All Microsoft employees to get a Windows 8 PC, Surface and WP8 device

At Microsoft's annual employee meeting, CEO Steve Ballmer announced that all 90,000+ full-time employees will receive a nice holiday bonus; they'll receive a Windows RT based Surface tablet, a Windows 8 work PC (employees can choose between desktops, laptops, ultrabooks and tablets) as well as a Windows Phone 8 device. Microsoft employees will be free to use the devices at home and at work.

Guess it's a good way to raise morale as well as to make everyone at the firm familiar with the good and bad aspects of Microsoft's latest tech, just like Facebook reportedly forced its employees to use Android phones so they can experience first-hand how bad the Facebook Android app really is.

Forbes noticed on social media that Microsoft's employees were happy with Ballmer's announcement:

While the employee meeting was not open to the media or public, some employees tweeted and posted Facebook status updates after the announcement, verifying these details and calling it the “Best. Company meeting. Ever.” Others directly compared Ballmer to the famous talk show host known for giving away valuable prizes to audience members at random, saying “Steve Ballmer is the new Oprah!”

And Engadget remembers Microsoft had a similar giveaway back in 2010, when every employee received a free Windows Phone 7 device.