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Microsoft Operating Systems Software Windows Input Devices

Microsoft Hires GUI 'Design Guru' 246

Posted by Zonk from the less-shiny-more-sense dept.
overpayd writes "ZDnet is reporting that Microsoft has hired 'user interface guru' Bill Buxton to work as a senior researcher. Will this move help focus the design teams for Vista, Office, etc? From the article: 'My sense is that Microsoft is in transition from an engineering-led company to as much a design-led company ... There are more designers at Microsoft on any single team as there were, not too long ago, in the entire company. It's a wonderful change.'"
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Microsoft Hires GUI 'Design Guru' More

Microsoft Hires GUI 'Design Guru'

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  • bad slashdot! (Score:5, Informative)

    by Coneasfast ( 690509 ) on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @02:09PM (#14301105)
    title: Microsoft Hires GUI 'Design Guru'

    slashdot misleads again.
    he is not a GUI design guru, he is a human-machine interaction guru.
    this article has no direct relation to GUIs.

    i can handle the dupes, but it's very bad practice to post misleading information
    (hint to Zonk: READ the article before posting).

    • Re:bad slashdot! (Score:5, Funny)

      by BushCheney08 ( 917605 ) on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @02:22PM (#14301295)
      ...he is a human-machine interaction guru.

      So he's an expert in robosex, eh?

    • Re:bad slashdot! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by donutello ( 88309 ) on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @02:25PM (#14301354) Homepage
      Further, his own page, which was linked to from the article, states that he will be working at Microsoft Research. It doesn't take much thought to conclude that it's very unlikely that someone who just got hired at Microsoft Research would have a significant, if any, impact on Vista and Office 12 which are already in Beta.

      Please put some thought into article summaries.
      • it's very unlikely that someone who just got hired at Microsoft Research would have a significant, if any, impact on Vista and Office 12 which are already in Beta.

        That's what I was thinking. Who hires the designer when you're in Beta? It would however be the right time to hire someone for the next version of the OS or Office suite.

        Then again, maybe they have something else in mind, like something in the dgital hub arena.
      • Furthermore, if they wanted immediate impact, they wouldn't have put him in the research department, but one level below Gates or so, to make clear that he's the man who has the say, and everyone must listen.

      • Re:bad slashdot! (Score:5, Funny)

        by R3d M3rcury ( 871886 ) on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @03:10PM (#14302037) Journal
        "[...] his own page, which was linked to from the article, states that he will be working at Microsoft Research."

        Well, then, Mr. Buxton, let me be the first person to welcome you to Apple.

        (Sorry. Couldn't resist.)
      • "Further, his own page, which was linked to from the article, states that he will be working at Microsoft Research."

        Quick, someone find 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino California using Google Earth and we might be able to see this guy's new office! :)

    • he is not a GUI design guru, he is a human-machine interaction guru.
      I'm sure he'll spend most of his time designing haptic joystick control for Excel and Access.

    • bad slashdotter (Score:5, Insightful)

      by flithm ( 756019 ) on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @02:39PM (#14301537) Homepage
      As someone who has personally seen Bill Buxton speak, and also as someone who has had HCI (Human Computer Interaction as the field is actually called) training, I can say that for once the Zonk is not totally wrong.

      I agree he should have read the article before posting, but it's also not correct to say he has no direct relation to GUIs. He speaks very much of design and how to make proper GUIs. In fact he actually teaches design at his university.

      A big part of HCI is GUI design. How could it not be? After all how do most humans interact with computers?

      To quote Bill Buxton:

      "Not only should you get the design right, but more importantly, you should get the right design."

      He is most certainly a guru of design, and that includes GUI.
      • He speaks very much of design and how to make proper GUIs. In fact he actually teaches design at his university.

        To quote Bill Buxton:
        "Not only should you get the design right, but more importantly, you should get the right design."

        Apparently he also speaks very much of clichés...

