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Charles Simonyi leaves Microsoft

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the special-invention-clauses dept.

tibbetts writes "The New York Times reports (printable version) (Free blah di blah) that Charles Simonyi, the former chief architect at Microsoft and creator of Bravo, a text-editing program that later became Microsoft Word, has left the company to form his own startup. The focus of his new company is to "simplify programming by representing programs in ways other than in the text syntax of conventional programming languages," which is highly ironic in light of his infamous Hungarian Notation style of naming variables. Perhaps more amazingly, 'Mr. Simonyi has left Microsoft with the right to use the intellectual property he developed and patented while working there.'"

7 of 592 comments (clear)

  1. Hungarian notation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I always prefered Reverse Polish myself.

  2. Let's hope... by Washizu · · Score: 5, Funny

    Let's hope he isn't allowed to take Clippy the animated paper clip with him. die Clippy die.

    --
    OddManIn: A Game of guns and game theory.
    1. Re:Let's hope... by Washizu · · Score: 5, Funny

      Clippy lives on in the machines of millions of unsupported Office 97 users.

      --
      OddManIn: A Game of guns and game theory.
  3. A very strange thing. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    This guy invented the hungarian notation yet his name is not an anagram of Satan, Baalzebub or Lucifer. Or has I missed something ? Or is it in the name of his new start-up ?

  4. Hungarian by Quasar1999 · · Score: 5, Funny

    If it weren't for Charles Simonyi, I wouldn't be proud to be Hungarian at parties...

    Wait... I never actually get invited to parties... damn... day dreaming again... :P

    --

    ---
    Programming is like sex... Make one mistake and support it the rest of your life.
  5. Re:Not ironic by smagoun · · Score: 5, Funny
    Hungarian notation is the tactical nuclear weapon of source code obfuscation. Use it!

    (scroll down to #29 in the list, it's worth it)

  6. Blackmail? by CormacJ · · Score: 5, Funny
    'Mr. Simonyi has left Microsoft with the right to use the intellectual property he developed and patented while working there.'

    Charles S.: I'm leaving to go my own stuff
    Bill G.: Charles, you'll have to give up your rights to all the stuff you've developed over the years
    Charlies S.: Did I metion that I still have a copy of those memos that the government never saw?
    Bill G.: Well when you put it like that, I'll give you the rights to all your stuff. Need any cash? No? Here have some anyway. Anything else I can do? Anything at all? Coffee, Water? Sure..?