Windows chief Steven Sinofsky leaves Microsoft

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  • Reply 101 of 137

    Quote:


    Originally Posted by Devon Tourond View Post


     


    I don't like the RT because it runs on an ARM processor which means that I wouldn't be able to run legacy Windows apps. I have a hard time seeing the point in the RT but I'm waiting until the Pro is released because that is a real tablet. One that's definitely not dumb, awkward or one that makes no sense.



     


    You made me laugh,


     


    The Surface Pro is an even more compromise computer for running legacy apps, here is a quick list of some reason why Surface PRO is a doomed platform:


     


    1) It's a hybrid plateform crossbreed between an touch unusable Desktop UI and a Keyboard-Mouse unusable Metro UI. 


     


    2) a 10inch screen computer for PRO works is ridiculous, have you ever use legacy Windows apps on a 10 inch screen? It's not a PRO product this is a Toy PC like any sub 12inch Netbook.


     


    3) The Surface Pro is missing the whole point of making a Tablet with PC like pricing, performance and autonomy, Microsoft is still follow the same and failed Tablets PC paradigm as they done 10 years ago.  Microsoft keep repeating their same mistake over and over again, according to them Windows XP, Vista and 7 they all supposed to be optimized for touch input, which they all failed in execution of a real Touch oriented product.

  • Reply 102 of 137
    igriv wrote: »
    IMO, the reason that Sinofsky is gone is not because the surface RT a failure...

    The Surface RT was just a placeholder to give Microsoft time to release the Surface Pro.

    IMO, Sinofsky is gone because Microsoft realizes the Surface Pro is (will be) a failure, because:

    1) MS cannot build the Surface Pro with competitive features, price, flexibility to an UltraBook

    2) Legacy Windows apps, including Office, are unusable with a touch UI (even with a stylus)

    3) MS has alienated it's former hardware partners by competing with them

    There is no compelling need for the Surface Pro as a tablet!

    Given that, there is no compelling need for the bifurcated UI -- that is the raison d'être for Windows 8!

    Ballmer has allowed Sinofsky to maneuver Microsoft into a "no win" situation vis-a-vis it major products. (iWork and other offerings have demonstrated that there are acceptable touch-tablet alternatives for many Office users).

    I agree, but point 3 (which is the most relevant to the Windows (hence Sinofsky) part of the business) is not restricted to the Surfaces, but to Windows 8 in general -- the touch part of the interface does not work with the legacy part, and vice versa (the stylus does make it a little better, but not enough).

    Yes!

    IMO, the greatest opportunity that MS missed...

    They missed the opportunity to "start fresh"!

    They should have released a Surface RT only:
    1) Metro UI only --no desktop/Windows 8 cruft
    2) Built-in Metro Tablet-only apps (as they did)
    3) Optional Metro (designed for touch) iWork-like Office Suite

    The Metro Office Suite would be a logical subset that is upward compatible with Windows Office.

    They could've announced Surface RT as a reference design -- or worked with a partner ala Google Nexus.

    No kickstand, keyboard cover, misaligned camera, difficult aspect ratio, pissed-off partners, DOA offerings…

    ...Just a "fresh" opportunity going into the future!
  • Reply 103 of 137


    Sinofsky was caught swiping other employees tiles in Windows 8.

  • Reply 104 of 137
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,728member
    Steve also had some moments in his keynotes where things didn't go exactly to plan.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzDDO3Xb_QU - <span dir="ltr" style="vertical-align:top;" title="Apple Keynote Bloopers (demo failed)">Apple Keynote Bloopers (demo failed)</span>

    The difference being they were not terrible things in the first place. When you are trying to sell snake oil it's better if the audience don't see the snakes.
  • Reply 105 of 137
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,728member
    Yes!
    IMO, the greatest opportunity that MS missed...
    They missed the opportunity to "start fresh"!
    They should have released a Surface RT only:
    1) Metro UI only --no desktop/Windows 8 cruft
    2) Built-in Metro Tablet-only apps (as they did)
    3) Optional Metro (designed for touch) iWork-like Office Suite
    The Metro Office Suite would be a logical subset that is upward compatible with Windows Office.
    They could've announced Surface RT as a reference design -- or worked with a partner ala Google Nexus.
    No kickstand, keyboard cover, misaligned camera, difficult aspect ratio, pissed-off partners, DOA offerings…
    ...Just a "fresh" opportunity going into the future!

