." Employer: "I consent." Random Coworker: "I don't." Wasn't there someone you forgot to ask?

[@reup6943]

Or a toxic person, turns out there are always one of them in your company ...

[@two_tier_gary_rumain]

Should have gotten him sacked instead.

[@khatdubell]

I've had the same experience. I hate people like this with a passion. Mine was, quite literally, because i asked IT to install windows on my work mac.

[@florianju5638]

@@khatdubell bwahahahahaa, now thats good :)

[@danmacgowan8242]

Dave makes these stories seem like they happen in single afternoon. "I put in a roll cage, a super charger and fuel injection system...."

[@adsads196]

Yeah I love that way of storytelling lol

[@RonJohn63]

Really? I didn't get that impression _at all._

[@pornhubmante]

literally killed me lmfao best use for that money

[@dercooney]

i mostly start wondering if i know any of the guys that did the work

[@michael1]

The joke being that there were people working on windows 95 that could hold down a job. More like "Bill screamed as us in his office that his computer had crashed 4 times in the last hour but hadn't caught fire and he still had some of his data intact. He insisted that we were all to work 24 hours a day until the software was as bad as possible for the release - I want people to think we're a bunch of useless cunts" he said and we all applauded. One guy whose code worked was escorted out by security never to be seen again"

[@Maadhawk]

It never ceases to amaze or astound just how petty envious people can be. Glad you were able to not only keep your job, but find your side hustle improving your main hustle!

[@wallacegrommet9343]

The scheming, devious ass licking sycophants are like fleas in any big company

[@Dunbar0740]

Despite the smiles, small talk, birthday cards and well wishing, work colleagues are rarely friends. Some of us discover this the hard way.

[@meateaw]

Some companies actually foster this kind of work environment. Microsoft was famous until fairly recently for stack ranking, which basically makes people act like this. Stack ranking, means you rank everyone in your team and if you end up at the bottom of the stack multiple times in a row you get fired. Your team can literally be the best 7 people in the company, each of you making amazing contributions, but the stack says you are the worst of the 7, sorry, you gotta go. Stack ranking causes people to hate their peers for their success, because it directly prevents their own success, instead of the manager or even the process that's actually denying them their reward for good effort.

[@grosnunurs]

Well actually we tend to focus on the negative. There were maybe 1 or 2 envious people. But it seems that a lot of people brought their support too. It just don't take much people to bring a lot of problems.

[@PaulMJohnson]

That was my thought as well. Can you imagine how much of an arsehole that person must be, stamping off to HR at the smallest perceived slight. I bet HR hated him.

[@frotoe9289]

My brother wrote a tool for Windows decades ago that paid his bills nicely for several years. One day he got a call from Microsoft saying "we want to buy your product--we will pay you $xxxxx." Brother explained that was about 2 months income, so, no. MSFT person explained "there's no negotiating, this is take it or leave it, and if you leave it we will write it ourselves and put you out of business". Bro repeated "two months income--HELL NO". And that was that. And yeah, in a couple years his sales dropped to zero. But that was better than two months income.

[@robertt9342]

Reminds of the Simpson episodes where Bill Gates buys out homer.

[@jameshughes6078]

Yeah they're not releasing it and taking 100% of your customer base in two months

[@EddyOver9000]

This is a similar story to how Bill Gates created Windows 😬

[@gm2407]

Well at least they had notice to find something else to do and earned more than 2 months income. Microsoft had to spend more money on building it, (both would be small compared to the company revenue). It was a win.

[@frotoe9289]

@@gm2407 Yep. It might have been a MSFT bluff, and regardless a couple years of income was still better than 2 months. Heck, for all I know Dave here wrote the code the put that functionality into Windows 3.0 (or whatever version it was--it's been a long time).

[@ralfrosenberger666]

I have found the BigGak-Sample. It's a part of the Visual C++ 6.0 Samples. The Folder is called VC98. The Sample is in the folder: VC98\SDK\WINUI\SHELL\SHELLEXT\

[@ProSureString]

Did you email him about it? Also, that’s cool!

[@ralfrosenberger666]

@@ProSureString Yes, he said, that he found it also on a Beta-CD of Chicago.

[@ProSureString]

@@ralfrosenberger666 alr!

[@JamieKitchens6]

I just love hearing about your time with MS. Every video you release is informative and entertaining. Keep up the awesome work!

[@5naxalotl]

this story was more entertaining that i expected. guess i'll be subscribing

[@bubbavonbraun]

Had a very similar experience when I was working for NCR in the early 90's. Even when you do all the right things the behemoth decides your being too successful. For me I left and continued my journey elsewhere, and NCR lost the business they were targeting.. I still smile seeing one of the seven dwarfs, become a dwarf of its former self. Please keep the stories coming they are great reminders of how things were.

