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Windows Chief Steven Sinofsky Leaves Microsoft
CWmike writes with this excerpt from Computerworld: "Steven Sinofsky, the executive in charge of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system and the driving force behind the new OS, is leaving the company effective immediately, Microsoft announced late Monday. Sinofsky was also the public face for Windows 8 and its new Metro interface, posting constant updates in a Windows 8 blog that charted its development. His last post, fittingly, was entitled 'Updating Windows 8 for General Availability.' The OS was officially launched at the end of last month. According to the All Things D blog, there was growing tension between Sinofsky and other members of the Microsoft executive team, who didn't see him as enough of a team player. But Microsoft's official position is that the decision was a mutual one. Sinofsky had only good things to say about his former employer." Also at SlashCloud.
Ship.
chair hit you on the way out! Seriously, DUCK!
that the new interface in Windows 8 bombed at the box office....
the beginning of the end, indeed.
If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
The new OS gets released, his role complete, they all agree to move on. Team played enough to get it released, that's more of a team player than a lot of people I've worked with leaving mid-project. If he hasn't got any bad things to say about Microsoft, why is this news?
In a press release, Ballmer praised Steven’s work, but also talked about a need for “more integrated and rapid development cycles for our offerings."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYBjVTMUQY0
... hired by Apple and Google, to completely destroy Windows 8 and any chance of entering the mobile market.
Or - at least that's a hilariously plausible conspiracy theory. I'm going to pretend to believe it.
I'd hope this was a personality or really an interpersonal thing and not a strategy choice. If Microsoft starts going squishy on Windows 8 i.e. Metro they will blow a crucial part of their strategy. I don't see how they pick a different OS strategy at this point than ubiquitous computing. Releasing another new paradigm in 2014-5 will be a complete yawn.
The 2012Q4 x86 midlevel hardware has been really exciting stuff, innovative. As the hardware manufacturers start one another's ideas 2013Q1 laptops and even desktops are going to feel a 6 years ahead of 2012Q1. That's an impressive accomplishment and I'd hope that Microsoft doesn't walk it back because other divisions are getting cold feet.
Wait, now the person responsible for the ribbon is calling the shots behind Windows?
...how once people get described as "a potential successor to Steve Ballmer" they mysteriously disappear...
Windows 8 is going to have some hiccups, but above all else, it's going to be a huge success.
There will be a little bit of delay as Microsoft gets Windows 7 out of the way.
The reasons Windows 8 will be a huge success:
1. It unifies the desktop and mobile under a single OS and, more importantly, development environment.
2. It has many under-the-hood fixes which allow Windows to slip past the aging win32 model, which is so successful it has become crippled. But since MSFT owns WinXP, it can always sell you virtualization to emulate your old apps within the new OS. This is inevitable; it's how Apple handled its transition to OS X and now it's an industry standard.
3. They've gotten over the moron factor. Apple used to be able to claim its GUI was so simple a child could use it, in contrast to Windows which was "complicated" and Linux which was "hard." Windows 8 is braindead simple as a GUI and has let wizards take over many of the less intuitive tasks of computer maintenance.
4. Microsoft has revamped its pricing scheme to (a) compete in the mobile market and (b) try to fix the unholy mess of crapware installed on new PCs by vendors.
5. Building on that point, Microsoft has basically squashed rampant security problems, although there will surely be hiccups, and by using its app store model has reined in the chaotic array of software people run on its OSes.
Sinofsky is leaving at a point of triumph, after which there will mostly be fixes and adjustments, and he will now be able to go on to a new, bigger gig somewhere as a big shot. Next step is for him to try for CEO at his own tech company.
Scott Forstall denied that he and Steven Sinofsky are forming a secret club with the aim of ".. getting back at all those people who just don't know any better and need to told how things should be done...".
It's rumored that the first meeting will be held in a tree-house in the back yard of Scott's mothers' house, and that "no girls or software company executives will be allowed", and pizza and soft drinks may be delivered.
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
Posting anonymously because... well...
Anyway, the guy had a Jobs complex. That sort of attitude may have worked in a "one trick" company like Apple (not trying to start a flame war on that, but Apple has a VERY stovepiped set of products as compared to Microsoft). All it did was piss people off in the other business groups at Microsoft, though.
Like many of the oustings at Microsoft over the last 4-5 years, this is a good one, and a positive sign for the company.