    It's all about the consistent fear of cannibalizing the sacred cow IMHO. Everything is about maintaining legacy products and new ones must fall in line with that credo. A new start such as iOS is as beyond Microsoft as it was Kodak. The results will ultimately be the same.
  • Reply 106 of 137
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,728member
    boxmaccary wrote: »
    Never mind this sacrificial lamb -- why is Ballmer still there?!?

    I keep wondering that ... is it simply his share holding or does he have something on Bill?
  • Reply 107 of 137
    19831983 Posts: 1,225member
    Two ladies replacing Sinofsky at Microsoft. Good to see more women in positions of power within the tech industry. Wish there were more at Apple too.
  • Reply 108 of 137


    I just found this ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mof-Dq3hvWs&feature=player_embedded


     


    OK, it's not really a good ad in terms of letting people know what you want to sell them, but hey, I think it's really funny, and quiet creative.

  • Reply 109 of 137
    All my answers are the one's that aren't in bold while yours remain in bold.

    This person s arguing for a product hat has not been released yet against a product with proven success in consumer and business market.y
    Please enure he is not banned, when MS report below ' modest' results for Microsoft Surface Po, when it actually launches.
    Can not believe, he thinks that iPad has any real competition from SurfCe Pro.
  • Reply 110 of 137


    Originally Posted by 1983 View Post

    Good to see more women in positions of power within the tech industry. Wish there were more at Apple too.


     


    If there's a woman that can do the best job, I imagine she'll be hired. No reason to meet a "quota" otherwise.

  • Reply 111 of 137
    mac_128mac_128 Posts: 3,454member
    clemynx wrote: »
    I think it looks great.
    That background is ugly though.
    It's not just the backgrounds MS has chosen to use, it's the colors of the tiles themselves. All of the colors they present have the same intensity, so there's no contrast between them, even though they are different colors. It's like there's no understanding of how the human brain works here. Moreover, unlike the iOS, all of the titles are clustered together, blurring the lines between one tile and the other. They are uniformly square or rectangular, further confusing where one ends and the next begins, so that even if I know where I'm looking, it's hard to immediately focus on what I'm looking for. Adding a "live" tile, or worse multiple live tiles is going to be the equivalent of watching a bank of TVs at a department store after some kid has switched them all to different channels. You're not going to know where to look first as you have multiple source beckoning for your attention.

    Now I haven't tried to customize the interface to know what's possible, but even if you can give each box and icon a choice of unlimited custom colors and intensities, there's still the problem of uniform shape clustered together. iOS ran into the problem about three years in, and responded by App grouping, but even that solution is getting a little long in the tooth. However, unlike MS, there is some space between the Apps grid, allowing the eye to easily distinguish between them. And each App has a unique design which helps to immediately identify it. If all the Apps were in identical boxes with a color border, it would be much more difficult, especially if each border could be customized. And ultimately, the Apps are laid out on a grid so that even if you don't recall an Apps icon, you know where to look on the screen. Bottom left, top right, etc. but the tiles on Windows look like a Tetris game -- the tile you're looking for may be bottom left, but embedded somewhere in a cluster of unrelated tiles. The MS interface simultaneously homogenizes and renders inconsistent the tiles, making them incredibly difficult to navigate quickly or easily. Now I don't know if the color choices are customizable or not, but the choices they are making in Redmond suggest either someone is colorblind, or simply has bad taste. If fully customizable, I'm sure businesses around the world are going to be thrilled at the number of hours it's going to consume as each employee adjusts the parameters of each individual tile on the start screen, day after day until they arrive at a pleasing color palette which allows them to "efficiently" do their job. And god help the temp who comes in and tries to navigate an employee's custom setup when they're on vacation or out sick ...

    400400400400
  • Reply 112 of 137

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by 1983 View Post



    Two ladies replacing Sinofsky at Microsoft. Good to see more women in positions of power within the tech industry. Wish there were more at Apple too.


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post





    Originally Posted by 1983 View Post

    Good to see more women in positions of power within the tech industry. Wish there were more at Apple too.


     


    If there's a woman that can do the best job, I imagine she'll be hired. No reason to meet a "quota" otherwise.



     


    Back in the 1978-1989 time period when I had direct dealings with Apple, there were quite a few talented ladies who worked at Apple Headquarters.  None of them ever became top-level executives, however.  


     


    Two of the most notables were Marion Kenworthy and Jean Richardson.  


     


    The last time I saw Marion she was still at Apple...  Jean left to become a corporate VP at Microsoft.