[@lorientmh]

Pre AT&T GIS days? I worked for NCR at the Columbia location when they transitioned to a subsidiary of AT&T. Such a strange time.

[@spvillano]

I'm reminded of the fact that every employer that turned into an exhibition of turds aging well in the summer sun, I left and not long after, said employer went belly up, either completely liquidated or were sold for pocket change in comparison to their former worth. Basically, I have a talent of knowing when to get off of the ship before I have to compete with the rats abandoning ship.

[@Fiilis1]

Damn. Dude left NCR. Did you become a raider?

[@RockyPixel]

I just came from a Fallout New Vegas video and nearly thought YT glitched out comments.

[@ЭДЭ]

Patrolling the Mojave almost makes you wish for a a zip bomb

[@IK-wc4od]

Of course you bought a sick car. That guy who objected must have been utterlu fuming about it. Sweet success.

[@davidg4288]

He probably took it right to work every day and parked nearby the whining rat.

[@farab4391]

Thanks for the walk down memory lane. I miss the IT days of the 80s and 90s, everything was new and exciting and possible. Now even if you have a great idea, it gets spoilt by someone else's skewed idea of required functionality.

[@Sylvan_dB]

There were a lot of perhaps overly sensitive people in the early 1990s. I interviewed there in 1991, and one interviewer asked me to write some code on his board. I tried to ask a couple of clarifying questions about the problem - does it matter what language (no), what type are the input and output (it doesn't matter), and everything else I tried to ask I was told did not matter. Okay... I wrote a solution. He didn't like it and wrote up what he had in mind. "See this is better." So I proceeded to point out allowed inputs that would have led to an infinite loop and other problems with his approach. He told me it didn't matter. Okay... I didn't get the job. Yet working for a different large company I spent many years working with code that shipped with Windows, and even at times had remote source access to Windows. Good times. Even though I didn't get those wonderful stock options!

[@simonwillover4175]

LOL

[@mariocamspam72]

Ugh those egoistical recruiters are the worst, how do the least skilled individuals always end up in such important roles...

[@RicardoSantos-oz3uj]

@@mariocamspam72 Because they focus on networking while you focus on knowing. This world is not about what you know but who you know. That's why you often get incompetent people on key positions.

[@sandwich2473]

​@@mariocamspam72self confidence :P The number of people who actually have no clue about their own limitations seems to increase exponentially the higher up you go

[@hellowill]

@@sandwich2473 Yep. It cuts both ways.

[@EyesOfByes]

No joke, I got a bathroom renovation banner ad below this video on iOS. YT's adsense here in Sweden took your intro "Dave Plumber, my shop" to heart :D

[@kaas12]

After the outro with peter griffin i just got a comedy central ad with peter griffin. These ads are wild.

[@morwar_]

What you just said about "perseverate over problems and obsess over them and think of nothing else. When it's bothering me I have to fix it and I can't compartmentalize and set things aside" just made me realize I might be the same. I am saving that definition, with credit.

[@ronture8279]

Thank you for adding in .ZIP file support. So many people benefit from files meant to hold entire directories, but cabinets just weren't appealing enough, sadly. It's sad AES-256 password support was never implemented on Vista and later versions, either.

[@rashidisw]

To be fair AES-256 only available after the US-Govt relaxed the encryption export restriction, while the ZipFolders functionality were made before that. To maintain one of Microsoft's main selling point at that time like 'backward compatibility' such as the .ZIP file made by newer version of Windows can still be processed properly by older version of Windows, making ZIP file with AES-256 password were not included in Vista internal zip support.

[@niyablake]

@@rashidisw I remember having download AES-256 for NT 4.0. it made you agree to ITAR ristritions

[@AlanTheBeast100]

Great story - knife edge outcome with a reply memo from a VP who isn't out for scalps.

[@gavmazterj]

Dave, a lot of people talk about making history but you actually did it. On a fundamental level, software would not be the same without your contribution. Thank you, and I'm happy that you got an absolutely sick Vette that you had so much fun with out of the deal! God bless!

[@OpenGL4ever]

It took until September 14, 2000 before Windows could natively unzip zip files and that was Windows Millennium. I thought this feature was long overdue. I really liked that feature of WinMe. So thank you, Dave, for reaching an agreement with Microsoft and giving Windows the ability to natively unzip ZIP files. I hope they paid you well.

[@Technichian462]

Ah yes. Windows, Mistake Edition. I avoided it fervently.

