Microsoft's Windows Boss Leaves The Company

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Steven Sinofsky, head of Microsoft's Windows unit, has left the company. :eek:

The executive most widely tipped to be the next chief executive of Microsoft Corp has left the world's largest software maker barely two weeks after launching the flagship Windows 8, as CEO Steve Ballmer moved to tighten his grip on the company.
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I'm surprised they didn't hire a CEO from Fischer Price.
 
Several articles I saw this morning indicated that the problem was that it looks like Sinofsky wasn't going to be the next CEO, at least he didn't get the guarantees that we wanted. I guess he didn't feel like waiting around to find out. He's only 47 and while he's noted as a controlling authoritarian with not a lot of people skills, if Windows 8 does well people will make spots for him.
 
He had a hard time leaving the building. Someone installed a new door without a doorknob, it just had an array of ugly colored panels he was supposed to immediately understand how to use.
 
sinclair-zx81 said:
He had a hard time leaving the building. Someone installed a new door without a doorknob, it just had an array of ugly colored panels he was supposed to immediately understand how to use.
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^^^^^^^^^^^ Bwhahahahahahhhhhhhhhhaahah............. Hehehhe.... Nicely done, sir!!!!
 
perhaps it's the tinfoil hat wearing side of me... but it's suspicious that ..

a) Most are predicting Balmer will get asked to step down after this quarters numbers get given to shareholders
b) Sinofsky was predicted to be taking Balmers place next
c) They say it's a mutual decision...

can we say finding a way to give the shareholders no choice?
 
If MS did well with Win8 then they'd have released initial sales figures, much like they did with the Surface RT tablets right after being sold out, but then stayed hush and apparently called the overall sales since "mediocre."

Extremetech has an article that talks of him as a divisive figure that was difficult to work with, but that he was also ultimately responsible for the goings-on of Win8 and its development process. Considering MS hasn't said a peep about Win8 sales figures and Surface RT tablets have been "meh," I'd wager it's probably a hint of both, LordCalin.
 
I always knew this was going to happen. Sinofsky as decided to Signoutski and the prophecy has ben fulfilled.
 
pelo said:
If MS did well with Win8 then they'd have released initial sales figures, much like they did with the Surface RT tablets right after being sold out, but then stayed hush and apparently called the overall sales since "mediocre."
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Microsoft doesn't really release hard numbers early at a Windows launch because they often don't mean much only a few weeks after launch. XP wasn't seen as huge two weeks after launch and I think Vista actually did better than XP at launch and we know how that story went.

Plus there's still a lot of OEMs that haven't launched their new devices. We really won't have a good idea about how Windows 8 will pan out until mid-2013 as hardware comes to market, prices tick down on touch hardware and we'll see how the Windows Store matures,
 
heatlesssun said:
Microsoft doesn't really release hard numbers early at a Windows launch because they often don't mean much only a few weeks after launch. XP wasn't seen as huge two weeks after launch and I think Vista actually did better than XP at launch and we know how that story went.

Plus there's still a lot of OEMs that haven't launched their new devices. We really won't have a good idea about how Windows 8 will pan out until mid-2013 as hardware comes to market, prices tick down on touch hardware and we'll see how the Windows Store matures,
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While MS hasn't released expectations and sales figures, their OEM partners have and they're expecting a weak Q4 after a weak Q3. You can extrapolate just how well Win8 is expected to do by how the OEMs expect their quarters to turn out. This is MS we're talking about, they're not completely Apple-like independent yet.
 
What strikes me as odd, apart from the timing, is that there is no handover period at all, 'changes effective immediately' is not something I would expect from MS for someone at that level.

Now you have someone talking over the pet project/vision/whatever of someone else at a critical timeframe for the company and without a few months guidance to make sure things go in the intended direction.

Well at least there will be some fun speculations to read on the 'why' and 'what now' issues.
 
pelo said:
While MS hasn't released expectations and sales figures, their OEM partners have and they're expecting a weak Q4 after a weak Q3. You can extrapolate just how well Win8 is expected to do by how the OEMs expect their quarters to turn out. This is MS we're talking about, they're not completely Apple-like independent yet.
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OEMs released numbers for last quarter in their financial reports but those didn't have any Windows 8 numbers. PC sales were never expected to make a huge uptick this quarter because of Windows 8 but depending on whom you listen to Windows 8 is doing well or its nor doing well, again it's going to take until mid-2013 to have enough information to make a good judgment.
 
