Guest troll: Stick a Vic in it, it's done
The defection of Microsoft's platform evangelist Vic Gundotra to Google, days after MS's Google assassin Martin Taylor slunk off, is more than a bad sign. According to Microsoft troll Chris Coulter, it's — well, picture a comically large stack of soup cans in a Disney movie. Now pull one can from the bottom layer. Chris plays war correspondent in this speed-and-liquor-fueled totally sober doomsaying guest post.
It's the calm before the storm. That's dead obvious.
Vic's following Ted Hase, Martin Taylor and Mark Zbikowski. Weird ones there.
And it's been way more than just natural-selection to-and-fro, it's been key people in key positions, I mean, this just adds to all the Kai-Fu Lee, Mark Lucovsky, Adam Bosworths turmoil. Breeding ground for conspiracy theories, but you need not go crazy conspiracy. Just look around at normal happenings...
After the jump, Chris gets insidery.
Another shake-up looming with a rumored heavy RIF, with the WinFS fallout, the Warhol "warporware" and the WGA chaos, with morale low and new stack rank chaos, and Vista slips (with Philip Su telling all), with Dynamics not quite so dynamic, with the stock in a two year hibernation thanks to Gates's long-term pull-out, with the political back-stabbing games anew, with everyone (even Grandma investors) unhappy with Ballmer's leadership or "spend strategy." All the while, Ray Ozzie is dazzled by Web 2.0 pixie-dust and "Web Advertising" revenues, with Craig Mundie playing academia chess-game tiddlywinks.
With Adobe, Symtantec, EU and pretty soon half the world sending more lawyers in. (Bought their way out of the lawsuit hole, only to fall back in). And now with the Walmartty Kevin Turner spit and shine. Office reorg's still sinking in, with all other groups merely treading water. With the chief "blogger" that anyone actually reads being the anonymous Mini-Microsoft. All while Key Evangelists short-sell before the crash.
These tea leaves aren't much hard to read.
Even if you, like me, have no idea what WGA and "heavy RIF" are, hopefully Chris was still able to stir up some vague fear in your heart. [UPDATE: Chris explains some acronyms:]
RIF = Reduction in Force. Meaning, yes, Microsoft layoffs. Gates is no longer the protector for money-losing rat-holes. Mundie and Ozzie Ax of sorts. I hear 7,000 is the target. Mini-Microsoft may get his wish. Yet Ballmer's preaching a hire pitch, so layoffs while hires. Typical. Foot on brake and gas at same time.
WGA = Microsoft anti-piracy thing that morphed spyware. Biggggggggg fallout as it mistakenly reported a big swash of Procter & Gamble clients as being pirated. And some row with the Air Force as it did the same thing there, and they are freaking over the report back procedure something. Supposed to be blanked out for corporate keys, but individuals installed it themselves and it all invaded the network; havoc is an understatement. The inside scoop.