[@OpenGL4ever]

@@Technichian462 Oh, for a Windows 9x system this version was very good, provided you didn't need the DOS part and only used drivers according to the newer "Win32 Driver Model" that was introduced in Windows 98. WinME had more bug fixes than its predecessors and was also more user-friendly. What WinME didn't like, however, were old VxD drivers. These and the lack of DOS mode were the main cause that gave WinME a bad reputation. I have used Windows Me for a very long time. Of course it has no chance against an NT based system. No Win9x version has this. Dave could make a video about Windows Millennium. That would certainly be interesting.

[@Technichian462]

@@OpenGL4ever Indeed. During that time I used a lot of DoS. I hated DoS. And if you know who Steve Gibson is, he pretty much does upgrades to Windows like I do. I used XP way into Windows 7. And eventually gave in when support for XP ended. And then Windows seven was the same way. Stayed on it until I was forced off by lack of support. Still running widows 10 with zero plans on Windows 11.

[@OpenGL4ever]

@@Technichian462 Didn't know Steve Gibson. Thus i just read his WP page and now i know him. I was using his ShieldUp service website 24 years ago without knowing who Steve Gibson was. It's definitely a great site, I had almost forgotten about it since I started using pre-built routers. 24 years ago I used a 486DX with Linux 2.2 and its firewall as a router.

[@qwerty13380]

@@Technichian462 I finally upgraded from windows 7 to windows 10 one month ago.

[@michaeldeloatch7461]

With each reveal I am convinced more and more that Dave was the hidden heart and brain trust behind everything about MS I used to know and love.

[@Dee_Just_Dee]

The first time I ever tuned in to the channel, I thought, "Dave Plummer, that name rings a bell."

[@rembautimes8808]

I do appreciate having zip extraction in Windows.

[@Erliortmejurur]

There were many others.

[@maxranierus3574]

One of the many, MS is a HUGE company with many talente

[@ertert4tetert]

Back in the day these companies had lots of very smart and hard-working people since you could actually make a lot of money and do a lot of useful work. It's hard to imagine nowadays when smart and hard-working people avoid large companies like the plague because they offer neither of those things if you're "just" an engineer.

[@SynthwaveDuck]

You pulled MS forward kicking and screaming Dave. You're a legend

[@Thebt7]

@DonaldDucksRevenge also a scammer btws

[@SynthwaveDuck]

​@@Thebt7ur mum

[@nthnl]

I believe that ZIP folders ("Compressed Folders") was introduced with Windows Plus! 98 (rather than 95). I recall that this feature was one of the main motivations for me buying it. Then it was mainlined in Windows ME. Either way, thank you for your work!

[@VuBeClan]

He did say that, at 0:15

[@NazmusLabs]

@@VuBeClan it was first available with Windows 98 plus! pack. and then it became a default windows feature with Windows ME.

[@DavesGarage]

I'm thinking you're probably right! Thanks for setting the record straight... that's what I get for shooting from memory without looking it up!

[@lornova79]

It's fun that disabling that shell extension was always one of the first things I did after installing Windows 😂

[@xpusostomos]

​@@lornova79why

[@nrdas8912]

He said" Hypercache for Amiga" and I had such as strong flashback I could see myself in an old office in front of my old Amiga and even could see the room around me. A vision or thought I have not had for three decades. Thanks for the memory!

[@smiththers2]

I absolutely love hearing your stories! One of these days I'll get around to checking out your book because it very well could help me with my issues. I'm 40 years old and didn't realize all the symptoms of being on the spectrum as much as I am until last fall. I was this close to losing my job because of my obsessions and emotional outbursts.. but I got the tiniest bit of help in the form of medication and now my boss See's me as a very strong asset and I work my ass off to keep it that way.

[@Derfboy]

I was diagnosed with autism last year at 42. That was after I retired from the military where I worked with Microsoft contractor employees. I'm still figuring things out and I'm grateful for your content here. Fun fact, I have copies of windows 1.0 and 2.0 (or they're 1.1 and 2.1, can't remember) still sealed. I never opened them when I found them at a thrift store for $1 each back in the late 90s. I didn't buy them to resell. I just wanted to own a piece of history. 😎

[@raylopez99]

Beware of "diagnosed' when they ask for money for 'treatment'. Psychology for insurance money purposes has been going down that road for years, classifying all kinds of common conditions as treatable 'problems'. I don't know you from Adam so don't take anything I say as personal advice, just beware of this potential pitfall. Unless I was having severe problems I would be OK with being "somewhere on the spectrum".

[@Derfboy]

@@raylopez99 Thanks. I appreciate it. I get that money is the driving medical factor in the US...I really wish there was a "but I have so and so" I could add but even in the VA system it's all about the money...I've needed hip replacements for 10 years but they won't do it because I'm too young. In other words, they don't want to pay for additional surgeries in the future and the more they say no, the cheaper I become as a client. They would rather have me suffer and unable to work or get out of bed than invest in my health.

