Conversation

Steven Sinofsky
@stevesi
2/ Why was Surface and ARM so important and so exciting to the whole company (as we’ll see)? It had been a tough “decade”. We had huge numbers but lost out on a lot of big new things. We were huge but not “thought leaders” or “relevant” as a platform. It was tough. From post:
People had seen PC numbers declining. People had seen Microsoft lose in mobile, fall behind Linux, and not yet have a role in cloud computing. While the financials the company was putting up were fantastic by any measure, the buzz was gone. More than a buzz, the company wasn’t a leader. The company wasn’t, for lack of a better word, relevant. We all believed, and genuinely hoped, Windows 8 would offer a chance to be the industry leader again, not just the biggest company, but the most relevant company.
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Steven Sinofsky
@stevesi
Note/ A quick note, a few have asked (in jest) about "Hardcore Software". Just a reminder that this is the modern history of the term :-)
HARDCORE SOFTWARE Stop fooling around. It's time to get hardcore about software. With Microsoft. We'll give you all the resources you want. Tens of millions in R&D funding. Along with one of the most elementary tools for thinking- a door, which leads to your own private office. All backed by management that truly does speak your language, because they probably helped write it. We're serious about software design. If you are, too, then apply right now for one of these opportunities. Software Design Engineers We're working on everything from compilers, operating systems, and networking to sophisticated graphics, powerful productivity software and more. You could be, too, if you have programming experience and a background that includes micro's, "C", , 8086, UNIX* /XENIX®, or MS-DOS®. al opportunity employer. And no phone calls, please. If we like what we see, we'll call you. *UNIX is a trademark of AT&T Bell Laboratories. XENIX and MS DOS are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
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Steven Sinofsky
@stevesi
4/ Many people worked on Surface and it was a product of all of Microsoft so keep in mind this was my vantage point. Heavy on strategy and dynamics to get it done.
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Steven Sinofsky
@stevesi
5/ Why do hardware? How to do hardware? What about OEMs? Selecting components like screen size and DPI? Why and how of Touch Cover? Surface Pro and pen?
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