Windows and Surface Leader Panos Panay Leaving Microsoft

Panos Panay, the chief product officer at Microsoft leading Windows development and the company's Surface line, is leaving Microsoft. From a report: In an announcement on Monday, Microsoft told employees: "After nearly 20 years at the company, Panos Panay has decided to leave Microsoft." Panay first joined Microsoft in 2004 as a group program manager. After overseeing the company's Surface line, Panay became the company's chief product officer in 2018, where he led the development of Windows 11.

"where he led the development of Windows 11."

[derplord]

I wish he had left 10 years ago, seeing what a pile of dogshit W11 turned out to be.

Re:"where he led the development of Windows 11."

[MightyMartian]

Hey, Windows 11 had one benefit. It finally pushed me off Windows completely, at least on my own equipment (still have to use an RDP connection for work). All my own computers are either Linux or MacOS. I have no intention of ever going back to windows, and after the sheer misery of having to try to set up a Windows 11 notebook a few weeks ago that wouldn't try to connect to or create a Microsoft account, it just reminded me of how fucking awful in every way Windows has become.

Re:

[keltor]

I only use Windows to play video games and it just doesn't seem all that bad other than having to disable Teams and Widgets. Honestly it seems much like the whining about Windows 8/8.1/10.

Re:

[thegarbz]

I wish he had left 10 years ago, seeing what a pile of dogshit W11 turned out to be.

He had no say in Windows 11. He headed the Surface department, and just happened to inherit the Windows department in a corporate reshuffle in 2021, the same year Windows 11 came out.

Now Windows 365, that you can blame on him.

What is the "Surface line"?

[Misagon]

Is it table-form factor PCs?
Is it tablet-form factor PCs?
Is it laptops?
Is it a line of desktop PC peripherals?

What is a "Surface keyboard"? A keyboard for a table-PC, a tablet-PC or a desktop PC?
What is a "Surface mouse"?" A tracking surface? A puck for the surface of the table PC? A mouse with a touch-sensitive surface?

Microsoft's products are in practice ungoogle-able ("unbingable").
He can't have led a product line that isn't something ... /end rant

Re:

[thegarbz]

Dude it's a brand, a complete product line, not a single product.

Microsoft's products are in practice ungoogle-able

Type "Surface" into Google and the first link leads to Microsoft's page on their product line including the 2-in-1s, Laptops, Studio, and accessories. Mcirosoft's products are definitely Googleable, but it's up to the user to actually click a link, at least until Musk's neural interface is finished.

Good

[CEC-P]

Windows 11 is trash so good riddance. Hopefully he's the one who decided on this "Microsoft Entra" bullshit too. It is actually impossible to learn and get certified on anything Microsoft Office or other common services related because they drastically change its name and how it works more often than every 2 years.

What?

[ledow]

Windows 11 and the stupendously over-priced and under-powered Surfaces were both the same guy?

Good riddance!

Re:

[thegarbz]

Windows 11 and the stupendously over-priced and under-powered Surfaces were both the same guy?

No. He was Mr Surface. He inherited Windows 11 during a corporate reshuffle. The entire extent of his contribution to Windows 11 was to change the version number and release it literally just a couple of months after he took over.

Re:

[ledow]

You mean the version number that wasn't going to change again?

Re:

[thegarbz]

You mean the version number that wasn't going to change again?

Yes. The version number didn't change under the direction and leadership of the person who made that announcement. If you think any declaration by any company is valid for any duration longer than the position held by the person who made the decision then I have a bridge to sell you. But act now, this offer is only on the table until I get another job.

Re:

[ledow]

Yes, I expect a huge multi-national company that tells its customers something repeatedly, exhaustively, publicly and from multiple employees and departments to honour that, not change everything because one of their own decided they'd like a different job next week.

I mean, call me strange, but I shouldn't have to keep up with who was currently in a given position at a company in order to determine whether their press releases to paying customers were a lie or not.

Re:

[thegarbz]

Yes, I expect a huge multi-national company that tells its customers something repeatedly

That's on you and your misunderstanding. A multi-national corporation is not a fixed behemoth. It's a company following a strategy determined by the leaders. Expecting any strategy to remain as leaders change is just outright silly. Even sillier when talking about some stupid marketing term like "last version of windows".

When was the last time you bought playing cards from Nintendo? Or called Amazon a "book store"? Did you send mail via American Express? I hope you don't rely on hp to still sell you audio c

Oh boy

[RitchCraft]

"where he led the development of Windows 11" - I wonder which company he'll end up at to screw their products up as well. Seems to be the "in" thing with tech companies now.

Listen, Buddy, Windows 11 isn't doing so well.

[laxr5rs]

"We're going to have to send you home with your hundreds of millions of dollars and you can sulk."