[@PhillipBlanton]

@@Derfboy I am 59 years old and have had VA benefits since 1988. I have never used them because I have never had to; and I consider myself fortunate for that. Though I expect that engaging with VA benefits will be in my near future. I am currently going through prostate cancer and am about to start treatment at MD Anderson in Houston in June. I am eternally grateful that I don't have to do that at the VA. FYI, I am also autistic like Dave and have been designing and developing software since 1985.

[@cptbaker]

42 years old, recently diagnosed, "figuring things out?" You've managed to go that long, have a career, and go through life, all while struggling with being on the spectrum, undiagnosed? It seems like you've figured out a shit-ton, even before diagnosis, which is awesome. I was diagnosed with ADHD, but I was lucky enough to be diagnosed young, even though the resources for me back then, were nothing compared to what they are today. Wishing you nothing but continued success in your life and hope you find all the right tools to help in all your life endeavors🙏

[@Grimlo9ic]

The reveal of what you did with the money put a smile on my face. Excellent storytelling. :D

[@cammyplayer]

So here’s the thing... I put your video on as background noise while I was doing other stuff, but you quickly grabbed my attention. From your voice to your personality and the story itself, I absolutely loved it. Wonderful video. Thanks for sharing this tale with us.

[@zaphod101010]

This is such a good story! Thank you for sharing it. And the ending is the perfect cherry on top.

[@DavesGarage]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@thedungeondelver]

Hey thank you for writing/supporting the Amiga in those times. I used one from '89 to '94, we were a "Commodore Family" (well, I was a Commodore user) from '82-'94, VIC-20, C64, C128 (briefly) A500 then A1200. Broke my damn heart to see them go up in smoke. Every little program was a blessing. Appreciate it.

[@GrandpuhTy]

📸

[@edg2919]

Always enjoy your stories!

[@godfathermikal]

I honestly look forward to your stories all the time. As a mid-level code junkie with an extreme case of imposter syndrome, I am both comforted and motivated by your stories of your career.

[@cheesewiz9609]

Love the stories, Dave. I never found myself much interested in computer history, but you have a way of sharing these stories that make them so enjoyable to hear about from your perspective and makes me want to learn more. Very cool and look forward to more in the future!

[@homeslice1958]

Dave, you're a stud, I just adore your stories. Those of us who go back to MS-DOS and Win95 days really enjoy hearing the stories that made those days so great. And I absolutely love that you got your red Corvette!

[@javajav3004]

Thank you for making zip bombs possible lol

[@DurkMcGerk]

""

[@formdoggie5]

​@DurkMcGerk you say random, but we all know precisely the quote you are thinking.

[@DarkShroom]

THAT WOULD that would be the inventor of zip

[@AuxiliaryPanther]

I am become disk failure.

[@alanthealienoriginal]

@@DarkShroom didn't Phil Katz invent zip?

[@SeattlePaulie]

Enjoyed this so much! Gratz on a life well lived through honest work. ❤

[@greghansen7616]

Just discovered your YT channel and watched this video. I LOVE personal stories from those early days of computing which, at 67, I was also lucky enough to experience. Most people today have trouble understanding how wild & wooly things were, and how supportive companies were of their creative people. I had the privilege of sponsoring and organizing the 20-year reunion for the folks at MITS who created the MITS Altair kit computer in Albuquerque NM in 1975. Oh, the stories those folks had to share!

[@stevenstone307]

I love your stories Dave. I get a sadness hearing these stories about software engineers in the 20th century. As a young software engineer today I definitely feel like I've missed the exciting wave of new, innovative computing. I think the history of personal computing pre-2000s is so fascinating. Tech companies had more of a soul I believe. Today, I feel like I just log on, go to a sprint board for some meaningless product, pick a ticket, work on it, submit it. Get paid. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

[@toby9999]

Yes, it really was fastinating. I started mid 70s building my own timy 8bit system with 1kb of RAM. All.programmig was in hex. No assembler yet. That was the beginning. When I discovered the C language 10 years later, it seemed so high level! Then we moved in the time of home computers C64, Amiga and many others.

[@mattymattffs]

That's because advancement was much bigger then than it is now or ever can be again

[@stevepreskitt283]

@@mattymattffs It's also because software developers were largely left alone to their own creations, and the primary concern was "does it work properly?". The 80's and early/mid 90s were a great time to be working in the field. Nowadays, it's more the suits driving things, and they'll push teams to release stuff they KNOW is not ready. The customer has become the de-facto QA team, and IMO it's a lot harder to have pride in our work today because the money men figure, "we need to recognize the revenue this quarter, and we can always issue patches later".

