After 17 years with the company, Jim Allchin retired from Microsoft as of Jan. 30, 2007 the day on which Microsoft officially released the Windows Vista operating system to consumers. James (Jim) Allchin served as co-president of Microsoft's Platforms & Services Division from September 2005 until his retirement. In that position, Allchin shared overall responsibility with Kevin Johnson for the division of the company that includes the Windows and Windows Live Group, Windows Live Platform Group, Online Business Group, Market Expansion Group, Core Operating System Division, Windows Client Marketing Group, Developer and Platform Evangelism Group, and the Server and Tools Business Group.
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Member since:2006-10-30
Member since:2006-04-21
Windows is still very strong,
If Windows were forced to compete on its own merits it would be a dismal failure. PC operating systems are a one party state.
a new version just came out...
Yeah, and not only does nobody care, but also "Windows Live" is being "hurt by weak branding".
Member since:2006-01-06
Member since:2005-07-06
Member since:2005-07-08
I thought Allchin announced his retirement plans before Gates did. Maybe I'm wrong, but this has been planned for a long time.
If you want a name and face to associate with the <understatement> problematic </understatement> Vista development cycle, this is the guy. He accomplished great things for Microsoft through much of his career, but Vista will tarnish his legacy.
You can almost understand Ballmer's chair-throwing habit when you consider what you would do if your legendary senior executive fails to deliver in such spectacular fashion.
Under Allchin, the MS Windows Group had traditionally thrived on a culture that resembles an academic colloquium. If you put enough grade A geniuses together, give them flexibility, and cultivate their creativity, then good things follow. The exponential complexity of the Windows product invalidated this approach, and Allchin didn't make the appropriate adjustments.
It seems like a he was an executive that the engineers trusted and respected, rather than the management-oriented kind that engineers tend to despise (but get the job done on time).
Member since:2005-11-23
Under Allchin, the MS Windows Group had traditionally thrived on a culture that resembles an academic colloquium. If you put enough grade A geniuses together, give them flexibility, and cultivate their creativity, then good things follow.
Well regarding all microsoft products, I can say that they have not enough grade A geniuses ...
Member since:2006-04-21
It seems like a he was an executive that the engineers trusted and respected, rather than the management-oriented kind that engineers tend to despise (but get the job done on time).
Spoken like a true Microsoft marketing manager. "It doesn't matter if it's crap, just GET IT DONE ON TIME!!!"
Member since:2006-01-06
Member since:2006-04-21
Member since:2005-07-06
"No, I know Gates hasn't left yet; but he did announce his intention to leave before Allchin did"
Actually that's incorrect, Allchin announced his intention to retire back in September of '05 (and he said it would be the day that Vista launched, so this isn't any sort of surprise):
http://news.com.com/Allchin+legacy+seen+in+Windows/2100-1014_3-5875...
Which is quite a while before Gates did...Gates announced his retirement plans 9 months later:
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/002278.html
Member since:2006-04-21
Member since:2005-07-06
Rats leaving a sinking ship?
How so? what evidence do you have to prove that Achlin left for reasons other than to persue other endevours?
Right now, I am in transistion between jobs, not because of 'the ship is sinking' but because I want a new challenge - maybe this is the case for Allchin; or better yet, maybe he has experienced burn out, no longer has the same passion for the job, and might persue a path outside IT - you do realise that what someone does as a job and what their interests are, can be completely different things.
Member since:2006-04-21
You're right - the fact that someone leaves his job is not necessarily an indication that his former employer is in trouble.
However, on the back of:
(a) The trouble they had getting Vista out;
(b) The lukewarm reception Vista is getting;
(c) The almost complete lack of brand recognition behind "Windows Live";
(d) The fact that alternatives are rightly beginning to be recognised by independent analysts as worthy competition (better late than never);
(e) The fact that some of Microsoft's initiatives (such as locking security companies out of the kernel, and the adoption of its proprietary alternative to the hopefully-soon-to-be-open PDF format) are being attacked by the very companies who live off the Windows ecosystem;
(f) The fact that one of new Microsoft's top executives has been recruited from a company way outside of the technology field;
(g) The fact that all the showboating about Linux procurements for Microsoft are merely extensions of preexisting agreements OR have been (coincidentally, I'm sure) arranged between Microsoft and said company in (f);
(h) The fact that Gates is also leaving, having put in charge a guy who seems to be widely regarded as a maverick (to put it kindly);
...it all looks a bit suspicious.
Member since:
2006-04-21
Rats leaving a sinking ship?
[No, I know Gates hasn't left yet; but he did announce his intention to leave before Allchin did]