Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : MSFT Internet Explorer vs. NSCP Navigator -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: rudedog who wrote (23378)	5/31/1999 5:38:00 PM
From: Thure Meyer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 24154

>> I wonder if Rick Rashid will take over as CTO. << You bring up an overlooked issue, namely the R&D spending and what MS has to show for it. Is it 3 billion/year? What do they focus on anyway; it seems that they don't lead in anything and yet they have other good people as well. E.g., I believe Usama Fayyad is a MS fellow and maybe its through his efforts that the MS OLAP and data mining efforts are finally taking off. I haven't paid much attention to MS research, maybe I should. I think its difficult for any new results to be worked into their current product set. If you have some insight as to what they do maybe you can send me some URL's. Thure

To: rudedog who wrote (23378)	5/31/1999 6:04:00 PM
From: Thure Meyer	Respond to of 24154

Rudedog, you were right. Here is a "corrected" story ... Rashid will manage basic research. >> Monday May 31, 5:40 pm Eastern Time Microsoft technology chief to take one-year leave (In SEATTLE story headlined ''Microsoft technology chief to take one-year leave'' please read in first paragraph ... denied on Monday ... instead of ... denied on Sunday ... (correcting time element). A corrected story follows. SEATTLE, May 31 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) Chief Technology Officer Nathan Myhrvold denied on Monday a report that he was being forced out but said he will begin a one-year leave of absence from the software giant on July 1. Myhrvold took issue with a Time magazine report in its issue dated June 7 that he was forced out by Microsoft President Steve Ballmer. ''I have not seen the Time story myself, but from what I have heard, it is completely, utterly without any basis in truth,'' Myhrvold told Reuters on Sunday in a telephone interview. ''Steve Ballmer did not force me out in any way. This is something I've been thinking about for some time. I worked it out with Bill Gates (Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer) and Bill was pushing me to stay, not go,'' Myhrvold said. Time cited sources inside and outside of Microsoft saying Ballmer had ousted Myhrvold. The weekly cited one Microsoft source as saying that Myhrvold was out of the office pursuing hobbies like car racing, paleontology and gourmet cooking more than he was in the office heading the $3 billion research department. ''If only that were the case, then I wouldn't need to take time off. But anyone who wants to look at my schedule will see that that's not true,'' Myhrvold said. Rick Rashid, vice president of research, will manage basic research activities at Microsoft, the company said in a release. Myhrvold, 39, said he will return to his current job in July 2000. During his leave, he will act as a consultant for Gates, tend to personal investments and spend time with his family, as well as joining a hunt for dinosaur fossils in eastern Montana this summer. ''Nathan has been an invaluable contributor to Microsoft, the technology industry and to me personally over the past 13 years,'' Gates said in a statement. ''Frankly, I would rather he continue his work at Microsoft, but I support his decision to take a much needed break and explore his passion for science.'' << Thure

To: rudedog who wrote (23378)	5/31/1999 9:20:00 PM
From: Bearded One	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24154

I was always amazed that MSFT would have gotten someone of Rashid's talent and then failed to get him more deeply involved in their own OS architecture. Microsoft has a bit of a reputation as a talent-sink with regards to their hiring of academics. 'Does it sell more copies of Windows and Office X, and hurt Oracle/IBM/Sybase/...' is not the type of question most academics are used to answering quickly or focusing on. More to the point, what's come out of Microsoft Research recently?