[@Smellygerman123]

It truly amazes me that someone who worked on the base for the OS I am currently using is telling interesting stories about a very unique job. Kudos to you and much thanks for sharing these unique insights on the early Microsoft days

[@garynagle3093]

Love these stories. Loved the zip feature to this day.

[@adamtajhassam9188]

MS sometimes disgusts me so only after something is sucessful they want to buy .

[@angrybirds2472]

at least they werent about gaslighting each other at microsoft, it sounds like you were on a crew of gifted and like minded individuals and that can be magical!

[@WesHampson]

Thanks for the story, Dave. It’s really awesome that you were able to market and actually sell your side projects and make (seemingly) decent money back in those days off of them. I often wonder how possible this sort of thing is today. I write A LOT of code in my free time, from little UI tools that allow you to manipulate video game save files to an OS that boots from a floppy disk and works somewhat like 90s Linux. However I’ve never made any money off of these projects because I have no idea how to sell them, and I doubt anyone would pay for them if I tried to sell them given the economy of software these days. Thankfully, I have a day job writing code and I make decent money doing so, but I often wish I could turn my free time into dollar signs instead of doing what feels akin to whittling away at soap bars alone in the woods. I also play drums and play paid gigs around the area, but I don’t make nearly as much money as in my day job. Having a secondary stream of income is a dream but feels increasingly difficult in the world of software this day and age. I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks! P.S. I would love nothing more than to own a lightly used Corvette C5 someday 😎

[@dennisferron8847]

I feel the same way. I'm 40 years old and been working on side projects since I was a teenager - never figured out something to make that I could sell despite wanting to. At least my day job is coding + engineering for good salary, but it seems such a waste that I can't build and own a product of my own. I'm just not wired the same way as other people which makes it hard to align my needs and interests with any one else's. In fact the closer a tech product in the market meets my needs and wants the more sure a sign it is that it won't be successful either. 😂

[@BakrAli10]

> little UI tools that allow you to manipulate video game save files Now, that's interesting.. where can I find it?

[@garethrandall6589]

In the free software world, you can get great satisfaction from knowing that a piece of your code has been accepted and merged in to a project that means it is in use all around the world. E.g. under a GPL, BSD or other licence. Okay, it's not the same thing as making money but it's still satisfying.

[@nurmr]

Maybe these days it's done through GitHub sponsors and/or Patreon?

[@martinxvidxb]

An Idea to get some dollars. Make your side projects available for free. And add a yearly pop up. "Thanks for using this software, if your situation allows it, please consider a donation $1 $5 $10" Or something like that.

[@mpettengill1981]

I use the native ZIP file support regularly to get files over to the couple vintage computers I have. I'm honestly surprised it's still supported in windows 10. It's super useful and has saved me a lot of time! Thank you for creating this so many years ago!

[@mercuryvapoury]

Not first :D My word, I can't believe how handy this feature is / was. Thanks for this Dave!

[@JD_Mortal]

I am eternally grateful for your contribution. The internal "zip" functions within the OS, have assisted almost every aspect of my programming. It was a BIG deal, to me, when that became part of Windows, as one of the core functions. Even more when it became a core component of CPUs internal, assisted processing. I still use it, to this day, for many personal projects. Both zip-folders and actual zip-files, same same... Made my day, stumbling across this video in my suggestions. A true "treasure" to find.

[@RobArnoldSD]

Wow, now I have a better idea of why you seemed familiar when I came across you from KZbin. I hadn’t connected the dots from the amiga to KZbin. Great stories.

[@JesuszillaS]

The way you said you can get caught up in your work and not let go of the task at hand, you have no idea how much I relate to. I'm glad this story had a nice ending

[@jothain]

That was cool story. Interesting too to hear about feature I've used so frequently in all these years.

[@verdazair]

I'd not heard of your ASD as of yet!!! This put so much of your content into perspective! I also have ASD. No wonder I'm enjoying these coding related histories of yours. I have a penchant for both coding and history!

[@nattsurfaren]

The value of a programmer was pretty high back then.

[@Geogak]

I love your story, Im a car guy (Professional mechanic) who does programing as a hobby so it really feels relatable.

[@skak3000]

Thanks for the story! Hope you some day can talk about how you ffix security vulnerability and how you find and patch them in the old days. - Did they have people specific to go to the code and looking for it? - Did they in general have people scanning the code for bugs or did they have big logs with stuff they need to check?

[@TheJagjr4450]

Seems like a lot of software engineers are real hands on engineers at heart... Love the vette and the mods. Great story, my grandfather patented something that the company he was working for had no interest in (at the time) which was later acquired by the company as well... worked out well as he took company stock which at the time was less than $1/ share IT was eventually sold at 18-25/share.

