“How many Microsoft engineers does it take to change a light bulb?” (joke)
Microsoft Corporation‘s Windows operating system is so dominant in the computer industry that there is a popular joke:
Q: How many Microsoft engineers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: None, they just define darkness as an industry standard.
The joke has been cited in print since at least 1993.
“How many hardware engineers does it take to change a light bulb?” and “How many programmers does it take to change a light bulb?” are related “light bulb” jokes.
Google Groups: alt.toys.hi-tech
M.I.T. 3D TV?
Panther’s Midnight
5/19/93
(...)
Q: How many Microshaft Engineers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: None. They just define darkness as an industry standard.
Google Groups: de.comp.sys.amiga.tech
Externe Festplatte am A3000?
Torsten Klein
8/11/93
(...)
Q: How many Microshaft Engineers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: None They just define darkness as an industry standard
Google Groups: comp.os.os2.advocacy
Microsoft Standards
William Unruh
11/25/93
nteresting quote in tonights paper (Apparently by Eric Berg)
“How many Microsoft engineers does it take to design a light bulb?
Answer- None- They just ship 10,000 burned out bulbs and declare darkness the new standard.”
Google Groups: bit.listserv.skeptic
More Dark Suckers a.k.a. Lightbulbs
Daniel Chinen
12/14/94
(...)
Q: - How many Microsoft engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: - None, Bill Gates will just redefine Darkness(tm) as the new industry standard.
Google Books
Walking the World Wide Web:
Your Personal Guide to Great Internet Resources
By Shannon R. Turlington
Chapel Hill, NC: Ventana Press
1995
Pg. 150:
How many Microsoft engineers does it take to screw in a light bulb? None, they just define darkness as an industry standard.
You’ll find this joke and others in this constantly growing online humor collection.
Google Books
The Last Best Thing:
A Classic Tale of Greed, Deception, and Mayhem in Silicon Valley
By Patrick Dillon
New York, NY: Simon & Schuster
1996
Pg. 64:
On another wall there was a poster that said:
Q: HOW MANY MICROSOFT ENGINEERS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB?
A: NONE. BlLL GATES WILL JUST REDEFINE DARKNESSTM AS THE NEW INDUSTRY STANDARD.
Google Books
U.S. News & World Report
Volume 121, Issues 18-26
1996
Pg. 82:
Here’s a sampling: How many Microsoft engineers does it take to change a light bulb? None. Bill Gates will just redefine Darkness8 as an industry standard.
Google Groups: dk.edb.mac
how many Microsoft executives does it take to change a lightbulb???
“kristoffer_jensen” .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
1/20/00
how many Microsoft executives does it take to change a lightbulb?
None - they make Darkness� the new industry standard…
Snopes.com
Topic: How many Microsoft employees does it take to change a lightbulb?
OTL
posted 21 October, 2005 09:07 PM
How many Microsoft employees does it take to change a light bulb? None, they just declare darkness to be the new standard.
Manchester Evening News (UK)
Windows 10: PC users out of the darkness with new Microsoft OS
16:58, 9 AUGUST 2015
BY ROB WILLIAMS
There’s an old joke that goes: “How many Microsoft engineers does it take to change a light bulb?”
“A. None. They’ll just redefine Darkness (TM) as the new industry standard.”
Okay, maybe it’s not that funny; but what the joke lacks in hilarity it makes up for with a bit of a truth.
For the majority of the lifetime of popular personal computing, Microsoft has had such a vice-like grip on the market that the word monopoly scarcely does it justice.