Slashdot Mirror
The Microsoft High-Profile Exodus Continues
snydeq writes "Bing principal Scott Prevost is the latest of several high-profile exits from Microsoft in the wake of Bob Muglia's departure, causing some to question the long-term outlook for Redmond, InfoWorld reports. While the departures have spanned the company's business divisions, the concern centers square on the Microsoft core: 'Microsoft's numbers are looking good in the short term, but the future of core products remains unclear, and so far, Redmond's cloud and mobile strategies don't seem to be paying off.'"
Given how Microsoft has faltered in the marketplace, has failed to innovate and continues to misunderstand its customers, perhaps the old guys need to go.
"I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it." : Dogbert
Actually, the future of Redmond is secure. They're strategically letting all these folks go, so that they can all go work for, and eventually destroy, Apple from the inside out. It's like the Cylon infiltration of the human race on Caprica in BSG...
Or Google, or both.
Ich suche die Leidenschaft, die keine Leiden schafft.
Bing principal Scott Prevost...
Considering Slashdot's other Bing story today, I can't say I'm sad to see him go.
This could be a simple case that the departing employees simply have no faith in the direction Ballmer is leading Microsoft. When the ship is headed toward an iceberg and the captain is being stubborn or unaware, the best course of action is often evacuation.
Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler. - Albert Einstein
If you are fully vested in your lucrative stock options and the share price can't go anyplace but down in the future, you'd be crazy not to cash out.
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
I worked for Bob for a few years and had alot of admiration for the guy. I left about 2 years ago during the mass layoff and it was the best career move I ever made. Microsoft has become (and was becoming when I left) a horrible place to work. Please, if you are considering a professional career in software development, DO NOT work there. Almost anywhere else is better. I currently work for a small software company as a CTO with about $100million in sales last year and the work environment difference is night and day. The reason Microsoft is faltering is because it has moved from a fun, innovative place to work to a serious personal and professional nightmare. You have to go through a political circus to justify you job there (your two reviews per year) where you have little input in the final determination about your job (the politics of Microsoft). I shudder to think about the years I wasted jumping through those hoops instead of working on product and helping customers. Again, avoid working at Microsoft at all costs.
Why did the slashdot re-design not also update that stupid Microsoft icon here? It is so dated and lame, I wonder if anybody over 20 even understand the references to it.
Now it looks like Woody Allen. Not sure that it helps the under 20 set, though. What would you suggest? Ballmer's armpits?
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
I still don't get why Microsoft feels they need to be a player in every category? Why Bling, smart phones, mp3 players, games, cloud computing, tablets and all the rest? Why not be a focused company with the leading office suite? Or an innovate O/S? Yeah yeah I know the investors must be kept at bay like howling wolves at the corporate door but how many missteps can a company make before they and we realize they are just followers and no longer leaders?
Other than maybe Xbox which isn't a major cash cow when have they released a hit product? The vast majority of their revenues still come from Office and Windows and related products. Take away those core products and there's virtually no company. It's not just innovation they seem to have trouble coming up with new products that a majority of people like. If they did have to start from scratch even with all their cash reserves they'd end up a minor player.
Sorry, never heard of him. Can someone name 10 'high profile' Googlers, Facebookers, Tweeters (maybe not that one), IBMers, Applers? Maybe five... two?
No, because maybe it doesn't matter. Was he some epic tech innovator, or just a business management type dude? My money's on the latter, and that means nowt.
Gawd, pennystock spammers in /. now, how low did we go!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS...
Nah, also dated. Nobody under 25 would get that one. Or connect it to MS. "Developers and MS? If anything, developing for Windows is a pita, why would that..."
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
is Balmer.
Why is Snark Required?
but with the right people can grow existing markets and create new ones, where I apply?
The mobile strategy is pretty lame, after all - setting themselves up as a low-rent copy of Apple.
Combine this with no tablet presence at all, and you have MSFT positioning itself as trying to hold onto the shrinking desktop market.
Go ahead, we'll all continue to buy AAPL stock (Apple Computer)
WinMo 7 has been out for 3 months. In that time it has not gained complete dominance (or close) of the mobile market. Paint me surprised?
How long was it until Android started gaining any real traction? A lot lot longer if I remember correctly.