[@markdeckard7651]

Smart woman making the offer, smart man taking the offer without delay.

[@TrevorMatthews]

I’m 53 and often wonder what’s wrong with me. I ruminate over and over things and can’t let go of things - especially relationship conflicts. I’d never thought for a minute I have autism. Maybe anxiety and depression but listening to you talk I’m a little shocked at the similarities. I’m really starting to wonder if I may be in the same boat! Thank you for your openness and willingness to share

[@DavesGarage]

Check out my book, it covers those topics! I know it sounds like "buy my book", but I did put all the info I knew about in there!

[@chrislbaird]

I always remember zips compressing or decompressing a lot slower then something like 7zip or winrar.

[@Fay7666]

Pretty sure Deflate is single-core, while LZMA2 isn't.

[@myne00]

Is it really slower when you factor in loading a new program and configuring the output path? Zip folders were a convenience win even if they were technically inferior in other ways.

[@mariocamspam72]

The I/O load is also doubled because the decompressed archive is put into a temp folder first

[@Fridelain]

@@mariocamspam72 I remember the developer of 7z ranting about having to do that when the user drags and drops. Very amusing.

[@Pulsar2000]

It was much slower than other tools. AFAIK Microsoft licensed ZIP format support from a third party company. Their deflate algorithm was pretty inefficient.

[@cokorda]

You re an awesome story teller Dave! I believe I would love to hear you telling any story for hours!

[@lunchbox997]

Love your stories Dave, thanks for sharing.

[@byz-blade]

Love that you got into cars and engines from that. I spent years working on my own car, including turbocharging it, reverse engineering the ecu, and so forth.

[@cbuchner1]

Is this a repost if an earlier video? I am sure I’ve heard this great story before.

[@DrewNorthup]

He told part of it earlier.

[@Mad4400]

I thought the same but knew I hadn't heard the co-worker nemesis part. His delivery of the duplicate part sounded identical.

[@Th3James]

I should probably read your book now. There were a few things you said that make me think I am somewhat on the spectrum. That Vette looked awesome! Another great video!

[@andrewkaiser1606]

I really wish you were still working there, and also more in charge of it. 🙂

[@GamesHobbiesLife]

OMG! This is the best! I thing more devs need to go online to talk about the things they've done because I find it very interesting.

[@martykong3592]

:) GREAT way to get your Corvette! WELL DONE :)

[@edller1082]

You are awesome! I have two autists sons and your example make me feel like they can not only overcome their difficulties but make a huge impact in this world for good.

[@BurrPulch]

I don't use MS zip file support. I use 7Zip. Why would I trust Microsoft? For crying out load, I have to use 7Zip to ensure files don't get corrupted going through my LAN! Files get corrupted, not terribly often, but it happens. I can't even trust Windows to get a file from one computer to another just on a local network!

[@jimad]

I've used the current incarnation several times today already. Great stuff! Have experienced the side hustle workstyle too - totally understand what you experienced.

[@rban123]

Love your videos man. Always cool to hear stories from folks who have been in this industry way longer than I have. You have had an awesome career!

[@user-ov5nd1fb7s]

I wouldn't want to work at a place with people like that that try to get their colleagues fired for no reason.

[@SeattlePaulie]

B-but, you just described every major employer. Ever. A large enough workforce will always include some a-holes. Learn how to deal with them and move on. 🤷‍♂️

[@txkflier]

Where don’t they?

[@formdoggie5]

Tell me you know nothing about large businesses or how people work without telling me you know nothing about large businesses or how people work.

[@PrimalNaCl]

MS used to have a mandatory yearly culling as part of the performance review process. This might sound fine and all but all it ever did was make it suicide to go work on a team of the smartest people; higher performers than you meant you would be culled. So unless part of the deal included padding the team w/a few extra sacrificial lambs joining such a team meant _you_ were going to be one of the sacrificial lambs. Optimal strat was to stay/join teams where you fell in the upper/middle of the pack. Not the greatest of morale policies.

[@formdoggie5]

4 replies... shows 2.

[@lmotaku]

The end justified the means. Good for you for doing everything by the book and being honest. Lesser people would be be fired, cry foul, and be broke and penniless, blaming the system.

[@FloatingWeeds2]

I don't understand how Windows had this but I've downloaded 7zip for every Windows install going back to 95

[@ParoxyDM]

Because it only supports the ZIP format and has no compression options.

[@volvo09]

Just because Microsoft paid him for his creation doesn't mean the feature will be in windows right after that, they can then patent it, or save it for later releases. Every tech company is doing the same thing today, his creation could have been bought and never implemented, but Microsoft used it years later.

