Shocker: Former Windows Chief Steven Sinofsky to Join Apple; Will Work on a "Re-imagined" MacOS

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In an unexpected move, former Windows chief Steven Sinofsky has brokered a deal with Apple for him and some of his former lieutenants to join Apple. George Grant, Jon DeVaan, Antoine Leblond, and Tami Reller will join Sinofsky in the move to Cupertino.  Sinofsky will be working on the next version of Mac OS.

Tim Cook commented briefly the acquisition of the high profile talent:

“I met Steven at a Yoga class in Palo Alto and we have become great friends ever since.  It turns out we have a lot in common besides yoga.  We had bosses named Steve; we both love secrecy, great taste in sweaters, and support common causes like gay marriage. 

I thought Steven would be a great asset for Apple. Given his experience on Office, I initially asked him to come head the iWork team.  But as our talks progressed, Steven said he had some “super cool” ideas for the Mac OS and wanted to “re-imagine” it.”

The Mac OS operating system of course has stagnated over the last few years with most of the resources being into the iOS operating system.  Usage has held steady around 6%.  The Mac has borrowed a few features from iOS but still does not support touch screen.  If anyone could make a radical change to the Mac OS, Steven Sinofsky could do it.

Steven Sinofsky commented briefly on his move to Cupertino:

“Over the last two years I have gotten to take some time of and do some super cool things.  It has been a great learning experience, but now it is time to get back to work.

Failure is a great way to learn.  And the lessons from Windows 8 will certainly be taken into account when working on the re-imagined touch first Mac OS.  I have the chance to make a meaningful impact to millions of people again”

impact vs pissed off

Box CEO Aaron Levie commented about the announcement.

Aaron Levie Steven Sinofsky Apple

Steven Sinofsky in his classic V-neck sweater.

Sinofsky v neck sweater

Microsoft has not commented at the time of publishing.  But a tweet is expected from Satya Nadella shortly.

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More about the topics: aaron levie, april fools, ios, mac os, satire, steven sinofsky, Tim Cook