"At every step of the way, the company carefully considered the data on ASR and actively engaged with surgeons about their generalfeedback on the ASR system, " he told BBC News.
"As is standard with the release of a new product, we will be releasing early builds of Windows 7 prior to its general availability as a means to gain tester feedback, " a spokesman for Microsoft said, downplaying Gates' statement.
Fans can now directly message customer service instead of posting a general message on the wall, and nearly all tools are designed to encourage feedback from fans in one way or another.
Ludwig prodded me with questions following my hands-on, clearly hungry for outside feedback -- he wanted to know if I felt sick or disoriented, and my general impressions.