About three years too late. I'd rather he'd left before he destroyed Windows.

The timing is odd. Either he thinks his job is done and he's moving on, or sales of Surface and Windows 8 have been so bad he's been pushed.
 
I guess all the people here who like a strong hand are disappointed. This was the ribbons prick too, right? Double party if it was.

mzs_biteme said:
You mean that's its been reduced to nothing more than a tablet OS for kids and hippies....???
Not so much reducing as inconveniencing everyone else for said goal.
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in a work environment often described as toxic, he was deemed not toxic enuff to take over
 
heatlesssun said:
OEMs released numbers for last quarter in their financial reports but those didn't have any Windows 8 numbers. PC sales were never expected to make a huge uptick this quarter because of Windows 8 but depending on whom you listen to Windows 8 is doing well or its nor doing well, again it's going to take until mid-2013 to have enough information to make a good judgment.
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You should compare the sales figures of past Windows OS releases and see that Win8's first quarter since release sales are going to abysmal. PC sales not providing a huge uptick after a Windows OS release isn't just a PC problem but a Windows problem. If PCs don't sell Windows doesn't make money. Q3 x86 sales are down 9% year-over-year and Q4 isn't going to be much better. Unless MS's WinRT provides a massive sales boost, which is incredibly unlikely, they're not going to post great figures for their first quarter post-Win8's release.

Whichever way you slice it, heatless, it isn't good. Hell, even Surface RT sales have been "meh"
 
pelo said:
You should compare the sales figures of past Windows OS releases and see that Win8's first quarter since release sales are going to abysmal. PC sales not providing a huge uptick after a Windows OS release isn't just a PC problem but a Windows problem. If PCs don't sell Windows doesn't make money. Q3 x86 sales are down 9% year-over-year and Q4 isn't going to be much better. Unless MS's WinRT provides a massive sales boost, which is incredibly unlikely, they're not going to post great figures for their first quarter post-Win8's release.

Whichever way you slice it, heatless, it isn't good. Hell, even Surface RT sales have been "meh"
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But this whole point that analysts have been making about poor PC sales is that people are buying tablets instead of traditional PCs. A Start Menu doesn't address that problem.

Right now on the x86 side especially there aren't a lot of choices in tablet and hybrid designs because they aren't out in much number. It is a different market than three years ago for PCs and a much tougher one and the classic desktop simply isn't selling like it used to. At least Windows 8 does try to address this rather than clinging on to the same old thing that has been in decline from an OEM standpoint for some time, though some OEMs like Lenovo are doing better than others.
 
sinclair-zx81 said:
He had a hard time leaving the building. Someone installed a new door without a doorknob, it just had an array of ugly colored panels he was supposed to immediately understand how to use.
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the reason that made him late, and the change that may be got him fired. ;)
 
heatlesssun said:
But this whole point that analysts have been making about poor PC sales is that people are buying tablets instead of traditional PCs. A Start Menu doesn't address that problem.

Right now on the x86 side especially there aren't a lot of choices in tablet and hybrid designs because they aren't out in much number. It is a different market than three years ago for PCs and a much tougher one and the classic desktop simply isn't selling like it used to. At least Windows 8 does try to address this rather than clinging on to the same old thing that has been in decline from an OEM standpoint for some time, though some OEMs like Lenovo are doing better than others.
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You're skipping around here...

Let's put things into perspective before we digress. I think we both agree that MS is going to have a pretty shitty Q4 after a not-that-stellar Q3. Whether that's an issue with the traditional PC space slumping or the average consumers lack of enthusiasm for Win8 and the lack of interesting Win8-centered products is up for debate. Personally, I think it's a mix of both, but that's not the point here and that's the digression you're heading towards. The point I'm making is that when OEMs and x86 chip makers forecast a shitty Q4 after a shitty Q3, whether MS had released Win8 or not (or whatever the reason for the crappy sales figures), MS is going to have a shitty quarter as well. They're not Apple in that they can avoid OEMs altogether. They still rely on them very heavily for the bulk of their profits.