[@ChrisP978]

The windows shell only supported the original .zip format, 7-zip supported everything including .rar, tar, gzip and their own .7z format with better compression. Before 7-zip there was Winrar, which was try-ware, but since it never stopped working most people just put up with the nag.

[@Sypaka]

I don't remember ANY 7z file back in 95. most of the files we had was ZIP, RAR, LZH/LHA and a few other obscure ones, which died around 2000-ish, like ACE.

[@YAUUN]

@@Sypaka Would most likely have been WinRar. WinZip was pretty much unusable back then & WinRar supported creating Zip files. I think 7z became a think about 2002 or 2003

[@KevinLittrell]

That’s a totally awesome story. Dave, I’m really glad you have this channel. Keep it up.

[@moskaski]

I'm confused, if zipfolders existed in/from win 98, why did I still need WinZip to open zip folders? Did windows support zip folders but provide no software to open the folders?

[@SmokeyWire56]

I have no idea, but i saw the Windows Zip program window on a XP military laptop I picked up recently and felt rather dumb.

[@DarkShroom]

zip was patented

[@Sylvan_dB]

That was winzip marketing for you! Windows could open a basic zip file, making it appear as a folder and let you copy the files out. To be fair, winzip could (can?) do a lot more with compressed archives than windows could do on its own. Different compression types are probably the most important.

[@ScottGrammer]

I don't remember inbuilt zip support until XP. In 95 and 98, I always downloaded the latest version of WinZip as soon as I had a working Internet connection on a new build.

[@emmettturner9452]

I always installed WinZIP for extra features but I definitely didn’t need it to open zip files in Win98. Zip support was definitely included but I believe it was optional during installation and they only called it “Compressed Folder Support” or something like that. Man, I feel for you if you went all that time without knowing! I have some vague recollection that it might have even been added to Win95 with the IE4 update that included Active Desktop, QuickLaunch, and more.

[@edzielinski]

I remember when the integrated zip file support was added to windows. It was a great moment. Saved me countless hours over the years of launching a separate zip app. Thanks Dave! Nice car and impressive story by the way. 👍

[@doodlebug1820]

the idea you can make money selling a side project to the company you are working for is so unusual, that would be firable offense at so many places. Microsoft seems pretty cool about certain stuff despite their harsh reputation on other issues.

[@Infernal_Puppet]

90s were a different time, today it wouldn't fly, the actual contract would probably say they own whatever you work on (unless the locality restricts it) and would be entitled to arbitration to resolve cases like this

[@Vertraic]

To be fair, he was selling a project to them that he made back BEFORE it had anything to do with his job. If he had made the program AFTER he got the position writing shell stuff for them, it would have likely been a much different story.

[@vectoralphaSec]

Wait why would it be a fireable offense? What about making side projects outside or work and selling them/ making money off them would constitute being fired?? I dont understand, can you please explain? Is this how companies operate today? If so why? That just seems dumb and evil.

[@doltBmB]

@@vectoralphaSec a large amount of companies have "non-compete" clauses or "we own everything you make" clauses in their contracts, illegal in most of the civilized world but america is a lawless place.

[@vectoralphaSec]

@@doltBmB ive always known America is uncivilized but man that is just evil. The best thing about being a developer is well developing/ creating things and if you cant do that because your company doesnt allow it then that is just messed up and wrong. Greedy companies like that are not a good place to work at specially if you like and enjoy building things in your spare time.

[@Pipe-Layer]

These stories are awesome Dave ! I'm really glad to learn snippets about how you've been a success. 👍

[@Mad-Coo]

Totally understand your thinking 24/7 on a problem until its solved, i am autistic also. Do you play chess? I like thinking about chess positions etc. Just wondering as i suspect you can play chess and its great for a mind like yours, please answer. Thanks.

[@bobpond6381]

Great story, thanks for the story and the code. I enjoy you channel both learning new things and hearing back story on the old days. Generating ASM from C and tweaking it to get less clock cycles because saving them meant something.

[@williamheckman4597]

Can you give a price range of what you actually sold it for? like between 150K and 900K ?

[@terryc7142]

I am 100% certain that it was more than $100.

[@myne00]

Enough to buy that corvette. Iirc it was around 50k

[@DavidSprings]

What was the Corvette worth? There's a starting point.

[@jtoddowen]

Dave, as a long time subscriber, I love you videos and perspective, but ZIPFolders has been at the top of my Windows annoyances list for two decades. My Windows 10/11 PowerShell setup scripts remove the keys when I install Windows personally, but It really burns me how Microsoft makes you do this, since zero corporate Help Desk staff / IT managers let me do at work. I promise I won't hold it against you ;-) and it was a GREAT story !!!