        • Re:bad slashdotter (Score:3, Insightful)

          by Afrosheen ( 42464 )
          Sounds like a genius to me. Anyone that slings lame cliches like that around the corporate world sound like gurus to the great unwashed. For example, pretend I'm an interior designer and I'm looking around your house.

          "It's now how the drapes are hung, it's why the drapes are hung."

          That will prompt an OOOoooohhh from you and then bam, I'm an instant design genius and before you know it I'll have your house full of fushia Keith Haring prints and leopard skin throw rugs, laughing to myself at y
          • Sounds like a Miss Hazelstone [amazon.com] moment....

            Well worth a read, if you like to embarrass yourself by bursting out in uncontrollable laughter on a train/bus/whatever. And no, it's not an affiliate link or anything like that :-)

            Simon
      • After all how do most humans interact with computers?
        I don't know about you, but I usually talk to mine [macliberals.com]
      • "Not only should you get the design right, but more importantly, you should get the right design."

        This is visionary? Sounds an awful lot like verification and validation to me.

        Having worked in QA for 12 years, I would say that by today's software standards, that is visionary to some degree.

    • Re:bad slashdot! (Score:2, Insightful)

      by sandy151278 ( 756705 )
      ever wondered that the only reason why MS product are so popular are because of the way they've gone about mastering Human Computer Interaction, its not like *nix with a gooey too complex and comprehensible by 0.1% (geeks) of the human on the planet and hence fails to pick up. This is another step in the right direction, kudos microsoft!
      • And if the rest of the population forms sentences like you do, then you can keep not using Linux. We don't need *nix users' reputations being tarnished by horribly structured writing such as yours.

    • Yes, I was going to post the ubiquitous "Nothing to see here, move along..."

      First, I doubt (hope) that there is not much that will be done to Longhorn's interface at this point. They have already done away with the the only reason that I have heard of to upgrade, WinFS.

      Second, I have done a human-machine interaction stuff, and I think it is akin to interior decorating as compared to being an architect. Interior design is something that looks nice, but its fluff beyond that. Find me a remote control that

      • Re:bad slashdot! (Score:4, Interesting)

        by covertbadger ( 513774 ) on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @03:46PM (#14302557)
        Wow, you really have no idea what HCI is, do you? I'm a straight up coder, and even I know that HCI isn't analogous to 'interior design'. HCI is supposed to cover all the ways that you interact with your computer - keyboard shortcuts (and yes, that includes the idea of having the cut/copy/paste keys right next to each other - that happens *because* of HCI work, not in spite of it), muscle memory, principle of least surprise, hotspots (e.g. it's easier to move your cursor to one of the four corners of the screen than it is to any other location) and so on. About the only 'interior design' that shows up is stuff like not having green text on a red background, or anything else that makes your eyes bleed.
        • I'm a straight up coder, and even I know that HCI isn't analogous to 'interior design'.

          True, I don't know where that horrible analogy come from. Analogies always suck, and become the focus of discussion rather than the topic. Analogies are analogous to metaphors, maybe.

          HCI is supposed to cover all the ways that you interact with your computer - keyboard shortcuts (and yes, that includes the idea of having the cut/copy/paste keys right next to each other - that happens *because* of HCI work, not in spite o

          • Re:bad slashdot! (Score:2, Informative)

            by covertbadger ( 513774 )
            No, it was not because of HCI work. No more than MII work (musical instrument interaction). Musicians have flexible equipment that is designed by musicians not MIIs. They have some of the most ergonomic devices, and I have never studied those in any ergonomics class. Musicians have to be able to play their equipment quickly and easily. A few milliseconds of stutter screws up the whole thing. Failure is not an option.

            You've wandered away from the point. The use of the XCV keys for cut/copy/paste is an exampl

      • Re:bad slashdot! (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Hognoxious ( 631665 )
        Second, I have done a human-machine interaction stuff, and I think it is akin to interior decorating as compared to being an architect.
        I bet you think skins are cool. Seriously, perhaps you should go back and do it again. Properly.