And lest there be any confusion on it -- at Microsoft, once you're Partner level, decisions to leave are always "mutual".
As an MS SQL developer, I thought I'd already seen the height of IDE inanity, but with Win8 they managed to make it ever worse, requiring even more clicks to perform even the most basic tasks, and frustrate users who simply want to 'get back' to where they started. It's good they fired the guy, Win8 may be different than Win7 (which does not totally suck, but it's still heavily MS'd), but I don't see it as an improvement, or an innovation, just... different. They way I see it, MS will continue down this point-click-click-click-click paradigm, forever making things more difficult and frustrating to do. They should be trying to SIMPLIFY their interface and experience, not 'Techify' it with junk that only makes the user work harder to do the same work. It's a wonder they don't get that.
Does that mean we get the Start menu back?
Very true. I'm planning on keeping a row of machines, whether virtual or physical, with XP, 7 and 8 running.
I know a lot of industries and scattered companies who have zero intention of upgrading. Their software works on XP, and they've bought both, so why upgrade at all? I'm hard-pressed to tell them they should fix what ain't broke.
It leads to a question of ownership: when we bought Windows, did we buy it "as is" without upgrades? Or buy into a stream of upgrades, possibly for a limited time? Or was it really a subscription for a number of years? If it isn't, maybe it is wholly legitimate for people to expect that Microsoft keep patching it for as long as people use it, which could be to 2042 and beyond.
With OpenGL gaining popularity windows is becoming more and more irrelevant, and I guess that's a good thing.
A few hours ago I downloaded Haiku-OS to give it a spin.
During Windows Vista and previous development, private beta testers (not internal to MS) were given a constant stream of new builds to test. Microsoft was very responsive and bugs were generally fixed very quickly. I know this will surprise people, but at least for me, Vista was quite bug-free at launch because all the ones I found during the beta were fixed.
Sinofsky took over for Windows 7, and the change in testing procedure was jarring. We got a total of two builds over the entire program -- Beta 1 and RC. The effects of this were that many bug reports weren't reproducible on their much newer internal builds, so the bugs either didn't get fixed or testers were wasting effort. When the RC was released, Microsoft actually deleted many old bug reports and told everyone not to submit anything that didn't result in a BSOD or failed install, which let a lot of glaring cosmetic bugs get through. I can only imagine this was so they could reduce their official bug counts at launch.
The botched Windows 7 testing lead to the weirdest thing I could imagine -- in the middle of the program, there was basically a revolt among the testers. So much so that some took to labeling themselves "proud" testers in their signatures to separate them from the frustrated majority.
For Windows 8 -- we all pretty much knew it was going to happen -- there was no external testing at all. I guess after Vista's performance issues and the poor handling of 7, it was pretty easy for them to decide testers weren't helping them.
So Ballmer is the Stalin of the software world?
Sinofsky had only good things to say about his former employer
When I was laid off years ago, in order to get my severance package, I had to sign an agreement to *not* say bad things about the company in the press. I imagine this guy had $Millions on the line if he does say anything disparaging. Hell, if the MS lawyers are any good, they made sure that any companies that he forms within N years have to use MS products exclusively. (or at least for the public facing computers)
All ideas^H^H^H^H^Hprocesses in this post are Patent Pending. (as well as the process of patenting all postings)
That could be true. Then again, the difference between updates and upgrades can be squirrely. All Windows systems could be viewed as updates to the original NT 3.5, and priced correspondingly. This gives us several models:
1. As is.
2. Update path (maybe $35 an update, roughly equivalent to current prices)
3. Upgrade path.
4. Subscription.
Can't tell which would be sensible. A subscription would have to be $20/year for XP, which I think I ran for ten years after buying for something like $200 (memory is hazy here).
Thank you? Uh...
But then some other guy writes:
So, shills are trolls now, or trolls are shills?
I have to disagree here. While I'm not a big fan of mobile computing, it is massively important. Most people who do not need a command line are using mobile computing.
("Using" is a relative term. They are using it for Facebook, shopping, Googling, etc. I doubt they're using it in the sense of running MATLAB or Visual Studio on it.)
Apple is currently in a bind because it has two OSes to support: iOS and OS X. Whether or not the desktop PC is dead (I don't believe that hogwash), the desktop PC is being somewhat displaced by tablets and phones and other mobile computing devices.
The ability for a company to develop one app for both will be a large boon, as will the ability for people to move their software between mobile and stationary computing.
