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For example, he says at the company everyone knows what a developer does and what a product manager does. But those roles need an overhaul, and that’s what he meant in his memo when he said “nothing is off the table.”

“Satya Nadella: This Is How I’m Really Going To Change Microsoft’s Culture” via BusinessInsider

I saw the role of the Program Manager change only slightly in my ten years at Microsoft. The explicit separation of the Program Manager’s responsibilities from the non-code side of the business – marketing, business development, KPI’s, etc. – made it such that you could get really good at designing a UX interface but have no idea if customers liked it (or really needed it in the first place). Not every team or individual PM had such clear separations, but it was definitely less than common. 

I’m still in a bit of the honeymoon phase of working for a tiny startup where everyone’s roles are naturally wider (due to the work vs. resource balance). Yet my short time here has convinced me that for the PM role to evolve at Microsoft, it absolutely must move more towards a Product *Management*-style discipline, one driven by metrics, KPI’s, and customer-driven development. This was happening on my last team where we were building Mail, Calendar, and People on Office 365, and I hope that the style of work we were beginning to embrace (more agile, metrics- and customer-driven development) continues to spread.

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Awesome to see Office Online getting the branding, unification, and ease of access it sorely needed. 

Microsoft launches new Office Online

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parislemon:

The honeymoon is on. Microsoft finally announced a new CEO yesterday: Satya Nadella. And the blogosphere seemingly could not be more pleased.

And I have to admit, reading all the coverage, Nadella sounds like the right choice. He knows Microsoft. He was leading the one…

This is basically exactly how I feel (minus the fact that I still use a lot of MS services and devices):

“Look, I’m rooting for Microsoft. I know that given the devices I prefer and where I work, this will sound disingenuous. But I mean it. Microsoft was once the tech company I admired above all others. And if nothing else, I firmly believe that a strong Microsoft only helps push the entire ecosystem forward, faster. Competition is not only good, it’s vital. And no company will be more competitive than a strong Microsoft. Any way you slice it, that would be a huge win for us, the consumers.”

The Abbreviated Honeymoon Of The New Microsoft CEO

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All three brands were seen as innovative by consumers, so what sets Microsoft apart? While Apple and Samsung battle it out to reign supreme with the coveted Millennial generation, Microsoft has quietly stolen the consumer technology crown by becoming more trusted and essential across multiple generations. The very ubiquity that perhaps renders it uncool turns out to also be its strength.

“Forrester: Microsoft is beating Apple and Samsung in the battle for consumer mindshare” via TheNextWeb

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I’ve recently made the switch to Android (after using iOS for a year, prior to that i was on WP), and articles like this remind me of how many things I really loved about the WP OS. Miss me some live tiles…

Microsoft claims to have seen “record sales of Windows Phone this holiday” – Neowin