In 1996 I was happily working on large Unix applications when I was approached by Microsoft to join a brand new European arm of the (then famous – apparently) Microsoft US Developer Relations Group as something called a “Technical Evangelist” (Which incidentally caused all sorts of problems when I put that down on a mortgage application form the same year!)
My plan was simple.
- Join for two years.
- Use those two years to “understand the enemy”
- Get insider confirmation of just how sucky Windows really was and how arrogant all those Microsoft folks were.
- Once this was done I could then get back to my beloved Unix for development and Apple Macintosh for design and fun.
Well, after nearly 16 years I have given up looking.
The people are lovely – smart and caring. The technology is competent and some of it is fantastic. Yes I did find some sucky technology and even had to evangelise the merits of some (but even Entity Framework 1.0 blossomed in time) – but overall Microsoft makes great stuff.
I therefore give up 🙂 Mission aborted.
I have decided it is time to leave Microsoft and spend the beginning of 2013 with family before working out what to do next. I’m sure whatever I do it will be fun – and definitely different to the last 16 years 🙂 Oh – and it will be “up north” as I’ve moved from sunny Bath to chilly North Yorkshire. We had snow today!
An enormous thank you to everybody I ever met, presented to, advised, sort advice from, drank with, ate with, slept with (Mike T knows what I mean there). I have been incredibly lucky to have worked with and met so many smart people. I could list them… but I have my tea waiting downstairs…
Take care all
P.S. I’m still working for Microsoft through December…