I wonder if this means that some others who left in the recent past, like J Allard or Ray Ozzie will be coming back. The rumors were that Sinofsky vigorously opposed their plans, and they left after Balmer decided to back Sinofsky's way rather than them.
microsoft is mad and fires guy who was in charge of it. Seems plausible.
I noticed the tag "Microsoft" on this article still uses the old logo with the italic font and the damaged "o".
Anyone got an idea how to update that to something like this:
http://i.s-microsoft.com/global/ImageStore/PublishingImages/logos/hp/logo-lg-1x.png
Nevermind the inside and outside information and all the shills and the naysayers. We need to w8 a tad for the final outcome of success or failure for W8. From all accounts, Sinofsky was not laid off for 'the failure that was called Metro'. /. !] is the intention to unify all sorts of computing UI, from your watch through your toaster to your smartphone. And, as usual, Microsoft was about the last one to enter the station hall in this respect. Something needed to be done, and a marriage of convenience was enforced: the quite well-developed W7 interface had a nuptial with Metro, a test interface for touchy topics.
What we all can see, and agree [sorry. no , we are
And so both sit close to each other; not yet knowing much about the newly found partner. Therefore we need to be patient. If W8 becomes a success, UI-wise, Microsoft will swing to new heights. Because a single UI written once and run anywhere is a success by default. Screw all competition. Should, however, the market react with too much hesitation at acceptance levels, Microsoft will not only by Micro and soft, but also cooked.
It simply is a nice past-time to speculate wildly on the demise of Redmond's premier organisation; and I enjoy this speculation. In reality, we just have to w8. With some luck (or dismay; for others), we might have watched MS shooting itself not in the foot, but through its own heart.
Sinofsky was also sleeping with David Petraeus.
Hairyfeet (a member here I am sure most of you know) & I discussed it in email not even a week ago - he & I both KNEW this was coming...
* I mean, how could you NOT?
I.E.-> Windows 8 is a mistake for the PC desktop since we've ALL gotten very used to & familiar with the Win9x style shell!
(No, the PC is NOT 'dead', even though competing computing solutions would LIKE it to be so... it's not going to just "die"!)
Windows 8 isn't "ALL BAD" either!
There is "good stuff" beneath what RUINS IT on PC's ("metro interface" - makes sense on phones &/or tablets, but PC's? No way!) - such as:
---
1.) Self-terminating services
2.) Guard Pages on the Heap
3.) "Chunk Randomization"
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(I personally only HOPE that stuff carries over to Windows 9, & they go back to the Win9x style shell - OR, @ least provide an option to use it again vs. "metro")
On that last part? According to Hairyfeet & yes, I believe him?? Sinofsky is who KILLED THE OPTION to use the Win9x shell on Windows 8 - prior to that decision of his? You could!
HOWEVER: It doesn't take a genius to know 1 simple thing, a "cardinal RULE" of sales: You can't sell people what they DO NOT WANT!
(Imo, it was his biggest mistake... especially after we've all gotten used to the Win9x style shell interface GUI since 1995 or so... change that as "radically" as they have? You get, what you get!)
APK
P.S.=> I have a feeilng this is going to be a "learning experience" for Microsoft, that's all...
Just like Windows ME, MS Bob, & VISTA were (& MS can AFFORD to make a mistake, now & then - heck, WE ALL DO!).
... apk
Or maybe they're the rats on the "burning platform" described by another former Microsoft executive (http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/12/10/23/1658222/can-nokia-save-itself):
"When ex-Microsoft executive Stephen Elop took the reins of Nokia back in 2011, he memorably compared the Finnish phone-maker to a burning old platform in the North Sea. 'I have learned that we are standing on a burning platform,' he wrote in a widely circulated memo. 'And, we have more than one explosion -- we have multiple points of scorching heat that are fueling a blazing fire around us.'"
I don't know of any troll-like or shill-like behavior of mine that I could point to.
What did you have in mind?
way to many non metro apps to go metro only
also with metro only then may have to let you side load under the laws the EU will not let MS have a locked in app store. Also big players like EA, steam , game fly, ect have there own apps stores.
also sand boxing can kill lot's of pro apps and they will move to Linux.
adobe CS for Linux will KIll apple and maybe MS as well.
It's Uncle Fester who needs to go. Now!
http://image.bayimg.com/8e72f6d5ae4e44b4f2caab39e4e8d16bfff92b65.jpg
Everything is completely under control.