Et fin.
throw new NoSignatureException();
Many people first used Windows not by choice, but by mandate -- there was no other option and the Microsoft monopoly made sure it stayed that way. (unless you bought a Mac) My guess is many people have found the MS experience frustrating and a general PITA, but there was never any other choice. They had to live with the shoddy time wasting experience Microsoft called computing.
Now given the option of having their "desktop experience" on their "phone" or "pad" I am sure many people are interested in real alternatives. My prediction is no matter how hard Microsoft tries to play the "we are the future of computing because we invented everything" song and dance, most users will chose iOS and Android for exactly that reason. Hi-tech karma at its best.
HPC for Primates. Read Cluster Monkey
They do that thing they did with other corporations and their products?
Like Google, Apple, Intel, Android, iOS, Facebook (both the square AND the rectangular version), SONY...
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
... be sure to power down the NT box running hotmail.
I've worked in a large range of companies.
I'd say anything under 100 people is "small", or small enough that you gain most of the same benefits in terms of increased responsibility and some lack of excessive management that you get from a "large" company.
A company that size, could be doing 100m in sales (didn't say if that was gross or net after all).
Even if it's mid-size though you can often be better off than with a truly large and ossified company. Certainly I think that would be true early on in your career where increased variety of duties means you learn a lot more.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I don't know what goes on in Redmond but I have never been able to figure out why Balmer speaks out loud. I have no doubt he is a smart man but the guy scares me and as a face for a company that I am supposed to trust with my business, I think that a simple logo would be far more reassuring. I think if I worked for him, I would have the old resume spic and span too.
Many industry observers fear that Muslim extremism will prevail in the struggle over the future of this proud corporation. Obama is urging Balmer not to run again for CEO, as many citizens call for his ouster via Twitter, SMS and phone messages. The army is showing forbearance as employees demonstrate freely and peaceably in the streets. The whole world watches as the outcome is bound to send ripples through the entire industry.
...Roz Ho, destroyer of worlds, still works for Microsoft. I guess Windows Mobile 8 for the win then, eh Roz? Maybe this time you'll get it right.
I have no idea why this made the news. The artcile says he is "a" principle development manger, not "the" principle development manger.
"Principle" is a job title:
Mangers go like this
For several years, I was "a" princpiple development manger in Windows. Im now a principle lead becuase there was a specific team I wanted to be a part of. If I leaft, it would be news.
-foredecker
Jibe!
... Developers, developers, developers, developers.
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 is the magic number.
Microsoft's stock price is down 20% over 10 years. Their chart really stinks. Most options have long expired. That alone will drive away the best people.
an ill wind that blows no good
"I wonder if anybody over 20 even understand the references to it." I'm 21 and I understand it just fine. Now get off my lawn!
Seriously.... Gates doesn't even work there any more, and Apple is more borg-ish than MS, what with the tight control over hardware.
I know /. is strictly anti-MS, but they could at least update the picture to a flying chair, if only to stay relevant.
I'd suggest Clippy; regardless of who gets it.
Steve Ballmer should have been fired immediately after his infamous DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS monkey dance. Seriously. This is the guy you want running the biggest software company in the world? However, all the articles I've read always say two disturbing things:
(1) Microsoft's Board of Directors thinks Steve Balmer is just wonderful because during the 10 years he has been CEO Microsoft's revenue has tripled and profits have doubled.
(B) Even if they wanted to get rid of Balmer, there's nobody who can replace him. Really? What happens if he dies suddenly tomorrow
No. Bad idea.
Could cause seizures and other health problems.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
I believe I have the perfect MSFT logo: A picture of Ballmer with his tongue out wearing a beanie that says "I heart Apple" since his rein has been a whole bunch of "me too" plays such as Zune and it would be certainly more topical than the Gates borg.
I mean you can just picture the guy at meetings going "And with this next product we will make MSFT just as cool and hip as Apple with consumers! Yes we will! We will! STOP LAUGHING AT ME!!!"
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
Why did the slashdot re-design not also update that stupid Microsoft icon here? It is so dated and lame, I wonder if anybody over 20 even understand the references to it.
Even fucking facebook has the real logo on this site, and you guys can't use the real Microsoft logo by now?
Yeah perhaps Mr. Smith is the more updated version of the Borg, fitting to represent Microsoft.
