Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 13th Nov 2012 16:15 UTC
Big and surprising news this morning. Some considered him the crown prince of the Microsoft empire, slated to take over after Ballmer's eventual departure, but this morning, Steven Sinofsky announced his resignation from Microsoft. His role will be taken over by Julie-Larson Green. Persistent sources indicate that we're looking at a Forstall-esque situation; Sinofsky was, supposedly, not a good team player.
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Member since:2008-09-21
"Microsoft Surface RT may only achieve 60% of forecasted sales"
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20121112PD219.html
"Microsoft Surface Sales “Starting Modestly”, Says Ballmer"
http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/12/microsoft-surface-sales-starting-m...
Green only "invented" the Tiles, not Metro. Also she was only last years at Sinofsky's side like many many others. She's a designer, did not lead anything so far and now gets to command the central Windows devision. That does not mean that she may not prof to be a rockstar but so far she isn't/wasn't. Compare that with Sinofsky who was already very successful leading the Office division and a rockstar when taking over the Windows devision.
Edited 2012-11-13 17:10 UTC
Member since:2005-07-06
"Microsoft Surface RT may only achieve 60% of forecasted sales"
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20121112PD219.html
"Microsoft Surface Sales “Starting Modestly”, Says Ballmer"
http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/12/microsoft-surface-sales-starting-m...
Julie only "invented" the Tiles, not Metro. Also she was only lsst years at Sinofsky's side like many msny others. She's a designer, did not lead anything so far and now gets to command the central Windows devision.
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20121112PD219.html
"Microsoft Surface Sales “Starting Modestly”, Says Ballmer"
http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/12/microsoft-surface-sales-starting-m...
Julie only "invented" the Tiles, not Metro. Also she was only lsst years at Sinofsky's side like many msny others. She's a designer, did not lead anything so far and now gets to command the central Windows devision.
Indeed...
This is very different than...
"Be that sales (which 75% of retailers say is on track, and 25% say is above expectations) or it as a whole."
Member since:2012-06-22
If Sinofsky was being canned for Metro or Windows 8 or Surface, they wouldn't put the person in charge of the User Experience at the helm of Windows.
She's just a temporary replacement.
Sinofsky is a douchebag who had a ridiculously stupid plan of forcing Metro to the point of even taking away the registry hack. I still can't believe he talked Ballmer into it.
Ballmer likely looked at some early install or sales data and decided to get rid of the Steve Jobs wannabe.
Goodbye douchebag.
Member since:2005-06-29
RE[2]: Also worth noting:
by ze_jerkface on Tue 13th Nov 2012 18:01
in reply to "RE: Also worth noting:"
Member since:2012-06-22
You can thank Sinofsky for that.
He avoided these types of questions on his blog.
He's basically a tech trendster who thinks anything older than 5 years should be deprecated.
His unexplained hostility to Silverlight caused irreparable damage with the Windows developer community. Overnight Microsoft went from promoting Silverlight conferences to deleting questions about where it fits in with WindowsRT. Sinofsky is clueless and hates being questioned, I'm totally ecstatic to see him leave.
RE[2]: Also worth noting:
by moondevil on Wed 14th Nov 2012 08:15
in reply to "RE: Also worth noting:"
Member since:2005-07-08
Member since:2006-02-25
It is my analysis that the Sinofsky departure had nothing to do with Windows 8, Metro, or Surface. Be that sales (which 75% of retailers say is on track, and 25% say is above expectations) or it as a whole.
You are too inexperienced, Nelson. It's too early to tell whether the product will catch on or be a flop. Right now it's mostly early adopters, but early adopters are always a niche(People like you that loves Microsoft and everything Windows related and does compulsive-buy).
The real test for Windows 8 will be whether uses and companies will want to move to it. Companies are out of the picture for now because most just moved to Windows 7 (and they are not the real target for the OS anyway).
So, success or not will be determined in the long term by how much are users interested in products with Windows 8.
Member since:2010-04-06
Well Microsoft (Ballmer) stated that sales were only modest, that was the same phrase the board used when they docked Ballmer and Sinofsky of their bonuses.
So taking that into account this is likely related to Windows 8, the excuses for his departure are standard cookie cutter reasons every corporation gives when they boot someone.
RE[2]: Also worth noting:
by quackalist on Tue 13th Nov 2012 23:38
in reply to "RE: Also worth noting:"
Member since:2007-08-27
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Member since:
2005-11-29
It is my analysis that the Sinofsky departure had nothing to do with Windows 8, Metro, or Surface. Be that sales (which 75% of retailers say is on track, and 25% say is above expectations) or it as a whole.
Julie was Sinofsky's right hand in a lot of the Windows 8 engineering, and for the inevitable Metro hater in this thread: She invented Metro. If Sinofsky was being canned for Metro or Windows 8 or Surface, they wouldn't put the person in charge of the User Experience at the helm of Windows.
My take is mostly that Sinofsky had plans to leave Microsoft and Windows probably sooner than most people thought. He wasn't keynoting at Build, suspiciously. Most people usually wait until their product ships to leave the company. This might be just Steve being glad his babies are out of the door, and feeling its the right time to move on (Between major Windows releases)
In addition, what's less clear is how the internal power struggle in Microsoft has played into this, and how his departure changes the dynamics. It could be that as Microsoft moves to eliminate the redundancy in itself (For example maintaining something like four different XAML stacks), Sinofsky's reluctance to play nice with DevDiv would be seen as undesirable.
Whatever reason for his leaving aside, there is absolutely no denying the incredible influence that Sinofsky has. He's an Office guy, like Julie, so they'll continue to run Windows like Office is run (Organization wise).
I don't think a lot of people truly appreciate the size and scale of the Windows operation. For Sinofsky to essentially streamline that process for Windows 7's release, and further refine it with Windows 8 is a testament to his managerial prowess. It's a shame, I really had him lined up to be CEO in my mind. He seemed much better suited for that role anyway.
I'm not sure if Julie is an interim appointment or not, but she has monumental shoes to fill.