J Allard
| J Allard | |
|---|---|
| Born | James Allard January 12, 1969 (age 44) Glens Falls, New York |
| Known for | former Microsoft executive |
J Allard (born James Allard, on January 12, 1969, in Glens Falls, New York)[1] was "Chief Experience Officer" and Chief Technology Officer for the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. He also oversaw Microsoft's first foray into the video game industry, the Xbox, and he is also known to have contributed to the first edition of the specification for the Windows Sockets API, with assistance from many others.
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Education [edit]
Allard is a 1991 Boston University graduate with a bachelor's degree in computer science, and he received an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Letters) from Boston University at the 2009 Boston University Commencement Ceremony.[2]
Microsoft [edit]
The former Chief Experience Officer is known for his historic 1994 memo, "Windows: The Next Killer Application on the Internet",[3] about the coming rise of the Internet. The memo, distributed to Microsoft leaders, reshaped the company's direction. According to an internal email, Allard was a network engineer responsible for convincing Microsoft to ship TCP/IP in Windows 95.
Zune [edit]
When Bryan Lee stepped down in 2007 from his post as Zune Executive in charge of business development, Allard took over as the new executive.[4] Allard oversaw development of the Microsoft Zune, a handheld portable media device, initially seen by some media as a potential iPod rival.[5] Allard has notably signed several artists as part of a broad Zune marketing campaign by Microsoft, which included heavy promotion during Seattle's Bumbershoot festival in 2006. Zune is also available on Xbox 360 Xbox live for video and movie streaming.
Kin [edit]
The Microsoft Kin phone project, first known by the codename 'Project Pink', began under Allard in 2008. The project cost Microsoft US$1 billion and was discontinued on June 30, 2010 due to poor sales.[6][7]
Courier [edit]
Allard headed up the team at Microsoft that created the two-screen tablet prototype called Courier. His vision for Microsoft's tablet future lost out to Steven Sinofsky's Windows 8-on-a-tablet vision. Shortly after Steve Ballmer's decision to cancel development of the Courier, Allard and his boss Robbie Bach (then President of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division) left Microsoft, though both said their decisions to leave were unrelated to the Courier cancellation.[8]
Retirement [edit]
On May 25, 2010, Allard, along with Robbie Bach left Microsoft. Allard will remain a direct advisor to Steve Ballmer on product incubation and User Experience design.[9]
Upon announcing his retirement, Allard wrote an internal email named "Decide. Change. Reinvent." to Microsoft employees discussing his career history at Microsoft and attempting to instill inspiration to a group of employees at Microsoft named "The Tribe." According to Allard, "The Tribe" is "a group of people diverse in perspective, similar in skills and completely, totally galvanized around one central purpose. Change." [10]
Before leaving Microsoft, Allard became a director of The Clymb, a flash sale site featuring outdoor products. In June 2011, The Clymb raised $2 million from a handful of angel investors, including Allard.[11]
References [edit]
- ^ "J Allard". BusinessWeek Online. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
- ^ "BU Commencement 2009 - Speakers and Honorees - J Allard". Boston University. 2009-05-01. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
- ^ "Leaders of The Pack". Newsweek International. April 25, 2005. p. 41. ISSN 01637053.
- ^ "One Zune exec out; J Allard takes over the program". Retrieved 2007-10-15.
- ^ "J Allard: Corporate Vice President, Design and Development, Entertainment and Devices Division". Microsoft. 2006-10-06. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
- ^ Eric Zeman (8 July 2010). "Does It Matter How Many Kins Microsoft Sold?". InformationWeek.
- ^ "Microsoft Kills Kin". Gizmodo. 30 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
- ^ "The inside story of how Microsoft killed its Courier tablet". CNet. 2011-11-01.
- ^ http://kotaku.com/5547283/father-of-the-xbox-head-of-gadgets-and-fun-leave-microsoft-%5Bupdate%5D?skyline=true&s=i
- ^ "“If you want to change the world with technology…” - The Official Microsoft Blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs". 25 May 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- ^ http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20128045-75/how-windows-8-kod-the-innovative-courier-tablet/
External links [edit]
- Xbox Live Gamercard (login required)
- E3 2005 speech
- Interview about Zune
- Halo 3 game history
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