  • not sure what they'll do with Burton (Score:5, Insightful)

    by yagu ( 721525 ) * <yayagu@gmailDALI.com minus painter> on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @02:09PM (#14301111) Journal

    Okay, I'm done reading about three articles about Bill Buxton. Sounds like a bright and interesting guy.

    Now, the litmus test, which Microsoft repeatedly fails, will be whether Microsoft cares or is willing to listen to this guy and his ideas. In my opinion, Microsoft's hiring of high-profile talents or personalities in the past has been more for:

    • squashing opposing or interesting "other" ideas.
    • presenting themselves to the public as progressive, innovative, and creative

    The last great creative mind I remember at Microsoft was Nathan Myhrvold, and I can't remember any great contributions from him.

    As for Burton's quote about the move and Microsoft:

    My sense is that Microsoft is in transition from an engineering-led company to...a design-led company

    Microsoft always has been and always be a Gates/Ballmer-led company, and that's not about engineering, and that's not about design. Waxing eloquent about his new employer is quaint, but Burton sheds no light on Microsoft's intentions or future directions. If history serves, no changes are in the offing.

    This is news, but it isn't big news, and it isn't very interesting news.

    • Re:not sure what they'll do with Burton (Score:4, Interesting)

      by hey! ( 33014 ) on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @02:23PM (#14301319) Homepage Journal
      Microsoft always has been and always be a Gates/Ballmer-led company, and that's not about engineering, and that's not about design.

      Well, MS is about competing. The means of competing is to let other companies prove the feasibility of something, then copying. MS is also about growth, which is very hard to come by in their traditional business areas.

      Put these together, and it means they're looking for somebody to copy, somebody who has shown how to diversify to produce growth. It turns out that's somebody they've been watching for a long time: Apple.

    • Does it really matter? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Shivetya ( 243324 ) on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @02:30PM (#14301427) Homepage Journal
      Honestly? Because no matter what he does, even if it is the next best thing since sliced bread, the majority of /. posters aren't going to be satisfied as it still is Microsoft.

      Let some other company do it and it will be lauded. Let some other company screw it up and it probably won't get posted or if it does a million bad examples superficially similar to something wrong Microsoft did will be used to excuse it.

      Microsoft may be lead by certain people but most of their products do have that design by committee look. The one thing that makes OSS great can also make it aggravating and that is that a lot of it is created by individuals. Individuals don't always feel a need to compromise and that can lead to true innovation. Fortunately their screw ups are rarely noticed until they have gained name recognition. Multinational corporations don't have that ability anymore.

      Look at this way, at least they are hiring people that are known quantities. From that we can at least deduce what they are trying to do or hope to do.

    • Re:not sure what they'll do with Burton (Score:5, Insightful)

      by mccalli ( 323026 ) on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @02:31PM (#14301433) Homepage
      Microsoft always has been and always be a Gates/Ballmer-led company

      Well, no. Microsoft used to be a Gates-Allen company, and it's arguable as to whether figureheads aside it was actually an Allen-Gates company. It used to be a lot better than it is now too. Sounds hard to believe I know, but in the late eighties some of us were actually rooting for Microsoft, not against.

      Cheers,
      Ian


    • This is news, but it isn't big news, and it isn't very interesting news.

      Maybe, maybe not. Microsoft is facing considerable competition in many areas. Gates is at his best when under threat, and Microsoft has a pretty good track record with hardware. No doubt the success of the elegance of the i* designs has not been lost on Gates, Ballmer, Ozzie, either. Building interesting hardware to enhance the software offerings should help Microsoft maintain its customer base.

    • "Microsoft always has been and always be a Gates/Ballmer-led company, and that's not about engineering, and that's not about design."