     


    It is kind of odd, that Apple hasn't had and doesn't have any ladies as top-level executives...  I don't believe there was any policy against this -- rather that it was just the way it worked out under the various regimes and management setups in a turbulent environment.   But I do believe that when there is a void or imbalance, you need to actively  seek to correct it.  Certainly the talent is available.... maybe Tim will address this!   ...I suspect that he ail!

  • Reply 113 of 137

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by 1983 View Post



    Two ladies replacing Sinofsky at Microsoft. Good to see more women in positions of power within the tech industry. Wish there were more at Apple too.


     


    I read that Julie Larson-Green was one of the responsible software engineers for the tiles/Metro look!

  • Reply 114 of 137
    igrivigriv Posts: 1,177member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by copeland View Post


     


    I read that Julie Larson-Green was one of the responsible software engineers for the tiles/Metro look!



     

    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

    Since when do engineers do UI design?


    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

     

  • Reply 115 of 137


    I reckon Sinofsky has read the writing is on the wall for Windows and bailed before history repeats itself. Microsoft is almost at exactly the same point Apple was back in the late 90's when they launched OS8. It was proclaimed as the largest overhaul of the operating system since the Mac was released but it didn't last very long because of all the bugs and issues with stability that plagued Macs at the time. OS9 fixed some of the bugs but stability was always going to compromise the Mac's performance. So as we all know Apple had a leap of faith with Unix and brought out OSX. Microsoft doesn't have that luxury and are unfortunately stuck with an OS which doesn't perform well on the devices of the future.

  • Reply 116 of 137

    1 - How is the Surface dumb, awkward and makes no sense? What is it with you guys. Are you not capable of explaining yourselves...

    Now if you're referring to the RT then I agree with you to a certain point. I don't like the RT because it runs on an ARM processor which means that I wouldn't be able to run legacy Windows apps. I have a hard time seeing the point in the RT but I'm waiting until the Pro is released because that is a real tablet. One that's definitely not dumb, awkward or one that makes no sense.

    2 - Really? Frankenstein? Again, if you're talking about the Surface then I agree about not knowing whether it's a tablet or a laptop (correction: ultrabook) due to the fact that it runs on an ARM processor.

    3 - As for the ad. It's far better than what Apple did with the latest iPod Touch. It's just an ad with iPod's bouncing everywhere with music playing, big whoop! I love the new iPod Touch but the ad for it is just lame. Microsoft actually worked hard at trying to make an ad for the Surface while Apple failed at making an ad that properly demonstrates the product.

    1. "What is it with you guys" is probably not the best way to engage the community in discussion, unless your goal was to provoke.

    2. Surface Pro too. It's no different than the tablet PCs that came before it: a Windows laptop that converts into a tablet. Only this time, they added multitouch, so now it's even more confusing. Pen? Yes. Fingers? Yes. Trackpad? Yes. Keyboard? Yes. Hell it's even got Bluetooth and driver support for a Mouse. Surface Pro is Tablet PC all over again. And we know how that story ended: a compromised laptop.

    3. So... Apple needs to properly demonstrate the iPod or else it's a failure? In what unreality does Apple NOT know how to market the world's best selling portable music player for the last decade? But hey, apparently the standard for Microsoft is did they "actually work hard at trying to make an ad" (key word: trying)... You probably think the Gates-Seinfeld ads were brilliant, LOL. After all, they tried very hard back then too. And that, by your slippery standards, is reason enough to put them on a pedestal.
  • Reply 117 of 137
    How is Windows a disaster?

    LOL.

    Lemon Bon Bon. :P
  • Reply 118 of 137
    mac_128mac_128 Posts: 3,454member
    Surface Pro is Tablet PC all over again. And we know how that story ended: a compromised laptop.
    No not this time! The surface has a kickstand. So, no compromise.
    You probably think the Gates-Seinfeld ads were brilliant, LOL.
    Isn't it amazing what money can do? Seinfeld always had the latest Mac sitting on Jerry's desk season after season. A conscious choice by the producers of which Seinfeld was one.
  • Reply 119 of 137
    nikon133nikon133 Posts: 2,600member
    psych_guy wrote: »
    No need for Sinofsky.  Apple has Jony Ive, who could fart a grand design better than Sinofsky could ever dream of one.

    I see that you are well acquainted with Ive's farting.
  • Reply 120 of 137
    nikon133nikon133 Posts: 2,600member
    mac_128 wrote: »
    God I hope not.
    Have you SEEN Windows 8/Metro? What a train wreck ...

    At least it doesn't have any wood, cloth, marble, china, terracotta, clay and steel textured tiles. Freddy's nightmare would be a child play compared.
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