I have no doubt that the lack of interesting Win8 products has something to do with the lackluster embrace that people have had of Win8 (though you'd still have to question why the Surface RT's sales have been mediocre in that regard. MS has only itself to blame here). I do think that has some to do with Win8's pricing scheme, OEMs lack of enthusiasm for Win8 as an OS, MS delving into new and uncertain territory and the public's perception of Windows and MS as "not cool" and having missed the boat. The combination of these factors is playing out here and it's not as if they were unexpected. How many months ago were we talking about OEMs and distributors claiming they'd have poor sales even after Win8's release? I remember you barking the exact opposite. You can blame any of the above factors (and more), but ultimately it's going to be the PC landscape and MS taking the brunt of the damage.

Don't say I didn't tell you so :p
 
Actually with the deferred revenue from Windows 8 upgrades and the additional revene from Surface, which will be at least in the mid-hundreds of millions Microsoft is going to have a pretty good, if not record revenue quarter next quarter.
 
So this thread is now about heatlesssun's throwing himself into a change of management discussion, quoting various people until someone finally resonded, then derailing it to be about his infatuation with Windows 8 tablets. And, of course, now he gets to dance around directly addressing topics that are not to the advantage of his arguments.
 
heatlesssun said:
Actually with the deferred revenue from Windows 8 upgrades and the additional revene from Surface, which will be at least in the mid-hundreds of millions Microsoft is going to have a pretty good, if not record revenue quarter next quarter.
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They have only ordered ~5m Surface RT tablets thus they won't be selling any more than that this year. Considering Ballmer has stated RT sales have been "mediocre", that 5m is an "at best" # of sales.

Also, MS has released early initial sales figures for Win7

The initial sales figures for Microsoft Windows 7 after its worldwide launch on October 22 are still being tabulated, but the early estimates sound very promising: According to industry analysis firm NPD, unit sales for Windows 7 software SKUs in the US were 234% higher -- better than triple -- the unit sales for Vista's launch, and US revenue from Win7 software sales was up 82% over Vista's launch.
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And they're quite happy to gloat when things are going their way. Considering they've been hush hush regarding anything Win8 other than letting news outlets know that Surface RT was initially sold out (and sales have slumped since), the logical conclusion to draw is that Win8 isn't a huge hit. Again, that's something we've been hearing from retail channels and OEMs for months now.

I'd expect it to get better as time goes on and the ecosystem becomes richer. I reckon it has a lot to do with people not willing to jump aboard the Win8 bandwagon and become early adopters due to the huge gamble MS is taking here. If WP8 comes out then it should get better, but given MS's reluctance to even release a WP8 SDK, they're not taking the right approach here. If there's a healthy ecosystem for WP8 and Win8 hybrids then it makes sense buying into MS's gamble, but that looks like it's going to take a year or more (some retails channels have expected Win8's sales and products to only start shipping in force in Q3 2013).
 
SkribbelKat said:
So this thread is now about heatlesssun's throwing himself into a change of management discussion, quoting various people until someone finally resonded, then derailing it to be about his infatuation with Windows 8 tablets. And, of course, now he gets to dance around directly addressing topics that are not to the advantage of his arguments.
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Have you ever seen anyone tango like him? I haven't :p

Apparently he's not even an MS employee which makes that even more pathetic. At least I'd like to think I'm knowledgeable in a variety of aspects of computing whereas he seems to only know about MS and only half the story at that :p
 
pelo said:
Have you ever seen anyone tango like him? I haven't :p

Apparently he's not even an MS employee which makes that even more pathetic. At least I'd like to think I'm knowledgeable in a variety of aspects of computing whereas he seems to only know about MS and only half the story at that :p
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You do realize that you were the FIRST person in this thread to mention tablets.
 
sinclair-zx81 said:
He had a hard time leaving the building. Someone installed a new door without a doorknob, it just had an array of ugly colored panels he was supposed to immediately understand how to use.
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Rofl. I had two or three witty comments, but this one says it much better. Made my day.:D
 
pelo said:
Have you ever seen anyone tango like him? I haven't :p

Apparently he's not even an MS employee which makes that even more pathetic. At least I'd like to think I'm knowledgeable in a variety of aspects of computing whereas he seems to only know about MS and only half the story at that :p
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He does do the politican/salesperson dance pretty well and it works until you figure out the changing topics and introducing other tangents is to escape having to have a serious discussion. I wonder why he bothers to stick his opinion in if he refuses to acknowledge someone else's opinions or facts even if they're in disagreement with his own ideas.