      One could hope J Allard takes over the company at some point... Pragmatic, visionary, and picks a pretty decent design when you consider the Xbox360... Perhaps Allard could transition Microsoft into a company that makes quality products that are actually cool*... Maybe he better work on his chair-hurling techniques to ready himself for a management coup. :)

      *and no, I am not

    • If history serves, no changes are in the offing.

      Really. I've seen many things lately which indicate the contrary.

      http://www.baychi.org/calendar/files/harris2005121 3/harris20051213.pdf [baychi.org]

  • Now if only (Score:3, Insightful)

    by scenestar ( 828656 ) on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @02:10PM (#14301114) Homepage Journal
    Someone got this guy to work on a *nix desktop environment.

    For such a powerfull operating system it has a crippled userinterface.

    • Re:Now if only (Score:5, Insightful)

      by tbone1 ( 309237 ) on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @02:14PM (#14301175) Homepage
      • Someone got this guy to work on a *nix desktop environment. For such a powerfull operating system it has a crippled userinterface.

      Oh, I wouldn't say that ... [apple.com]

  • Why hire him now?? Why not before Vista and Office 12 are already in beta? I haven't had a ton of experience with Vista, but my beta verison of the new Office could have used his touch.

    • Re:Why now? (Score:2, Interesting)

      by IAAP ( 937607 )
      Why hire him now??

      Or at all? I've gotten used to MS' menu layout. As a matter of fact, when they change their own menu items between versions, I'm lost. And it really pisses me off!

      I just think that humans are so adaptable that you could do anything and we would learn to deal with it. And if you consider MS' monopoly position, they could put the "File" options under "Help" and that would be the standard.

      • I just think that humans are so adaptable that you could do anything and we would learn to deal with it.
        You're right. If turning the steering wheel left made the car turn right but only when it's in a odd numbered gear, we'd get used to it, wouldn't we?
    • AFAIK, neither Office nor Vista are in public beta.

      • Re:Why now? (Score:4, Informative)

        by WordODD ( 706788 ) on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @02:23PM (#14301320)
        No, they aren't in public beta, but usually by the time they reach that stage all the major design decisions have been long since made. The current CTP of Vista released in early December is probably the 4th or 5th offical release that has more or less had the same GUI so I get the feeling that he won't have much of an impact on that. Office 12 is considered to be pre-beta so its interface may still be up for discussion, however one of the major changes in this version is how menus and toolbars are grouped and arranged, and I doubt he had any input on that. If you haven't seen the release check out some screen shots, it is a radical departure from every previous version.
        • Yep, I've seen them and the new "ribbon" strips.

          I agree, he probably won't have a major impact on the Office 12 UIs. Probably a little too late in the game for that, unless they decide to do some radical changes to the UI.
    • Perhaps MS feels that Vista and Office 12 are 'in the can' so to speak. All that is left for them if bug fixes and tweaks. Buxton is being brought in for Windows Vista+1 (Blackcomb, I think its called).
    • Why hire him now??

      to deny the use of him by the "enemy"...

  • More informative articles about Bill Buxton (Score:5, Informative)

    by eltoyoboyo ( 750015 ) on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @02:11PM (#14301133) Journal
    TFA is remarkably uninformative. Do not bother with it, if it becomes slashdotted.

    This article (PC or people--who's the boss?) [com.com] has an interview with him today.

    Bill Addresses his Microsoft transition on his home page: http://www.billbuxton.com/ [billbuxton.com]

    He is cited in the Wikipedia article about Human-computer interaction. [wikipedia.org]

  • Only makes a difference if... (Score:3)

    by BushCheney08 ( 917605 ) on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @02:13PM (#14301163)
    This is only going to make a difference if they actually listen to his input and implement his suggestions. I'll be surprised to see that happening. It seems that Microsoft has the idea that simply hiring these brilliant people will make a difference. What they don't seem to understand is that they also need to listen to what these people tell them...
  • Bill Buxton is an interesting and insightful guy. If he can stamp his mark on Microsoft software we will all benefit in a great way. His focus is to maximise the overall experience of using technology, not simply focus on creating functionality. Imagine a world where MS stuff is not clunky and obtuse, one where wizards are no more and window focus is not usurped by other applications. Dare I make the parallel: Imagine Apple like interfaces on MS platforms. Design in technology AND experience. That wo
  • I thought good "computer-human interaction" has always been the main attraction of Microsoft products... so why is it anything new that they should be leaning towards the design side of things?
    • Oh, right. Good computer human interaction.