Build your own energy sources from scratch. http://otherpower.com/
I would say these changes are healthy for Microsoft. Come to think about it, if someone really believes M$ is in a bad position then it's time the "culprits" got going. Or maybe the Redmond folks are just looking foward to replenishing their higher ranks with younger people who don't carry the scars of the times past. Either way, predicting the demise of Microsoft (again!) has really become boring. Trial and error is the name of the game and they can afford it.
Agent smith.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Smith
Build your own energy sources from scratch. http://otherpower.com/
Given how Microsoft has faltered in the marketplace, has failed to innovate and continues to misunderstand its customers, perhaps the old guys need to go.
Microsoft Reports Record $0.77 Earnings Per Share in Second Quarter
Among the factors driving Microsoft's record revenues and earnings per share was the 55% growth in revenue for the Entertainment & Devices Division, as the success of the Kinect sensor boosted sales of Xbox 360 consoles, Xbox Live subscriptions and Xbox games.
Microsoft Business Division revenue grew 24% year-over-year. Office 2010 is the fastest-selling consumer version of Office in history, with license sales over 50% ahead of Office 2007 over an equivalent period following launch.
Microsoft announced it has now sold over 300 million Windows 7 licenses, and Windows 7 is now running on over 20% of Internet-connected PCs.
The company announced that during the quarter, it bought back $5 billion in stock and declared $1.3 billion in dividends.
Back when "Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM", they had an exodus of top talent, too -- just before things went south for the company. Luckily, they were in the process of repositioning them self as a service company instead of a hardware company.
Both companies followed the same "fat-cat" syndrome. Small lean company innovates and captures a large part of the market. As company grows, focus shifts to maintaining status quo. Company becomes too large and lazy (fat cat) to respond quickly to changing environment. Somebody else becomes the new lean tiger. Pattern repeats for new comer. Fat cat isn't just for technology companies. It happens in all industries. It's just that change occurs so quickly in technology companies that instead of taking decades to be toppled, it happens in years. Both IBM and Microsoft lasted longer at the top of their game than most technology companies, but the same forces are still at work.
Back when they were trying to bust up Microsoft for being a monopoly (again, same thing happened to IBM), was when they needed to change. Microsoft had the opportunity to get rid of all competition with Office by improving the product. Instead, they chose to change file formats to try and make the competitors incompatible. That is a very short sighted solution, as it also makes your own installed product base incompatible. Next, they re-did the interface, but still didn't really improve upon the functionality. Next they played around with pricing structures and actually started to remove features, accept for the top end product. Again, not a long term growth strategy. A similar scenario played out with the browser and the OS itself.
Meanwhile, others in the tech industry have been chipping away at Microsoft. Nobody is saying that OpenOffice/LibreOffice will topple Microsoft Office. It doesn't have to. Just like Mozilla, Safari and now Chrome, it only has to take a percentage of small percentage of market share to make a big impact on Microsoft's bottom line.
It's like the prevent defense in football (American Football, that is). It may keep the opposing team from making the big play, but gives up a tremendous amount of yardage in the process. Then, one small mistake and the opposing team scores.
Microsoft, like many before it, has become too large and inflexible to adjust to quick change in the modern market and relies on protecting itself with a prevent defense. The problem with that is that in football, you only need to keep the other team from scoring until the clock runs out. In business, there is no clock to signal the end of the game.
It's like rats deserting a sinking pirate ship.
Good lord, it's "principal"!
Finally.
boycott slashdot February 10th - 17th check out: altSlashdot.org
Wont happen in your life time. MS or the US. Both are way too rich... and if it comes to that MS has mice, US has nukes.
Besides absolutely nothing is stopping MS from reinventing themselves and releasing a Linux distro.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
As in they could coast for years without bringing in a dime?
I wouldn't count them out any time soon.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
It's not an exodus. It's the next stage of viral infection. The carriers are now spreading out to other businesses to finish the transformations. (Many businesses began transforming years ago, as the BillG became their CEO's god). It is necessary for these infectious units to leave the mother colony because the hosts are beginning to notice the damages from the parasite.
We will achieve the One Microsoft Way. You will become a proper revenue generation unit regardless of what business or government you serve. We thank you for your contributions to our cause.