And yeah, it does seem like his experience is limited to client UI usage and small computer workstation stuff. *shrugs* That's not a huge big deal though. Not everyone really branches out even if they do have a claimed 20 years of experience with Windows 8 or whatever the story is this week. :p
 
heatlesssun said:
You do realize that you were the FIRST person in this thread to mention tablets.
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Sinofsky was also head of Win8's development and its' biggest proponents. I don't need to tell you this as judging by your comments you've been reading the same articles I have regarding the news story in the OP here.

What was the purpose of Win8 and Metro? Oh yea...
 
SkribbelKat said:
He does do the politican/salesperson dance pretty well and it works until you figure out the changing topics and introducing other tangents is to escape having to have a serious discussion. I wonder why he bothers to stick his opinion in if he refuses to acknowledge someone else's opinions or facts even if they're in disagreement with his own ideas.

And yeah, it does seem like his experience is limited to client UI usage and small computer workstation stuff. *shrugs* That's not a huge big deal though. Not everyone really branches out even if they do have a claimed 20 years of experience with Windows 8 or whatever the story is this week. :p
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No, but it is fanboy-like behavior to only read up on a single company and its product line instead of keeping track of variety of stuff.

I'll be the first to claim that I like AMD's approach over nVidia's when business practice is concerned and would prefer them to nVidia because I feel they'd at least use lube when sticking it up my ass, but unlike heatless I'm well aware AMD (or any other company) isn't paying me and only cares about my wallet thus I have no emotional attachment to them or anyone else. I still think AMD will kick the bucket in 2013 or early 2014 :p
 
pelo said:
No, but it is fanboy-like behavior to only read up on a single company and its product line instead of keeping track of variety of stuff.
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What's worse than this is to criticize someone about a subject that YOU brought up first.
 
pelo said:
No, but it is fanboy-like behavior to only read up on a single company and its product line instead of keeping track of variety of stuff.

I'll be the first to claim that I like AMD's approach over nVidia's when business practice is concerned and would prefer them to nVidia because I feel they'd at least use lube when sticking it up my ass, but unlike heatless I'm well aware AMD (or any other company) isn't paying me and only cares about my wallet thus I have no emotional attachment to them or anyone else. I still think AMD will kick the bucket in 2013 or early 2014 :p
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He is pretty much a crazed fan. I think I've seen him post a little in other threads, but he only sorta "wakes up" and types a lot of stuff when it comes to Windows, touchscreens, and tablets.

I'll miss AMD if they go away, but mostly because there would be fewer choices and less competition if some other company didn't buy up their business and continue production. That's not really an emotional thing for me. I do admit I often make insane paranoid comments about Google, but that's because pretending to wear a tinfoil hat is fun! :)
 
heatlesssun said:
What's worse than this is to criticize someone about a subject that YOU brought up first.
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See my above post regarding MS's former Windows boss. I invest in these tech companies so I keep tabs on all of them and I'm not willing to deny reality if it means I lose money out of pocket. Are you willing to state the same? Hell, what would your financial advise be if somebody came to you asking if they should buy MS and MS OEM stock? That it's a good buy and things are all peachy?

That's the difference between your approach and mine. I give zero shits to those who give zero shits about me. I can also tell you that the A15 will likely sit atop the tablet performance race while offering a better price for complete SoCs than Intel's Clover Trail tablets for at least a year until the custom ARM makers finish their iterations of the 64-bit architecture and as a result those opting with vanilla ARM cores will likely have very good SoCs when abiding by the big.LITTLE approach. Can you say the same? I didn't think so...
 
I was just skimming around through the posts so correct me if i missed someone else mentioning this but has any one else noticed that most retailers for Windows 8 are already offering ~10-20% off (OEM versions mainly) when the software is only a few weeks old? I know it's pretty much the holiday season and "early black Friday this and that" is going on that might be the cause of it as well. But just a thought on how bad the sales could possibly be right now?
 
pelo said:
See my above post regarding MS's former Windows boss. I invest in these tech companies so I keep tabs on all of them and I'm not willing to deny reality if it means I lose money out of pocket. Are you willing to state the same? Hell, what would your financial advise be if somebody came to you asking if they should buy MS and MS OEM stock? That it's a good buy and things are all peachy?
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I give you a lot of credit for putting your money where your mouth is. Everyone is a critic but nobody is willing to step in the ring. As far as MS is concerned, it's incredibly cheap. Subtract cash per share and check the earnings multiple.
 
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