During the All Things Digital conference today, former Windows boss Steven Sinofsky spoke about his life after Microsoft and reflected on his time with Microsoft. Sinofsky left Microsoft back in November of last year.
During the conference, Sinofsky was asked about his take on Windows 8. The question revolved around Windows 8 being a disruption and if Microsoft could have done something different to make the transition easier. “Any time you change a product you introduce that challenge if you have any installed base at all,” Sinofsky explained. Sinofsky added that after a product comes out, you can do more or less based on consumer reaction, claiming that there is “no magic answer” when it comes to this. Sinofsky stated that introducing the new user interface seen in Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 was exciting but also challenging in itself.
Sinofsky was also asked about the Surface device and why Microsoft felt they needed to get into the hardware business. Sinofsky explained that it was necessary for Microsoft to create their own hardware to deliver a great experience. “What you’re seeing in the industry overall is that everyone is in everybody else’s business to some extent,” Sinofsky explains. He adds that thanks to “co-opetition”, every company is trying to deliver the best experience with cloud, hardware, software, and services working together. So it makes sense for Microsoft to be doing the same. “When you sum up all of the parts of the ecosystem… delivering a great experience is about connecting all the different parts,” Sinofsky adds.
Sinofsky has no plans to join Google or Apple and is currently enjoying being in “learning mode.” Hit the source link for the entire interview or just watch the embedded video below!