      Like being able to click on a filename in tile mode to initiate a rename action, but then having the filename move away from your mouse so when you click again to select the entry point, you deselect the filename.

      Or how the only way to access the tile and cascade window functions of the OS is by right-clicking the taskbar, when half the users out there don't know the difference between right and left click.

      Right, that Microsoft.
      • Or the one that really gets me, which is system-modal dialogues popping up from some other crud program when I'm typing something, stealing the keyboard focus, and then going haywire because some of the characters I typed corresponded to accelerators in the dialogue. Comparing OS X' little icons that bounce up and down at the bottom of the screen when they want attention with that monstrosity is like the difference between arriving at a fine restaurant in a Rolls Royce with a supermodel at your side, and b

  • ...engineering-led company to as much a design-led company...

    Exactly what does this mean? AFAIK, engineering IS designing. So what's the diff? What's he trying to say?

    • Re:Can anyone translate this? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by 2nd Post! ( 213333 ) <gundbear@@@pacbell...net> on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @02:22PM (#14301306) Homepage
      As far as I can tell, engineering is trying to create a solution for a problem.
      Design, on the other hand, extends engineering by trying to figure out the problem first.

      For things like bridges, the problem is fairly self evident: There is a gap or chasm to cross. It is synonymous to design or engineer a bridge.
      Airports, on the other hand, are much tougher problems to tackle. You don't engineer an airport, you design an airport.

      Maybe a better way to put it is: Designers work around the requirements of people. Engineers work around the requirements of the problem.

      If you have a designer involved, the engineers will have already taken into account the requirements of the people. If you don't have a designer around, then the engineers have to fake it and come up with ad hoc solutions to meet the unexpected needs of the people you are trying to help.

      • Thanks - that makes a lot more sense.

      • I disagree. Synthesis of a solution is a synonym for design and it's what engineering is all about. There are many solutions to a problem, the engineer's job is to find one that is optimal. Requirements define the optimality while available technology provides the possible avenues and engineering is all about creating the latter that satisfies the former. When a design feels ass backwards (aka "an engineer must have done it!") it's either poor requirements or bad engineering. Function is Form, if it doesn't
        • It doesn't sound like we disagree in principle. It also sounds like you read Christopher Lloyd Alexander.

          You can have excellent design with no engineering, just as you can have lots of engineering effort without any design. The two are NOT synonymous behaviors, so they have separate words for each behavior.

          If you want to conflate the two behaviors you can, but it isn't the default behavior.

          Designers do not need to be engineers, though engineers need to be designers. The problem space is so large, however, t
          • Think of it this way: Engineering is just Design, except that you have to color within certain lines. As the GPP said, many bad situations are caused by beaurocratic, and even design, limitations imposed on engineers. Other times, it's sometimes budget, etc. But design and Engineering will always be very much intertwined. Design without an engineer and what you have is called a "decorator"
            • Design without an engineer is not at all the same as a decorator.

              Do you need an engineer to arrange a room to be optimal? If you do, you must have a bedroom inside a submarine.

              On the other hand anyone/everyone can 'design' a room. For example some design constraints:
              1) Don't block entrance and exit paths with furniture.
              2) Imagine walking through the room in the dark and place furniture to not stub toes and shins
              3) Imagine walking through the room during a power outage and place furniture appropriately, espe
    • Typically, egineering led implies the underpinnings were designed to accomplish the goals, then an interface was created to provide/relay the needed information. (Think Photoshop)

      Design led implies that The UI was designed first and then the underpinnings needed were put in. (Think MacOS)

      Neither is better or worse than the other, both have led to some good and bad systems, though I lean towards design led as engineers tend to think along what's know, whereas designer's are usually ignorant of whats possib

    • Exactly what does this mean?

