It is appallingly wrong of me to not have written anything in over a year. One of my resolutions is to ameliorate the situation by trying to write at least one thing every month (sorry January). In this post I would like to announce that I have decided to take a position with Microsoft working with the Channel 9 team. I am thrilled at the opportunity to work for such a wonderful company that has defined my career as a developer for the past 10+ years.

Microsoft

My goal working on the Channel 9 team is to keep you informed about why we do things at Microsoft and how each decision is calculated to make your job as a developer easier, more productive, and fun! The key for my success at Microsoft is the interaction I get to have with you. I want to know the questions and concerns you have so they can be addressed. As you know, sometimes the answer will necessarily be “hold on a bit, we have some exciting announcements at X,” or “I don’t quite know the answer,” but rest assured that I want you to be a successful developer with the help of the Microsoft Ecosystem. Look for me at the Microsoft Conferences and Events and feel free to pull me aside to have a discussion. One of my favorite things has always been the interactions I’ve been able to have with fellow developers.

DevExpress

For those who are DevExpress customers, it has been a tremendously rewarding 4 and a half years. Firstly, I want to assure you that this decision was not made because there is anything amiss here at DX: in fact, I think this is a wonderful company full of talented people who will do great things. I couldn’t be more proud of the work that we’ve been able to produce as an Analytics team. We have consistently looked for opportunities to make your life easier when it came to any task dealing with data acquisition, shaping, analysis, and presentation and will continue that proud tradition. We are laser focused as a group when it came to making better tools that work seamlessly with your data (a tradition DevExpress will no doubt continue). While my priorities will change with this new opportunity, I am always happy to listen and respond to comments regarding our work.

Another sad part is saying goodbye to the tremendous folks I have had the privilege of working with here at DevExpress. The owner is one of the best people I have met: he taught me a great deal regarding business and how one should handle themselves as a professional. I have also learned a great deal from our CTO as well as the other Program Managers, developers, and staff. Many of the people you don’t really get to see have been a great inspiration and have taught me the value of a strong work ethic and a keen eye for places where we can improve. Our development office is one of the places I will actually miss the most. I have had the opportunity to advise some of the best developers in the world: I will probably miss them most. They are truly a set of remarkable people.

Moving Forward

I drive up to Redmond in exactly one week and will begin furiously working to get up to speed in order to hit the ground running. In fact, look for me at GDC the first week of March so that we can have a look at how Microsoft is making developing the next stellar game more painless and fun!