9 posts and columns on Jim Allchin

Ripples in Microsoft's Cloud as Amitabh Srivastava Leaves

in Enterprise on February 9, 2011 at 10:51 am PT

One of the few to carry the title Distinguished Engineer, he’s credited with getting Windows development back on track, then creating its cloud computing platform.

Bill Gates on iTunes in 2003: “Jobs Has Us Flat-Footed Again”

in News on February 11, 2010 at 8:06 am PT

The Comes vs. Microsoft antitrust case is proving to be a gold mine for embarrassing company communiques. First there was former Windows chief Jim Allchin’s 2004 “I would buy a Mac today if I was not working at Microsoft” email exchange with CEO Steve Ballmer. Now comes news of another exchange from 2003 in which Allchin, Bill Gates and a handful of other Microsoft execs react to the the debut of Apple’s iTunes music store.

Hell Braces for Repeat of 2006 "Big Freeze"

in News on August 20, 2008 at 10:00 am PT

In Sept. 1991, Microsoft exec Jim Allchin emailed CEO Bill Gates: “We must slow down Novell. As you said Bill, it has to be dramatic. We need to slaughter Novell before they get stronger.” And in 2001 Microsoft Chief Steve Ballmer likened Linux to “cancer.” Later that year, Gates derided open-source licensing models like the one used by Linux as “Pacman-like.”

Hell Braces for Repeat of 2006 “Big Freeze”

in News on August 20, 2008 at 10:00 am PT

In Sept. 1991, Microsoft exec Jim Allchin emailed CEO Bill Gates: “We must slow down Novell. As you said Bill, it has to be dramatic. We need to slaughter Novell before they get stronger.” And in 2001 Microsoft Chief Steve Ballmer likened Linux to “cancer.” Later that year, Gates derided open-source licensing models like the one used by Linux as “Pacman-like.”

Total Vistaster

in News on June 26, 2008 at 12:01 am PT

“Vista is built for businesses,” Brad Goldberg, Microsoft’s general manager for Windows product management, once said. And that may be so. It’s just not built for Intel’s business. Because the chip maker has decided against upgrading to Vista.

Microsoft Announces "Windows Vista Slightly Cheaper Edition"

in News on February 29, 2008 at 11:00 am PT

Microsoft Announces “Windows Vista Slightly Cheaper Edition”

in News on February 29, 2008 at 11:00 am PT

Vista "Wow" Apparently Did Not Start "Now"

in News on February 29, 2008 at 12:01 am PT

“I am not sure how the company lost sight of what matters to our customers (both business and home) the most, but in my view we lost our way. I think our teams lost sight of what bug-free means, what resilience means, what full scenarios mean, what security means, what performance means, how important current applications are, and really understanding what the most important problems [our] customers face are. I see lots of random features and some great vision, but that doesn’t translate into great products.

Vista “Wow” Apparently Did Not Start “Now”

in News on February 29, 2008 at 12:01 am PT

“I am not sure how the company lost sight of what matters to our customers (both business and home) the most, but in my view we lost our way. I think our teams lost sight of what bug-free means, what resilience means, what full scenarios mean, what security means, what performance means, how important current applications are, and really understanding what the most important problems [our] customers face are. I see lots of random features and some great vision, but that doesn’t translate into great products.