Microsoft Loses Key Engineer to Google 475
galdur writes "Microsoft Watch reports Marc Lucovsky, one of Microsoft's key Windows architects has defected to Google. His confidence in Microsoft's ability to ship software seems to have waned, too. Some hypothesize Google working on an OS but in the wake of Google's inroads into Ajax tech applications (GMail, Suggest, Maps), I think Google may have other plans for the chief software architect for Microsoft's .Net My Services ("Hailstorm")" CT Many users are reporting 404s on the Microsoft Watch article, but its working fine for others. Hopefully they'll fix their server soon.
Mirror (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Blog entry is gone already? (Score:4, Informative)
Shipping Software
A few weeks ago I had lunch with the now famous "Mark Jen". I never knew Mark while we were at Microsoft, even though we both worked in the same group. Funny how large groups at Microsoft can get...
We had a great Google style lunch at a sunny table in Mountain View. I was too dense to notice that Mark was doing research for his blog. One thing he said got me thinking... Something that many have said over the years, that Microsoft "knows how to ship software".
Being a 16 year Microsoft veteran, a Distinguished Engineer, key architect and code writer for windows, architect of the largest source code control and build system ever attempted, I deeply believed that Microsoft knows how to ship software. We know how to build it, test it, localize it, manufacture it, charge lots of $$$ for it, etc.
Mark and I talked about this briefly at lunch that day, and I have been thinking about it from time to time since...
I am not sure I believe anymore, that Microsoft "knows how to ship software". When a Microsoft engineer fixes a minor defect, makes something faster or better, makes an API more functional and complete, how do they "ship" that software to me? I know the answer and so do you... The software sits in a source code control system for a minimum of two years (significantly longer for some of the early Longhorn code). At some point, the product that the fix is a part of will "ship" meaning that CD's will be pressed and delivered to customers and OEM's. In best case scenarios, the software will reach end users a few months after the Release To Manufacturing (RTM) date. In many cases, particularly for users working in large corporations, they won't see the software for a year or more post RTM...
Consider the
When an Amazon engineer fixes a minor defect, makes something faster or better, makes an API more functional and complete, how do they "ship" that software to me? What is the lag time between the engineer completing the work, and the software reaching its intended customers? A good friend of mine investigated a performance problem one morning, he saw an obvious defect and fixed it. His code was trivial, it was tested during the day, and rolled out that evening. By the next morning millions of users had benefited from his work. Not a single customer had to download a bag of bits, answer any silly questions, prove that they are not software thieves, reboot their computers, etc. The software was shipped to them, and they didn't have to lift a finger. Now that's what I call shipping software.
I would argue that Microsoft used to know how to ship software, but the world has changed... The companies that "know how to ship software" are the ones to watch. They have embraced the network, deeply understand the concept of "software as a service", and know how to deliver incredible value to their customers efficiently and quickly.
posted by Mark Lucovsky at 9:38 PM
18 Comments:
thomas woelfer said
Coral Link (Score:4, Informative)
Non-competes non-enforceable in California (Score:5, Informative)
Lucovsky is a great guy... (Score:3, Informative)
Of course it is (Score:2, Informative)
Re:The end of Windows? (Score:1, Informative)
Your larger point is true. Microsoft is notorious for direct dialing top engineers from the competitors and throwing money and titles at them. See: David Cutler.
Former Microsoftie Here (Score:5, Informative)
So. Mark can't go and work on a Google OS.
But I doubt that is what Google wants to do anyway. What would they enter a crowded market and compete with all the Linux distros out there? It doesn't really fit with their portfolio.
Instead, I suspect that Mark will be working on new and improved web apps at Google. Great news for Google, and great news for Linux users. But some of the speculation is, I think, overblown.
He has a very key point about shipping software (Score:1, Informative)
Now, let us suppose that Microsoft releases MSIE 7 tomorrow with support for the max-length attribute. How long will it be before I can safely write a web page with "max-length" in the CSS? At least three years. To be safe, I should wait five years.
Why do I say this? IE6 was released about three years ago. A little over 4% of the web surfers out there are still using IE5. That's too many users for me to ignore in my web page's CSS.
Re:Non-competes non-enforceable in California (Score:5, Informative)
Re:The Bullet (Score:5, Informative)
I was reading "Showstopper!", the story of the creation of NT, a few weeks ago. It looks like Lucovsky was one of the original seven engineers that followed Cutler to Microsoft from Digital.
According to the book there was a standoff on their first day, as they all refused to sign the employment contract because it contained a 'paragraph 10' that specified that on leaving Microsoft they would not be allowed to work at a competitor for at least a year.
They reasoned that if their contracts with Digital had such a stipulation, then Microsoft could not have hired them away so easily. It only seemed fair that Microsoft could not impose that restriction on them either. In the end Cutler complained, and with the cooperation of Microsoft's lawyers that paragraph was removed from the contracts before they all signed.
That doesn't mean Lucovsky was still working under the same contract in 2004 as he started with in 1989, but its an interesting question.
Re:Blog entry is gone already? (Score:1, Informative)
What? NT is the the server, and workstation line, even today.
Shipping Software (Score:5, Informative)
From the article: "Microsoft is supposed to be the one that 'knows how to ship software,' but you (the end user) are the one doing all the heavy lifting."
A few sentences earlier, he wrote in his blog:
From his blog: "They "shipped it", but it will take years for it to be deployed widely enough for you, the ISV to be able to take advantage of it."
The "you" in that sentence refers to Independent Software Vendors (ISV's) having difficulty taking advantage of the
Re:Non-competes non-enforceable in California (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Former Microsoftie Here (Score:5, Informative)
California [nolo.com]: Note: Covenants not to compete are not enforceable against employees in California. Since a California statute invalidates noncompete agreements except in very limited circumstances, California judges won't enforce a noncompete agreement against an employee. However, California employers can use nonsolicitation agreements and nondisclosure agreements to protect their trade secrets, client lists and employees when an employee leaves. (See Nondisclosure Agreements for an in-depth discussion of nondisclosure agreements.)
And I'm in Arizona. Non-compete. Sigh.
Re:The Bullet (Score:2, Informative)
On the other hand, you missed Lou Perazzoli, Steve Wood, and Chuck Lenzmeier, and Darryl Havens who were more directly responsible for NT's success.