

Windows Phone GM leaving Microsoft, with a rallying cry - i2o
http://www.geekwire.com/2011/windows-phone-gm-leaving-microsoft-rallying-cry-team

======
i2o
For those who don't know Charlie his contributions include (as listed at
[http://www.liveside.net/2011/08/08/charlie-kindel-to-
leave-m...](http://www.liveside.net/2011/08/08/charlie-kindel-to-leave-
microsoft-after-21-years/)):

\- Founded Premier support

\- Built ActiveX and DCOM

\- Shipped Internet Explorer 3.0

\- Drove the development of the home networking features in Windows XP

\- Founded eHome and shipped the first version of Windows Media Center

\- Drove the invention of Windows Smart Displays and Windows Media Center
Extenders

\- Served Bob Muglia as executive technical assistant as he ran the Enterprise
Storage business through to him running the Server and Tools Division

\- Was the driving force behind Windows Home Server

\- Led the design and development of the Windows Phone 7 Application Platform

\- Drove the Windows Phone 7 application platform ecosystem development and
evangelism effort

~~~
DenisM
I can't find a single product on this list that I could say, "yep, that was
worth it".

DCOM - a pile of complexity even most Microsoft employees couldn't understand.
Different threading models, security problems, you name it. In my early days
as Microsoft employee one unfortunate guy decided to implement an app to
manage installing latest build of a (different) product and running tests on a
couple hundred machines; he spent month fighting DCOM problems.

ActiveX - huge security nightmare in the browsers.

IE3 - don't know, don't remember much.

WMC - windows-based media centers are a failure. Large, noisy, boxes, poor
power management, lack of support for MKV in the latest version. Had they done
it right there would never be a Roku, and Apple TV would be too late to
market. It's failure.

Home server - they should have solved two simple problems: 1) every windows
user should have a backup solution according to his budget (starting from $50
and up) 2) every windows user should have a one-click file-sharing solution
according to his budget (starting at zero dollars). They failed at both. I
guesstimate 90% of windows users still do not have a backup solution. This
reflects poorly on the entire platform reputation. So they came up with a $400
noisy, blinking box that needs its own space. These "features" are most often
incompatible with female spousal units. Geeks love those gadgets, which is the
market they conquered, leaving normal people behind.

WP7 - they jury is still out on that one.

Overall this looks like a bunch of products only a geek could love. Yes, they
are cool, but they failed to live up to the Microsoft's then-ambitions - to
change normal people's lives for the better.

~~~
pedalpete
Just because you don't like/use the products is no reason to assault somebody
else's work like that.

Some of these products have resulted in millions of dollars and (apparently)
some happy customers.

~~~
DenisM
It's not just me not liking a product. I claim these products (the ones I
listed) have failed to achieve any significant goals, anything worthy of the
opportunity.

For example, yes, WHS sold quite a few devices, and it would be a huge success
for a startup, but when you have the entire power of Microsoft behind your
back, your goals need to be ambitious. I have outlined what I think WHS goals
should have been - a backup solution for 80 percents of all platform users. In
version "next" they could add file sharing for 80% of the users.

Anything less than that is a waste of opportunity, and a huge disservice to
Microsoft users, employees, and shareholders.

------
sriramk
Submitted this and found out I was beaten by less than a minute :)

Charlie is an extremely famous figure at MSFT for everything from COM, Windows
Home Server to WP7.

The first time I came across him was when I was in high school and I knew him
as the guy behind COM (sorry, Charlie :) ) who wrote the funny foreword to Don
Box's book. It is surreal to think that I actually met him and got to know
him. This is a guy who knows how to build stuff. Big loss for MSFT.

~~~
CapitalistCartr
" . . . to WP7."

The first time I read this, I read " . . . to Word Perfect 7." Wait, what ? !
? Maybe I'm getting old.

~~~
flatline
Most US government agencies still use Word Perfect 10 or 11, so I have the
same problem with the WP acronym.

------
BarkMore
Middle managers at Microsoft can be successful because of a number of skills
not relevant in a startup: ability to run huge teams, Microsoft institutional
knowledge, political maneuvering and so on. Some of these skills might even be
harmful in a startup. It will be interesting to see how Kindel fairs outside
of Microsoft.

------
felipemnoa
>>but he says he still believes strongly in Microsoft’s long-term prospects
against the likes of Apple and Google in the mobile market.

I think he looses a lot of credibility saying something like this. What does
he base his belief on? Better not say anything.

~~~
sriramk
I still believe that too. Of course, when you work in a place for six years
and have a lot of emotion connected to that place (see my farewell mail on my
blog), it tends to bias your opinions :)

------
contextfree
The article mentions this, but he actually left the WP team itself a while
back, shortly after the initial release.

------
ahmetalpbalkan
He's just a GM. there are many GM's in WP division. It is really common to see
MS GMs leaving for startups.

------
politician
This sounds like another nail in the increasingly metal-rich coffin of
Silverlight, or am I reading too much into this?

~~~
solutionyogi
How is this in anyway related to Silverlight?

~~~
MartinCron
SilverLight has been presented as the preferred way to develop for Windows
Phone 7, much to the dismay of some SilverLight web/desktop developers who
find it a good technology for web/desktop work and fear that it will be phased
out.

~~~
runjake
Really, it's been mis-presented by Microsoft.

Developing a WP7 app normally involves C# and XAML (for most UI layout). The
frameworks include the usual .NET stuff, as well as Silverlight and XNA (MS's
gaming/graphics) frameworks. A competent .NET or Silverlight developer can
move into the WP7 development world comfortably.

I don't believe your comment about "dismay" is really accurate. I think
Silverlight developers probably fall under one of two buckets: 1) "Cool! I can
develop phone apps using my existing skillset!", or 2) "I don't really care
about mobile development."

~~~
MartinCron
RE: dismay, I was thinking of a previous article I saw here on HN:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2644364>

although it seems that was a bit over-sensationalized. I agree that at least
reasonable SL developers will fall into your two buckets.

~~~
runjake
Yeah, sounds a bit over-sensationalized.

Microsoft is probably silent because they're not sure what technology the
final project will use. Some exec could've ignorantly opened their mouth about
"html5+js" and left the Win8 engineers groaning.

It'd pretty clear to me that .NET/Silverlight/WPF aren't going away. They are
too popular and there's too much activity around those technologies.

