“After 17 years with the company, Jim Allchin retired from Microsoft as of Jan. 30, 2007 – the day on which Microsoft officially released the Windows Vista operating system to consumers,” the Microsoft press release reads.
Allchin was a member of the Senior Leadership Team, responsible for developing Microsoft’s core direction along with Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates. Allchin joined Microsoft in 1990 heading up the company’s networking product strategy and subsequently led the development and marketing efforts for a variety of Microsoft’s Windows operating systems.
In December, during the Iowa antitrust trial, Comes v. Microsoft, Inc., being held in Polk County District Court [Iowa], a 2004 email from Jim Allchin to Steve Balmer and Bill Gates was publicly released in which Allchin said that Microsoft had lost sight of what customers need and that he himself would buy a Mac, if he didn’t work for Microsoft:
I’m 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 does not translate into great products… I would buy a Mac today if I was not working at Microsoft.
Congratulations, Mr. Allchin, you’re now free to get that Apple Mac you’ve wanted for years!
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Windows chief Allchin 2004 email: I’d buy a Mac if I didn’t work for Microsoft – December 11, 2006
Microsoft’s Allchin: Vista won’t need antivirus software – November 10, 2006
Windows chief Allchin: Buy Windows Vista for the security – January 30, 2006
Windows czar Allchin says Apple copying Microsoft’s Windows Longhorn – April 27, 2005