I'm sure that's enough to get screams of protest from people who dislike any kind of change.
For decades, the MS advocates were going on about how Linux was so difficult to learn, and how it is so much more productive to stay with something familiar.
But when MS throws a monkey wrench in their own OS, then the same MS advocates snort about people should not be afraid of change.
We've been hit hard by Microsoft killing off beloved tools like Silverlight and XNA. Developing for WinRT is MUCH harder than it needs to be. They've reverted back to the dame technological level as Silverlight 3 which means all that great WP7 code I wrote has to be vigorously re-hashed to make it work, let alone my Silverlight OOB apps. If they want the Microsoft App Store to catch up they need to return to developers, developers, developers. I just hope this means I can get Silverlight on my Surface now.
As we go into the big-money season when the dollars are harvested, they've left all their partners without compelling products for their customers to put under their tree. Again.
Help stamp out iliturcy.
It takes a mouse drag to the corner, wait... wait.., click settings, shutdown.
It's the little things like that which make me hate this fucking OS. If you remove metro, I actually like the changes to the other stuff. Wreaks of stupid decisions and poor planning.
He now is resorting to assassinations of all underlings. He has gone completely nuts and I for one am cheering. I am waiting for the interstellar patent troll death match between Microsoft and Apple. With any luck both companies will be destroyed.
Sinofsky, speaking about the primary customer complaint with Windows 8:
"I sat in the car, and had no idea where to put the keys," he said. "Then, I saw a big glowing button that said, 'Start.' That's all it took to figure it out."
"Let's call the old car, Car XP, and the new one Car 8," he said, smirking.
Uhhh, Sinofsky, nice analogy there, but you've got your cars mixed up. Car 8 is the one missing the big glowing button that says "Start".
After all - you actually personally SEE what's "going on" with actual END USERS... & a good "sampleset" thereof.
* This is WHAT YOU GET, when you put "business-minded people" (solely that) @ the helm of a software-oem...
I agree with you, from our past conversations as well on this much:
MS NEEDS A COMBINED "tech guy/business guy" & they HAD that, with "King Billy" @ least, & did well (history is my backer here)... & "not so well", despite saying "our profits are higher than ever" (cheating in VISTA downgrades as VISTA sales, lol, man) is EASY TO ACHIEVE - hell, momentum alone would assure that for MANY quarters until stupid product's released... I think Win8 qualifies, sad to say, largely!
Another "trick" business folks do, & the easiest thing to do? Cut staff, & thus payrolls (many companies do this, it is a business "rule" that the EASIEST COST CENTER TO CONTROL = payrolls).
MS hasn't done THAT yet... unless you count Sinofsky.
Mr. Ballmer's NOW putting in a woman with only a business degree, & Masters in CSC (which means less than a 2 yr. AAS in terms of what you ACTUALLY LEARN in the art & science of computing). I wonder - how many GUI programs has SHE actually DESIGNED, hands-on, herself? I'd wager not many. Not after seeing "the ribbon" & Win8 "metro"... no way.
See - I know those kinds of people & worked with them, & I was one decades ago.
They "delegate authority", more than do actual hands-on in-the-trenches work.
If you're NOT OUT THERE DOING IT? You're going to atrophy, & certainly NOT get BETTER @ it either...
Plus, again - I've worked with them, & been one over time. I hated myself when I was to be honest.
I knew I needed to know more to lead people of THAT very nature is why.
E.G.-> I can't respect a guy who is "my superior", when he is ANYTHING BUT THAT, in regards to the tasks involved.
I think MS sees & has, a LOT of that going on... it's inevitable: Infestation by "business droids"... profit seekers, who could care less "as long as they get theirs" , nothing more.
Look @ Sinofsky taking off - says it all.
Back on Sinofsky's next "successor"?
She's just a "smokescreen" (but imo @ least? Pretty good looking, I'll give her that) for Mr. Ballmer, a stalling mechanism...
One Mr. Ballmer is using to *try* to see if he can "hold on" to the reigns as the "top man" @ Microsoft & HOPE things "Turn around" for them on Windows 8.
They COULD, if they would NOT have allowed Sinofsky's DAMNED "it's my way or the highway" line of 'thinking' (egotism)!
After all - you told me, & I believe it?
HE is the ONE WHO STOPPED THE OPTION TO USE THE 'WIMP" GUI on WINDOWS 8 when you used to be able to!
