Steven Sinofsky promoted to president of Windows
By Darren Murph 
posted Jul 8th 2009 5:17PM
posted Jul 8th 2009 5:17PM
With Windows 7 just months away from release, Microsoft is putting a new individual in charge of the whole Windows division. Steven Sinofsky -- who was previously responsible for squashing thousands upon thousands of early Win7 bugs as the senior vice president for the Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group -- now has a shiny new title. We're told that as president, Mr. Sinofsky "assumes responsibility for the Windows business including both the engineering and marketing functions for Windows, Windows Live and Internet Explorer." Yeah, pretty broad. Oh, and it's not clear if the former prez's decision to green light that patently disgusting "vomit" spot for IE8 was the straw that broke the camel's back, but whatever the case, there's a new brain behind the future of Windows. No pressure, Steve-o.[Thank, Neal]
Has anyone got a link to the IE8 spot they are referring to? I seem to have missed it and I always like a little afternoon nausea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB9fhjnJcB0
Agreed! Damn you engadget, you always turn every single word into a link except the one that anybody would actually care about.
damn i shoulda rickrolled...but that is the actual spot.
lol dean
another steve, we need some diversity
I've just been promoted to president of doors, when I reach ceilings I will know I've made it big!
The developers fixed the bugs and another douche bag manger gets a promotion and raise. life is sweet!
The developers created the bugs in the first place, and only fixed them after testers pointed them out. Isn't giving all the credit to the developers a bit like like rewarding a dog for biting you? ;-)
If the dog bit me, called a cab and took me to the hospital, I would give him a reward. I wouldn't reward the taxi driver.
Whoever chose to make that puk ad was a complete idiot.
What the heck are people thinking when they do that? It's not even funny, just disgusting and stupid.
On a brighter note, congrats, Steve-o. Please make good ads. Thanks!
me too. i'm missing the reference :(
Well deserved, I think
yea dude, they did a hell of a job on win 7
Steven Vs Steve
THE CLASH OF TITANS!
3 Steves actually, Ballmer, Sinofsky, Jobs. Holy crap, Steves are taking over the world! The PTA has disbanded! *jumps out window*
Don't forget Steve Wozniak, or Steve Gates. Yes, yes Steve Gates.
No no no! The PTA has not disbanded! (chuckles)
It's Adam and Eve! Not Steve and Steve and Steve and Steve and Steve!
Genius LOL. + +
I'm seeing a Photoshop of the Marx brothers. Nyuk nyuk and here's a poke in the GUI
If he's the president, I am the Lord of Doors! Or better yet, the Master of Blinds!
So apparently to go anywhere in the computer industry you must be named Steve. Damn my parents...
My middle name is Steve... I will be happy with my upper-tiered-yet-not-the-highest job in the near future.
It's not too hard to change your first name legally, much easier than the last name, and it'll nicely hide what you did before too when you apply for a position 'that isn't my old myspace, I'm steve'
Perhaps it'll become a fad at some point, everybody changing their name when they become let's say 24, namechangeday celebrations and what not, you can even exclude gays and make laws that they can't ;)
Steve, Steve, Steve
What if you were named Steve Stevens?
@Celedhring,
That would make you a has-been guitar player that's probably touring the casino circuit with his other has-been punk-hair buddy.
I'd check them out anyway to bring back the 80s, LOL!
Congratulations, Steve! Now go kick Ballmer in the nuts and have him simmer down for a while.
Also, *Stephen* Elop is the president of the Microsoft Business Division, which produces Office. Apparently that name gets you somewhere.
What's up with all these Steve's everywhere?!
Step 1: Toss out Windows completely. All of it. Well, except for XP mode in Windows 7.
Step 2: Toss out all the worthless management that helped Vista become a disaster
Step 3: Go to the research group, and take Singularity
Step 4: Make a new OS, free from the legacy crap complicating Windows
Step 5: Bolt XP mode into the new OS, along with some better hooks to make the transition less difficult (ala Classic mode in OS X)
I doubt this will happen, but it's what they really need to do. Windows is really starting to look like Mac OS did in the mid 90s.
