09.23.10
Key Microsoft Figure (Internet Explorer Platform Architect) Quits Microsoft, Joins Google
“The iceberg suspected of having sunk the RMS Titanic. Contains the infamous “red smear” and was found in the same vicinity as many bodies and debris from the ship. They do not know how big it was.” –Wikipedia
Summary: A 15-year Microsoft veteran who is a public face of Internet Explorer and Microsoft at the W3C is quitting Microsoft before IE9 is tactlessly released (only to Vista 7 SP1 users)
GOOD NEWS, bad news. It’s a famous phrase which seems to fit here because Chris Wilson, whom we criticised in many posts such as [1, 2], abandons the sinking ship; the problem is that he’s joining Google (which picks up a disturbing amount of Microsoft employees).
Chris Wilson, the man who once was the IE Platform Architect at Microsoft and has been working for the company for the last 15 years, announced that he will be joining Google in November.
Wilson said he is taking a month off and then will be joining Google as a Developer Advocate, working out of Google’s Fremont, Washington, offices.
This is also covered in:
- Long-time ‘Microsoft Web guy’ moves to Google in Fremont
- IE captain flees Microsoft for Google
- Microsoft IE vet heads to Google Fremont
This must be a major blow to the Internet Explorer team, whose next release will only work with Vista 7 SP1 (huge mistake). As our reader ThistleWeb put it today, “Microsoft [is] forcing customers to spend more money yet again, what a surprise…”
Wilson’s departure may indicate that he too does not see a bright future for Internet Explorer. Without Internet Explorer, Microsoft will continue to lose control in an era of the World Wide Web. Microsoft loses many billions of dollars on the Web. █