IF they would have LEFT THAT? I'd have bought Win8... simple, & I am SURE I AM NOT ALONE ON IT!
What a FOOL he was in that regards, seriously, & I hate calling the man that, as I really do NOT KNOW HIM!
Plus - as again, that's alienating users used to the "WIMP" interface as you call it, which I am, & doubtless you too, & all others.
It was the same with the Office "ribbon" (stupid picture menus really - I prefer to READ myself, as in classic menus!).
Bulldozer controls as you said, vs. steering wheels on cars... lol, good one!
I've said this here many times - Mr. Ballmer is NOT the right guy to lead a tech company... why? He's not a TECH or rather, ENOUGH of one!
He screams "developers, Developers, DEVELOPERS" but, is he one? No.
To lead 'em??
You've had to KNOW them... & understand them! Only way to BE or DO that, is to be one!
Also knowing what your customers want (not what they DON'T want, & that is the mistake they made, huge one - you "hit it on the head" perfectly with the caterpillar controls on a car!).
They made a mistake this round, like WinME, MS Bob, & VISTA... ho
Sinofsky built his reputation getting projects working and out the door on time. My understanding is the ORCA c*****rf**k was co-managed by Microsoft and an Un named consulting firm in a time frame of last 6 months. After ORCA beached itself, Ishmael and harpoon not needed) on November 6, could Sinofsky departure a week later be coincidence?
A tablet and a desktop are two entirely different beasts. Does it really take a genius to figure out that nobody wants a desktop that only shows one application at a time, forces users to hold their arms up for extended periods of time, and perpetually has finger prints all over the screen? It’s a good thing Microsoft didn’t decide to make vacuum cleaners to compete with Dyson. Otherwise the Windows 8 desktops might not have keyboards but instead just one switch that when flipped on causes it to hum and vibrate.
Microsoft fans keep saying that with WinRT you will get two things in one – a tablet and a laptop. Many even add “a professional laptop”. In their minds the only thing that differentiates a tablet from a professional laptop is a presence of a keyboard. This statement sounds pretty stupid to me. Nowadays professionals more and more tend to use a high-end laptop, most often a MacBook Pro, as both a desktop and a laptop. In my company, for example, this became a standard configuration. All new employees get a MacBook Pro, a large display, and a wireless keyboard and mouse. The display and keyboard always stay on their desks and they have the freedom to take the laptop wherever they like and do their work in any place. Thanks to the power of MacBook Pro they are able to run multiple OSs in VMs and have an environment that satisfies all their professional needs. So how a WinRT tablet with 2Gb of RAM and 32 Gb of storage is going to replace a professional laptop? Maybe it will someday but presently it’s a bad mix.
Microsoft fans keep saying that with WinRT you will get two things in one – a tablet and a laptop. Many even add “a professional laptop”. In their minds the only thing that differentiates a tablet from a professional laptop is a keyboard. This statement sounds pretty stupid. Nowadays professionals more and more tend to use a high-end laptop, most often a MacBook Pro, as both a desktop and a laptop. In my company, for example, this became a standard configuration. All new employees get a MacBook Pro, a large display, and a wireless keyboard and mouse. The display and keyboard always stay on their desks and they have the freedom to take the laptop wherever they like and do their work in any place. Thanks to the power of MacBook Pro they are able to run multiple OSs in VMs and have an environment that satisfies all their professional needs. So how a WinRT tablet with 2Gb of RAM and 32 Gb of storage is going to replace a professional laptop? Maybe it will some day in the far future but presently it’s a bad combination.
Microsoft fans keep saying that with WinRT you will get two things in one – a tablet and a laptop. Many even add “a professional laptop”. In their minds the only thing that differentiates a tablet from a professional laptop is a keyboard. This statement sounds pretty stupid. Nowadays professionals more and more tend to use a high-end laptop, most often a MacBook Pro, as both a desktop and a laptop. In my company, for example, this became a standard configuration. All new employees get a MacBook Pro, a large display, and a wireless keyboard and mouse. The display and keyboard always stay on their desks and they have the freedom to take the laptop wherever they like and do their work in any place. Thanks to the power of MacBook Pro they are able to run multiple OSs in VMs and have an environment that satisfies all their professional needs. So how a WinRT tablet with 2Gb of RAM and 32 Gb of storage is going to replace a professional laptop? Maybe it will some day in the far future but presently it’s a bad combination.
