EntertainmentAndDevices
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Microsoft's Ventura could be a cloud music / video platform, have something to do with Zune
Zune hasn't gotten much love from Microsoft as of late, but that might change over time -- ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley noticed that the company is staffing up for a cloud-based multimedia project (by a group known as "Ventura Media Services") directed at PCs, TVs and mobile devices. "The team is a tight group of music and video lovers that create services and experiences revolving around music/video discovery and consumption," read a series of job postings that date back at least as far as July of 2010, calling for software developers in Beijing and Redmond who are familiar with the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. (Two of them have "Zune" in the job title.) While it's hard to say if this project is a major focus for Microsoft no matter how often the job posting says "large scale" (we count four times) it'd definitely be nice to have some competition for Google and Apple when they start drawing the multimedia-streaming battle lines. [Thanks, zblack]
Robbie Bach: Project Natal a 'midlife kicker' for Xbox 360, 'absolutely confident' Courier innovations will appear elsewhere
Now that the proverbial cat's out of the bag, Tech Flash has caught up with Robbie Bach about his impending retirement from Microsoft. In a far-reach interview, the former President of Entertainment & Devices Division says he made his ultimate decision just last Thursday, and that while he and also-gone J Allard "had been talking [Allard's] situation for awhile," the conversation never went both ways and the timing of the departures is "pure coincidence... serendipity." Bach further claims that it was his choice and was not asked to leave, and as for pundits who might've thought he was in line for one day taking the reins from CEO Steve Ballmer, Bach downplays that possibility and says he never had interest and such discussions never took place. But enough business talk, what about some of the projects Bach oversaw? There were a couple choice quotes we noted from the report. First up is Natal, a motion-sensing project that he views as a "midlife kicker for the [Xbox] 360." For those watching a calendar, that would give the console an approximately nine-year perceived lifespan on the corporate side -- from November 2005 to 2014. Of course, we could be reading too much into that, but we could certainly believe it. On the subject of Courier, Microsoft's now-cancelled internal tablet project, Bach is "absolutely confident... a bunch of that innovation will show up in Microsoft products." It's a stronger wording that what we originally read, and given just how excited we were watching that leaked video, we can only hope his prophecy is foretold. Do yourself a favor and take 15 minutes to read through the interview -- hey, you're welcome.
WSJ: Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division getting a 'shakeup,' J Allard expected to leave
We were surprised enough to hear tales of J Allard possibly leaving Microsoft, but the Wall Street Journal is painting a bigger picture, saying "the organizational shakeup is broader than Mr. Allard's departure." We're taking that to mean there could be a larger changing of the guard here, particularly since the article is worded somewhat oddly and seems to imply the reshuffling could reach even Entertainment and Devices Division president Robbie Bach. As for Allard, WSJ reaffirms Mary Jo Foley's earlier report that there's a strong correlation between his departure and the Courier's swan song. An announcement pertaining to these moves is said to potentially come as early this week, so stay tuned -- this could be big.
J Allard, CXO, surfaces at Microsoft C-level
J Allard, previously of Veep stature, has been elevated to the position of CXO (Chief eXperience Officer) and CTO of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division. That puts the man synonymous with the Zune, Xbox, and once questionable, 80's style in charge of "the technical architecture and user experiences related to products and services of the Entertainment and Devices (E&D) division." He's also cracking the whip on the E&D's "incubation team" responsible for scouting out new opportunities for the division. You know, like the Zune Phone, Xbox 360 with Blu-ray, and Microsoft Surface Sphere. Thus making him the most important man inside Microsoft... from our perspective anyway.[via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