Shut. The. Fuck. Up.
Seriously.
Thank you Tom for demonstrating why you are not senior managment. Your display is very convincing.
Simon
Wow, quite the harsh response there Mark Anderson the second. All I was doing was offering advice to the new president of the Windows group. Must have been the Mac OS comment or something that triggered a fanboy response. The only reason I put it there is to point out an example from history, when Gil Amelio was trying to get the Mac OS back on track.
Seriously, are you actually a developer that has to see the insane trainwreck that is the inner working of Windows and have experience on other platforms to compare to? If not, take your own advice.
Microsoft really needs to come up with a way of cleaning up the mess under the hood. Longhorn was supposed to be the start of a new push towards managed code, something Bill Gates was trumpeting all the way back in 1995. Sadly Microsoft's own attempt at this (.Net) failed to grow into OS grade code, and this hindered Longhorn development for months. After their core OS team came back from fixing the security issues in XP (SP2) and 2003 (SP1), they also found that the .Net code was crumbling under the weight put on top of it. So they scrapped everything, restarted off the 2003 code base, and shipped Vista 18 months later.
Tons of developers love C#, including myself. But there is clearly a reason why a lot of software is still being written on C++. When not even Microsoft can show how powerful .Net is by having a good chunk of the OS written in it, something is wrong.
It's clear at this point that the only way Microsoft is going to manage to move away from their legacy APIs will be to start over. Singularity is a great start, and with the right management team and developers, could ensure MS has an OS to carry them far longer then Win32 will.
I suppose I should probably find a community elsewhere that is willing to actually discuss things. The comments here these days are just barley a level above YouTube comments. It's sad really.
Agreed. OSX dropping OS9 support was the best thing that could have ever happened to Apple devs. Apple wouldn't have seen nearly as much success if not for the decision to aggressively start anew, so there's no argument there. Microsoft might follow suit, but too many casual users are crying over XP compatibility. People don't understand that the Vista code is good, but the complexity associated with building on top of an older OS instead of a fresh start leaves programmers writing more intensive software. That's why Vista might be as or more polished than OSX or XP at launch, but lags behind those two when it comes to performance.
Don't worry about Mark and Simon. Anyone who uses their full name (AND legacy) or signs their comments is a douche beyond measure.
there's simply no way windows ... ala vista and win7 could look as dated as the 90's mac. I mean really ... who would ever make battleship gray their holy grail? Who'd promote that dull, 2D, pewter (brushed aluminum) look year after year after year after year ... well, you get the idea.
I agree, Shut. The. Fuck. Up.
Hung? As in "Hung like a baby carrott"?
Tom - yes I have and you're so full of crap it's beyond belief. Now seriously, shut the fuck up.
Congrats steve! You did an amazing job with Office 2007 and an even better job with Windows 7. Just make sure that lady behind the ribbon UI and W7 taskbar stays with you.
Anyone else think that M$ is just setting this guy up to be the fall-man if anything goes bad with the Win7 release?
Yes and no, I think it might be in the back of their head to have a front like that, but I don't think their prognosis is bad in w7 since people are already quite enthusiastic about it so I don't think it's the primary motivation.
Don't you think that's even more the reason to set him up right now. Everyone is expecting something awesome, just like many were thinking Vista was going to be awesome. If something goes wrong they have someone who seems to have put in a lot of work into Win7 to lay ALL of the blame on and can right off the bat. Vista seemed to lack this person and more then anything led to the M$ brand being tarnished. Maybe with this guy out there, the direction can be placed more upon him rather then the company brand.
It's better than President of Calendars...
Was that video ever aired on tv? WORST COMMERCIAL EVER.
Perhaps Steve S. should speak to Steve J. about going from "Pink" to "X".
Smash those windows 7 bugs...haha