      The Designer figures out what needs to be done (design specifications), the Engineer figures out how to make it happen.

      At least that's how I see the distinction.
    • I think of engineering as consisting of both analysis and synthesis, and design is "synthesis guided by analysis."

      Buxton's use of "design" as an alternative to "engineering" is a bit odd, unless he was mis-quoted or partially quoted But perhaps he meant specifically HCI design, at which engineers are sterotypically weak.

  • Design focus (Score:4, Funny)

    by Council ( 514577 ) <rmunroe.gmail@com> on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @02:17PM (#14301234) Homepage
    'My sense is that Microsoft is in transition from an engineering-led company to as much a design-led company'

    Good. Now that they've got the engineering programs solved, having created what everyone agrees is the most solid and bug-free operating system on the market, they can start trying to catch up to Linux in ease-of-use and UI flashiness.
    • My question:
      When did they become an engineering lead firm? I always thought the engineers took second place to profits and business leaders?
      • Yeah, honestly a quick look at their budget will tell you that Microsoft isn't really a software company at all, they are a marketing company. They spend only a fraction on software. Whereas they spend huge amounts on marketing.
  • 'My sense is that... There are more designers at Microsoft on any single team as there were, not too long ago, in the entire company." - Martin LaMonica

    "And the answer to the question inside this envelope is 'Transit Strike'"

    ** rip **

    "Why are ZDNet relying on second-string writer monkey rejects today?"

  • a little late? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by joemawlma ( 897746 ) on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @02:18PM (#14301243)
    Shouldn't they have hired this guy BEFORE completing and releasing all those betas of Vista?
    • No. It may be that he has been hired to direct the OS after Vista. Vista is pretty much finished, besides squashing remaining bugs and some tweaks. Blackcomb (Vista + 1) is the next big project and Buxton is getting in on the ground floor for that release.
  • If you're just a casual Free Software programmer, are there some good resources for getting some of that "Design Goodness" in you?

    I do think we've been a bit long on the architecture, and not so much the design.

    I'm obviously not going to become a good designer overnight, but is there something that I should be reading, or looking at?

    • Some suggestions: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by blueZ3 ( 744446 )
      Alan Cooper's "The Inmates are Running the Asyulum" and "About Face" books are good overviews of designing for user needs rather than against system internals. (I used to work for Alan).

      Donald Norma's "Design of Everyday Things" is an excellent book that will give you a new way of looking at problems. DOET is about non-software (doors, tekettles, etc.) but once you've read it, you will never look at the design of things in quite the same way.

      These books aren't step-by-step directions on how to achieve good
  • As I recall, when John Romero started Ion Storm it was out of the sense that id Software was dominated by technologists/engineers and not by designers. He wanted Ion Storm to be a place where "Design Is Law", then burned through some serious venture capital cash before coughing up Daikatana. The rest, as the saying goes, is history... and so was Ion Storm.

    I don't know if Microsoft products need better GUI people as much as architect and security people.
  • First they'd have to transform from being a monopoly marketing led company into being a customer-and-public-interest led company, then transform into being an engineering led company, before they could transform into being a design led company.

    That would require them to somehow no longer be Microsoft as we know it in any way whatsoever.

  • Design (Score:3, Insightful)

    by maxume ( 22995 ) on Tuesday December 20, 2005 @02:58PM (#14301880)
    My sense is that Microsoft is in transition from an engineering-led company to as much a design-led company ... There are more designers at Microsoft on any single team as there were, not too long ago, in the entire company. It's a wonderful change.