Tried renewing our partnership membership today. After jumping through several hoops (and wading through too many conditions, clauses, initiatives) finally was able to qualify to join. But wait, we would be better using this option in the same partner program! let's join that! it is more money but it's worth it. Click to join, more hoops, more agreements to click on, more questions and answers and finally we qualify for it. But wait! there is another membership!? you can't do that! Impossible! So go read the support forums, here is a list of 20 you can read to get help. Each link 'access denied'. You want Google GWT? download it. Java? go download it? PHP? apache software? linux? click a link and you get it. Microsoft is stuck defending their huge government and corporate accounts and have a bureaucracy to match. And by eating their own dogfood (everything must use Active Directory/IIS/Sharepoint/Exchange) they have become a monoculture of technology. Maybe it's time for the Baby Bills model.
1) it was developed and researched outside microsoft - they bought the tech and payed to have it mass produced; the concepts involved are even older.
2) The motion capture craze was created by Nintendo years ago and before that they attempted the idea with the failed power glove because the tech wasn't good enough back then to pull it off. (Although I saw a university VR lab put that glove to use as a 6degree motion controller)
3) Kinect is not that innovative, its an improvement to an existing idea of Nintendo's. Arguably, its not even an improvement because for many Wii games you only need the acceleration motions to play just fine and after the 1st hours of swinging around like an idiot I discovered I could do just as well sitting down using much smaller motions. I'm not just talking about the simple applications where the motion is really simple. Its more flexible to different styles of input. The kinect is a literal minded approach to somebody who doesn't quite "get it" which is typical Microsoft thinking. Take the motion thing and throw money at it and buy everything that lets you technically do the thing as well or better at an initially HUGE expense. They miss the concept of your natural inclination to move the controller about while STILL holding a controller and go 150% for capturing my body's motion. Its great for dance and stuff but its targeting an even SMALLER niche than nintendo's technically limited approach. If Nintendo did kinect, it would be done better because they are the true creative thinkers.
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
So much noise about some CS bachelor turned into IT Manager. He wants to leave? Good for him! What does that means to MS? Almost nothing, they'll just promote some younger and more energetic developer to take over.
Good lord, it's "principal"!
That's right; we all know Microsoft has no principles.
I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
URL Fix: Microsoft Reports Record $0.77 Earnings Per Share in Second Quarter
Here is another look at Microsoft's second quarter.
Microsoft may be a big, sprawling company, but it's hardly acting like a deer in the headlights facing a speeding Steve Jobs at the wheel. Given the decades-old and often bitter rivalry between Apple and Microsoft, that narrative is tempting. But a deeper look into Microsoft's report reveals a company that's surprisingly nimble for its size.
First of all, the idea that Microsoft can't create a phenomenon like the iPad anymore simply isn't true. The iPad sold 2 million units in its first 60 days. The Kinect sold four times as many, tapping mainstream interest much sooner.
What's especially interesting is that the Kinect sold so well despite the lack of buzz in the tech media. Comparing Google search and news trends for the word "Kinect" with that of "iPad," and you'll find that the iPad attracted much more of the public conversation. And yet the Kinect's 8 million sales in November and December surpassed the 7.3 million iPads that Apple sold in the entire fourth quarter.
Factoring out the effect of the Windows launch, Microsoft estimated growth around 3%, "in line with PC market growth." Again, 3% growth isn't terrific, but it's nowhere near as bad as the headline figure suggests.
Even if Microsoft's Windows revenue does start to slide in coming years, the company can weather the blow. Sure, Windows revenue makes up a quarter of Microsoft's total sales. But its business-software division -- including Office, as well as SharePoint and Exchange -- contributes 30% of its revenue, and that division expanded its profit by 35% last quarter.
Other divisions are seeing similarly strong profit growth. Microsoft's server and tools division, which makes up another 22% of revenue, saw its profit rise by 21%. And the entertainment group, which makes Xbox and Kinect and accounts for 19% of revenue, posted profit growth of a whopping 86%.
The threat of tablets to Microsoft is real and shouldn't be trivialized. But neither should Microsoft's ability to keep sales and profits growing in other areas of its broad-based businesses.
No, the iPad Is Not Killing Microsoft's Business
"...Redmond's cloud and mobile strategies don't seem to be paying off."
This statement assumes that they actually have a strategy.
hiybbprqag, I say.
Copycat!
Does that mean Bill Gates will return to fix his company like Steve Jobs? ;)
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
On the other hand, you apparently managed to parlay your time at Microsoft into a job as CTO at a $100M company. Whether or not Microsoft sucked (I believe you), it sounds like it was a stellar career move.
www.clarke.ca
55% growth in revenue for the Entertainment & Devices Division, as the success of the Kinect sensor boosted sales of Xbox 360 consoles, Xbox Live subscriptions and Xbox games.
