Microsoft is failing

NY Times: "Microsoft's huge profits - $6.7 billion for the past quarter - come almost entirely from Windows and Office programs first developed decades ago. Like G.M. with its trucks and S.U.V.'s, Microsoft can't count on these venerable products to sustain it forever. Perhaps worst of all, Microsoft is no longer considered the cool or cutting-edge place to work. There has been a steady exit of its best and brightest." - I never thought I'd see this happen to Microsoft. When we moved to the Seattle area in 1993 it was a hotbed of software development, and Microsoft was probably the most desirable place to work. Now it's a second-tier destination. It's still a great place to work, just not what it used to be.

Another choice quote from the article: "Another example: When we were building the tablet PC in 2001, the vice president in charge of Office at the time decided he didn't like the concept. The tablet required a stylus, and he much preferred keyboards to pens and thought our efforts doomed. To guarantee they were, he refused to modify the popular Office applications to work properly with the tablet. So if you wanted to enter a number into a spreadsheet or correct a word in an e-mail message, you had to write it in a special pop-up box, which then transferred the information to Office. Annoying, clumsy and slow." - That VP was none other than Steven Sinofsky. We had plans to make Visio a world class citizen on the tablet, to really embrace it, but Sinofsky didn't like it, so the plans were flushed.

I have a dear friend that led that effort, and after many years of watching Microsoft make strange decisions, he's finally left the company. He'll be a great hire for a company that's interested in creating a truly great user experience.

Labels: Microsoft