[@IIGrayfoxII]

was this not all mentioned in "Secret History of Windows ZIPFolders"

[@v12alpine]

I don't think he talked about the almost getting fired for it part.

[@sonicSnap]

he's been reposting a lot of old stories. the same task manager story has been posted three or four times now

[@corriedotdev]

Wow this hits home. Just finished my PhD and I develop a lot of games on the side. The issue ive always faced is telling the companies i work for / clients that i do this in my own time on my own hardware to scratch the immense creative itch I have for game design. Currently negotiating with companies and they are mostly ok with it but i have to bring it up in interview which is slightly uncomfortable and an easy escape goat for them to go with someone else. I didnt touch game design for three years of my phd due to the immense work load. And now im free i have this anxiety all the time about making my own products that are in development. So the plan is to try release an mvp prior to employment and iterate on it so its a clear "it was made before" so i can enjoy my sundays developing what i want. Thanks for sharing this was super insightful! Whens the book!!

[@NevsTechBits]

Thanks for your contributions to computers and the internet, Father!

[@GigaBit-i2j]

Man...what an era you got. You guys made history! 👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@Keith80027]

Thank you Dave for the history of this extension. I had similar things happen to me while working for IBM. I wrote a lot of code after 6 pm after I finished my day job.

[@markmccurley2643]

Hi Dave, I also worked at Microsoft from 1997 to 1999, left when a former Microsoft co-worked left and took me with him to a technology company based in Washington D.C. I did not know at the time I was Autistic and remember the difficulties and high anxiety I had at the time. I was just diagnosed at the age of 61 this year. Autism has been a curse and a blessing as I changed employment every 2 years it seemed until the last 4 years where I have decided to tough it out and stay at my current employer until I retire. Cheers, Mark

[@axllebeer]

Imagine being the person that wrote the software, didn’t sell it, maintained it, and had to write the competing software as your day job. Insanity! Who do you screw over? You or yourself?! Great story. Really enjoyed it.

[@jabiraidan]

I will actually read that book, needless to say I'm not quite as successful as you at it but I am able to convince pretty much everyone I'm 100% which means squat to me. But as a side note, you are the first channel (that I paid enough attention to that referenced the message scams, so thanks for that).

[@nyanates]

Great story. I got a few of them myself, having worked at IBM over 30 years. Great times. Cheers!

[@NeverlandSystemZor]

I love your vids and the insights and fun (sometimes insanely fun) stuff you share with us. This story is wild. Glad that you didn't lose your job over this.

[@MurseSamson]

Story is WILD Dave! Loved your book btw 👍📖

[@threndor3743]

Not sure what led this to pop up on my list, but I sure am glad youtube did! You've earned yourself another subscriber!

[@mikerwilson]

Love these stories Dave! Makes me nostalgic for my time with MSFT in the mid to late 2000s down in SVC. I was always proud to work there and think back fondly on my time with the company.

[@AlanRFisher]

With you there with the ASD bro. Keep at it! I have learned to use it to my advantage too.

[@AzertyPoiu-t3b]

Ho boy I just love your stories I myself use to be a fascinated by programing guy keep well Dave an looking forward for another of your stories

[@stevecagle8002]

As s long term Software Engineer myself, I love this story.. Well done !

[@SRHMusic012]

It's cool you were able to make something of your work on the side. This is why a lot of us go into independent consulting with own small company and work with companies on a corporate to corporate contract basis. As a W-2 employee the employer wants to own everything. As a separate corporation the contacts spell out IP ownership terms up front, ideally . The AB5 law and proposed Pro Act might kill this entrepreneurial path, though, intentionally or not.

[@AB-80X]

That's a really cool story, and glad it turned out well. I'm in a similar position as you regarding problems and "pending outcomes". I just can't. If nothing happens, I end up forcing an outcome. Sadly, that can cause a ton of issues sometimes. It's hard for others to understand just how all consuming it is. I'm a mild Asperger's and ADHD myself. Thank you for sharing your story.

[@SledgeFox]

I just want to say thank you, I really enjoy watching and listening to your stories, so much to learn! Have a great day!

[@selouisianadrivers7885]

It is refreshing to know I am not alone with these symptoms, thanks for sharing!

[@netster]

I’m here because I really like your voice! I like your story too but I can listen to your voice for any boring topics that’s for sure!

[@stuartedge5906]

Great story Dave! I tend to get obsessed with projects so a I have some idea what you are talking about.

[@lgf30022]

Great story Dave!...Yeah, I too get caught in the loop of obsessing over things at work to the exclusion of all else...we have that trait in common as I too am on the spectrum. Looking forward to your next story....

[@diddleyy2759]

I would love for dave to create an operating systems course or something. His knowledge is so valuable!