Hell put ME in charge of the damned company, i'll right it in 3 or all they'll pay is my room and board, I'd right that ship so damned fast they'd be asking if I was the new Steve Jobs.
And yes BEFORE in the early alpha builds (if you look around the net you can grab a copy to try it yourself) there was a simple .reg entry that allowed you to switch between metro and a bog standard Windows desktop, not the crippled "desktop mode" horseshit, but an actual honest to god Win 7 desktop minus the Aero gloss, and old Snickerdouche found out the .reg file was quickly being passed around so not only did he kill the reg entry, he even gutted the original desktop code so the ONLY thing you could get was that crippled half ass "desktop mode!
But most people don't know there IS a way to get an actual usable desktop in Win 8, in fact in Jan when I pick up my copy so I can learn how to deal with the Win 8 fuckups its the FIRST damned thing i'm gonna do to it! It costs $30 but its the best damned 430 you ever spent, its called AstonShell and it will give you the "look and feel" of damned near ANY WIMP UI that has ever been made, from Win9X-Win 7 on the MSFT side, hell even KDE or gnome or OSX if that melts your butter. They have a 30 day free trial so you can download the trial version of Win 8 and slap it on to see for yourself, but its a HELL of a lot nicer than that damned "LOL I Iz A Cellphone LOL" UI that is win 8.
In the end you're right though, you can't stick a damned marketing drone at the head of an engineering company, it just doesn't work. As I said with the bulldozer sticks what works great on one device does not automatically mean it'll work great on another completely unrelated device, and that is Win 8 in a nutshell, bolting a Caterpillar stick onto a car and calling you a Luddite when you point out it wasn't as good as what you had. I'm all for updating the WIMP UI but to make it better, not gut it. More visual feedback to the user for example, maybe even design keyboards with an actual knob like on digital audio workstations so the user could have actual tactical feedback when performing actions.
Finally office shows the same damned arrogance Snickerdouche showed during his reign, let the USER choose which is best! While I personally don't mind the ribbon (because i just killed the damned thing and made my own customization to the minibar to have what I use most in the same spot for muscle memory) I can see that with users that have never used office the ribbon is a lot more hand holding.,....that's nice for the NEW users, but what about those that have spent fricking decades giving their money to MSFT and have the muscle memory down cold? In the height of arrogance they fucked them over to give new users a simpler UI. If they would have simply allowed a simple switch, even buried in the options, that could be controlled by GPO so that old hats could have the classic UI while the newbies got the ribbon not a single thing would have been said.
But in the end that is why Ballmer has to go, its arrogance. To use a /. car analogy he sees Ferrari keeps selling so he slaps a ripoff of the Ferrari front end to a Ford along with a $100k price tag and is amazed, amazed i tell you, that nobody wants his $100k Ford. Apple is a completely different market, with users that wouldn't take MSFT anything on a bet, so by forcing Windows to be an ersatz iOS all he is doing is keeping his customers from buying his product while the Apple customers laugh at them as they buy their iPad. But instead of paying attention and listening to his customers he fragments the fuck out of his userbase for no damned good reason, IE, DX, burns customers with dumb moves like killing Windows messenger for Skype (You watch, numbers of users switching to yahoo or Google is gonna jump when that dumbshit happens) and is shocked that the stock tanks.
hell even their mobile division is savable, they have one of the most powerf
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
Was it THIS in that .reg file? HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon & changing the SHELL line there?
The reason I ask, is that WILL WORK...
In fact, 1st real "pro money" I ever MADE was in college in the DOS + Win3.x days is why I noted it, since I used that line, & wrote a simple VB app (since VB3 could start Windows believe it or not) that took over that & asked for a password... lol, you didn't GET IT? It restarted the system!
The main admin left it on "my system" in the lab too, to test it... why?
He had a security program for DOS (IronClad) that worked like ROOTKITS do now, & it protected ALL of DOS from alteration, but... not once you started Windows (& its enhanced mode I would guess)...
So, after this tested SOLID enough?
We wrote IronClad after doing a bit of legal work first. Told them about it, got me PAID... while just a freshman too, lol, in my CSC degree work during my AAS time. All they had to do was PROTECT the SYSTEM.INI Config File in Win3x (that had the SHELL = line in it, analog to the reg entry above).
I'd imagine THAT is the line Sinofsky "nuked" but... you tell me!
