Sinofsky Exit Is Not a Good Sign for Windows 8
News this week that Windows chief Steven Sinofsky is leaving Microsoft has caught many people by surprise and ignited speculation in the blogosphere.
Several blog posts are citing anonymous sources who point to executive clashes and politics within Microsoft, which didn't bode well for Sinofsky and the company's new strategy of Windows integration across Microsoft product lines. Others point out that it is common for Microsoft to go through re-orgs once a major product is launched.
That may be, but Sinofsky's departure signals to the public, and to Wall Street analysts, that the Windows 8 rollout, and early results for Windows 8 upgrades and systems—including Microsoft Surface RT tablets—are not what the company had hoped for.
According to a managing director at MKM Partners, who was interviewed by Steven Russolillo, author of the WSJ MarketBeat blog:
The resignation suggests there's a "high probability" that Windows 8 and the Surface tablet may not be meeting the company’s early expectations, according to [Israel] Hernandez, while noting early channel checks also suggest lukewarm consumer responses to the new products.
The departure of Sinofsky may cause some developers to rejoice. He reportedly was not a proponent of .NET, and is viewed by some as largely responsible for fracturing the Windows development community.
Express your thoughts on the sudden changing of the guard at Microsoft weeks after the Windows 8 retail launch. Does this news make you more likely, or less likely to develop apps for Windows 8? Comment below. Follow me @RichardsKath.
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Posted by Kathleen Richards on 11/13/2012 at 1:34 PM