A Christmas launch sure helps, but how long will it last?
Office 2010 is the fastest-selling consumer version of Office in history, with license sales over 50% ahead of Office 2007 over an equivalent period following launch.
Hmmm, sort of. If you RTFA you will see that " "Office Deferral" refers to copies of Office 2007 sold at the end of 2009 with guaranteed free upgrades to Office 2010. Half of the consumer revenue increase is due to an accounting technique that shifted items sold in 2009 (viz, Office 2007 with an upgrade guarantee) to income in 2010." and that " reflecting licensing of the 2010 Microsoft Office system to transactional business customers [which is to say, one-time sales]" .
Also FTFA " If you take out the spike and the deferral, quarterly Windows revenues were up 3 percent year-to-year. If you include the deferral but ignore the spike, you see a 5 percent decrease in Windows revenue year-to-year. And if you include the deferral and the spike, Windows sales were down a whopping 30 percent compared to last year."
In conclusion, there are lies, damned lies, and statistics. Accountants' jobs are to pull such numbers from their asses that make the balance sheet look good for investors.
Apple is more borg-ish than MS, what with the tight control over hardware.
Not true. Apple develops. Microsoft assimilates and adapts.
PlusFive Slashdot reader for Android. Can post comments.
It was mainly developed by Rare, using PrimeSense's technology
The more fields your business dominates, the safer it is.
What's the value to society of company stability?
I understand clearly why you as an investor want to use diversification to stabilize a stock portfolio (that spans multiple companies). But who benefits from having one particular company be stable and secure? Risk-averse investors? Don't they buy bonds or ultra-stable, ultra-diversified portfolios anyways?
I think you mean "intnerns"
while [ 1 ]; do echo -n -e "\xe2\x95\xb$((($RANDOM&1)+1))"; done
None of this is surprising. Windows 7 is pretty good and so is office. But these are not the paradigms of the future. Mobile and cloud computing together are the future. I think that the Meteoric rise of Android proves it. As well as the continued popularity of the Iphone and other mobile devices. I think the Ipad's success proves it as well. M$ has barely shown up lately for the mobile space. WP7 is decent but it doesn't have all the details and functions of the Iphone and Android. It amazes me how Android has barely existed for a little over a year (at least in the minds of consumers) and it is already a platform that is sophisticated, (relatively) easy to use, and has a large market full of usefull apps. Only the Iphone rivals it. And vice versa. Blackberry also has stagnated lately. The deal in the mobile space is Apple Ipad, Iphone, Android phones, and with honeycomb you can include Android tablets. Google is not going away in this space and certainly not Apple. Both have been visionary and innovative while M$ continued to rely on their desktop and corporate server Hegemony to live in lala land and hope for continued automatic replacement and upgrade sales for Windows and Office. They can no longer guarantee this market anymore. It is changing fast and M$ is asleep at the wheel. Interestingly enough, Linux has actually pushed forward into the consumer space in some forrm (finally) I mean this in the form of android. Now I wonder what is going to happen with intel? I mean they are not going away right away. But really they need to come up with something better than ATOM in the mobile space if they want to survive. I don't understand why they sold off their ARM division and products anyway. Especially now that ARM is growing in the mobile space and even the slumbering giant in Redmond has realized that the next version of windows will need to run on the ARM architecture.
... of a flat stock price. It's making all of those compensation plans based on stock options look worthless.
Have gnu, will travel.
Dang! I wrote this during a meeting in a bit of a hurry. This will teach me to not screw up cut-n-paste. I sure brought the spelling police out in force. Here is a correctly spelled and edited version.
I have no idea why this made the news. The article says he is "a" principle development manager, not "the" principle development manager. he most certainly is not an executive. There are many “Principle Development managers” at Microsoft. How this departure became news is a mystery. Microsoft is a big company – people come and go all the time.
"Principle" is a job title. The individual contributor levels go like this for software devleopers:
Managers go like this
For several years, I was "a" Principle Development Manager in Windows. I am now a principle lead because there was a specific team I wanted to be a part of. It certainly wouldnt be news worthy if I left Microsoft.
-foredecker
Jibe!