Windows development chief would buy a Mac
updated 11:20 am EST, Tue December 12, 2006
MS exec would buy a Mac
The head of Microsoft's Windows development James Allchin wrote an email to CEO Steve Ballmer and co-founder Bill Gates in January of 2004 stating that "I would buy a Mac if I didn't work for Microsoft." The email was presented as evidence last week in an Iowa antitrust trial against Microsoft, quoting Allchin as saying "in my view, we lost our way." The co-president of Microsoft's platform and services division also wrote that "I think our teams lost sight of what bug-free means, what resilience means, what full scenarios mean, what security means, what performance means, how important current applications are, and really understanding what the most important problems our customers face are. I see lots of random features and some great vision, but that does not translate into great products." Allchin has overseen various aspects of Windows development since the mid-1990's, according to Computerworld, but plans to retire after Windows Vista ships to the masses.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Dec 2006
Out of context
Jim Allchin posting a clarification of the comments referenced in this article on the vista team blog here:
http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2006/12/12/title.aspx
it reads:
As part of one of Microsoft's on-going lawsuits, a piece of email that I sent to Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates recently became public. It was a rant encouraging a change to the way we were building Windows at the time. In the email, I made a comment for effect about buying a Mac if I was not working at Microsoft. Taken out of context, this comment could be confusing. Let me set the record straight:
This email is nearly 3 years old, and I was being purposefully dramatic in order to drive home a point. The point being that we needed to change and change quickly. We did: We changed dramatically the development process that was being used and we reset the Windows Vista development project in mid-2004, essentially starting over. 2-and-½ years later, Windows Vista has turned into a phenomenal product, better than any other OS we've ever built and far, far better than any other software available today, in my opinion. It's going to be available to customers on Jan 30, and I suggest everyone go out and get it as soon as you can. It's that good. The spirit of being self-critical continues to flourish at Microsoft. Within Microsoft everyone considers it their duty to always put their convictions and our product quality ahead of everything else. That was the intent of my mail to Bill and Steve, and I consider it a great example of how this company can focus and do what's right for customers.
jim