I can't see HOW he could "nuke that" & still have the Aston shell run... after all - you COULD pull that entry, & "hardcode it" into Windows loader... that'd bushwhack changing shells, but... how would aston shell work then?
Just wondering! Thanks for the info. IF you have it... since I am curious myself & that made my bookmarks/favorites for FUTURE POSSIBLE REFERENCE (cuz I would pursue it as you do actually in the beginning while learning metro - thank goodness I don't have to though, not yet).
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Yea, I bet you could run the place better... & make BETTER decisions, because you actually SEE what normal folks are using, & what they like or don't like ( very important vs. "marketing research teams", who only put rubber stamps of approval on things those paying them WANT to GO THRU!)...
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Yup, you see things as I do, as do most folks I imagine based on results and I don't mean financial trickery like Mr. Ballmer counting VISTA downgrades as VISTA sales... wtf!
(Even the Forbes magazine calling Mr. Ballmer worst CEO as you told me, & under him, the "lost decade @ MSFT")...
Wrong guy to put at the wheel, is your best pal!
(Surprised here, that Mr. Gates did that, but... see my email - I have suspicions as to why... lol!).
ANOTHER CARDINAL RULES OF SALES: "The Customer is ALWAYS right" going along with my "You can't sell folks what they DO NOT WANT" too... you hit that 1st one on the head perfectly.
Man - I honestly DO FEEL that Mr. Baller & Mr. Sinofsky blew it on those 2 points more than anything...
I mean - Sure, do the research, get a new phone & tablet/netbook interface ready but... DO NOT PULL THE OPTION TO USE THE CLASSIC Win9x shell out of DESKTOP VERSIONS of Windows 8 !
(Which is what Sinofsky did... man's not that smart imo for that! His results will show it).
Ordinarily, since "King Billy" (whom you know I respect immensely & calling him that's NOT a 'ribbing' but a compliment from me actually) is VERY intelligent?
I found it SURPRISING he elected Mr. Ballmer to CEO...
The man's not "tech enough" to be leading devs, & yelling "developers, Developers, DEVELOPERS" doth NOT a developer, make!
I mean, ok - Sure: Giive your pal a job, one he can handle & DO WELL AT, not one he MAY NOT be able to do well in, & merely ride on the wave of success YOUR combination of TECH FIRST, businessman second, had created for him to "ride on" & out with - won't last, unless you keep doing GOOD STUFF FOLKS WANT, not what they do NOT want!
(& that IS Mr. Gates, to a tee techie first, businessman second imo - MS did great under him, history backs me).
Suppose that Sinofsky didn't actually like the display features of Win8, suppose he disliked "dumbing-down" the desktop interface to be more like a tablet? Suppose that it was Ballmer who ordered it be so?
Then Win8 comes out to poor/mixed reviews, and Ballmer is in a very difficult position. He knows that some shareholders want his head on a platter, but he wants to keep his job and line his pockets for a few more years. What to do?
To secure his own position, the most important thing that Ballmer needs to do is get rid of the evidence that the Win8 muck-up was Ballmers. So he buys off Sinofsky with a big payout - on the condition that he departs instantly. Speaking to Sinofsky, Ballmer plays hard-ball, telling him that he will make the guy's life a living hell if he stays. Sinofsky is smart enough to realise that Microsoft is a Dead Man Walking anyway, so takes the cash and runs.
But you know what? It doesn't matter *what* the real reason is. The important point is that Ballmer just fired the man who delivered his brand new "flagship" OS. What does that say for the Board's confidence in Win8 as a product? Is Ballmer insane? What he has just initiated or allowed to happen is the equivalent of telling all of Microsoft's investors and institutional customers that he has little to no faith in Windows8. The truth - in that case - doesn't matter. That's how the news will have been received.
Let's hope it just accelerates their eventual demise.
"He had softly and suddenly vanished away. For the Snark was a Balmer, you see"
So why would he want the stock price to fall.
In my company we are sticking with Windows 7. For anyone using Windows 8 I suggest reinstating the start menu with Start8 from Stardock (http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/) and ignoring the god awful Metro interface all together.
Personally, I think that Microsoft need to draw a line between their business users and their home users. The focus should be on creating a strong foundation of underlying technologies that are common across Microsoft products (kernel, file systems and so on) with a divergence between their consumer offerings (phone, tablet, Xbox and PC) and their business offerings (server, workstation, etc).
So would you say Sinofsky was defenestrated?
Didn't the same thing happen after Vista shipped?
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