    I am growing increasingly weary of this attitude. Design is just as much an aspect of engineering as engineering is an aspect of design. A bunch of designers going willy-nilly with no handle on engineering is just as bad as a bunch of engineers doing the same thing to design. Human factors indeed.

    • I am growing increasingly weary of this attitude. Design is just as much an aspect of engineering as engineering is an aspect of design. A bunch of designers going willy-nilly with no handle on engineering is just as bad as a bunch of engineers doing the same thing to design.

      Design sells.

      CRT TVs and monitors are starting to look like something from the 50s.

      I can't tell you how many of the newly designed Mustangs are in the parking lot, and a few of the classic ones. The ones from '79 or so though much of t

  • hmm.. (Score:2, Insightful)

    by naelurec ( 552384 )
    'My sense is that Microsoft is in transition from an engineering-led company to as much a design-led company ...'

    My sense is that Microsoft was a Marketing company and is still a Marketing company .. the only difference is the Marketing department realized that XP was "good enough" and they needed to revamp the interfaces so people would upgrade.
  • They always have been. It's not about the product. That doesn't matter, not really. It's about the marketing, and keeping the users coming back by making them "need" you.
  • Sometimes I get this feeling that Microsoft is a bit like the New York Yankees. Somehow the whole is less than the sum of its parts. For as much high level talent as they attract, you'd figure that they would be able to do revolutionary things.
  • I was once at a party with Buxton. We were both jammed in a corner but when he found out I was a mere programmer he immediately turned his back to me (basically snubbing me). Fine with me - I thought he wasn't so brilliant anyway.

    Guess, what Bill - you might learn something by talking to us mortals.

    Welcome to him, Microsoft.

  • Let's see if we can come up with a list of those "gurus" lost to the industry by assimilation into the Bellevue Hole. Here are the ones I know or know of:
    • Gordon Bell - long-time industry visionary, one-time VP of R&D for DEC.
    • Jim Blinn - Remember those great CGI animations of the Voyager missions to the outer planets? That Jim Blinn
    • Bill Buxton
    • Luca Cardelli - Object-Oriented language theorist.
    • Ward Cunningham - Invented the Wiki. A pioneer of Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
    • Tony Hoare - Concur
  • Microsoft is changing from engineer led company (Gates was an engineer) to a salesperson lead company (Ballmer is a salesperson). Flying pigs will freeze in hell before this new guy changes anything.
  • This guy has too many patents to be honest.
    Ref. [billbuxton.com]
  • Engineering??? Design???

    Naw.... it has been from the beginning and always will be..... MS is led by Marketing!!!!

  • Interestingly, this uber interface guru's own website [billbuxton.com] both looks horrible and is utterly unreadballe in anything less than 1024x768 resolution and it fails [w3.org] even the most basic W3 HTML quality assurance evaluation with 17 errors.

    I'm not generally one to be dick about these kinds of things or so nit-picky, but if you're hailed as a major 'UI guru' and have Microsoft hire you and get a fucking mention on the old /. then please have a clue. Incidentally, I was always under the assumption is was important to

  • Microsoft Research already has lots of excellent people working there, including in HCI. But the sad truth is that having good people in research seems to be neither necessary nor sufficient for making a high quality product--Microsoft's products still suck. Even when they have a good product idea, they usually mess it up somehow.

    Apple, in contrast, has hardly any world-class researchers working for them anymore, yet Apple products are consistently better than Microsoft's, in terms of GUI, interaction, an

  • Buxton quote (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ameline ( 771895 ) <ian.ameline@gma i l .com> on Wednesday December 21, 2005 @01:21AM (#14306886) Homepage Journal
    I remember clearly hearing Bill mutter under his breath while wandering the halls of Alias; "I hate computers -- I [expletive deleted] HATE computers -- but I *especially* hate Windows computers!"

    (This was`a number of years ago.)

    Bill was always great to work with -- I hope Microsoft treats him well, and I wish him the best.

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