Notable Windows and Devices Exec Belfiore To Retire from Microsoft - Redmondmag.com

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Notable Windows and Devices Exec Belfiore To Retire from Microsoft

• By Kurt Mackie
• 10/31/2022

Notable Windows and Devices enforcement Joe Belfior, known for his enactment connected Cortana, Windows Phone and the Edge browser, announced that helium volition soon beryllium retiring.

Belfiore, who presently serves arsenic firm vice president for the Office merchandise group, volition assistance with a modulation play astatine Microsoft passim the summer. He'll discontinue thereafter, according to his announcement connected Twitter.

Belfiore's 32-year Microsoft vocation mostly stayed connected the lawsuit and devices broadside successful assorted firm vice president (CVP) roles, according to his LinkedIn listing. On apical of his Office CVP stint, it included:

• Windows 10 CVP
• Windows Phone CVP
• Entertainment Services CVP
• Microsoft eHome Division CVP
• Windows XP wide manager
• Windows 95, Windows 98, Internet Explorer programme manager and radical programme manager.

Many of Microsoft's astir salient Windows and instrumentality products were introduced to the nationalist by Belfiore implicit the years. Windows Phone whitethorn beryllium the astir memorable. It was 10 years ago erstwhile Belfiore shared the signifier with Terry Myerson, Microsoft's then-Windows Phone firm vice president, to denote that Windows Phone 8 and the Windows 8 desktop operating strategy shared the aforesaid OS core.

Windows Phone and Windows 8 besides featured the aforesaid square-like idiosyncratic interface, which Microsoft called the "Metro" design, with clickable "Live Tiles." It aboriginal evolved into the "new commencement menu" for Windows 10, which Belfiore showed disconnected during the unveiling of Windows 10 backmost successful 2014.

It seemed backmost past that Windows Phone would connection immoderate contention with the already firmly established mobile marketplace dominance of Google Android devices and Apple iPhone devices. Instead, 5 years later, Belfiore obliquely confirmed the decease of Windows Phone successful a Twitter post, and said Microsoft would lend its enactment to different mobile platforms. He foreshadowed the death of Windows Mobile successful a akin way.

Microsoft's Nokia acquisition successful 2014 was portion of the effort to bring Windows Phone into the competition. However, 2 years later, Microsoft sold its stake successful that acquisition to the Hon/Hai Foxconn Technology Group, exiting the telephone device-making business. The Nokia buy, which led to Microsoft fiscal losses, was notably panned by Satya Nadella aft helium took the reigns arsenic Microsoft's existent CEO.

Belfiore introduced Cortana, Microsoft's voice-enabled idiosyncratic assistant, connected Windows Phone 8.1 backmost successful 2014 during a Microsoft Build event. Cortana is inactive disposable for Windows desktop users, though Microsoft ended the Cortana app for Android and iOS past year.

Belfiore besides introduced Microsoft Edge arsenic the company's newest Web browser back successful 2015. It was the alleged "EdgeHTML"-based merchandise backmost then, utilizing Microsoft's motor technology. Microsoft subsequently shifted to using the motor supported by the Chromium Project, initiated by Google and utilized successful Google's Chrome browser. The Edge browser based connected EdgeHTML was ended by Microsoft past year.

Belfiore's departure from Microsoft is simply a status and wasn't a forced decision, according to seasoned Microsoft newsman Mary Jo Foley successful this ZDNet article. His successor volition beryllium Ales Holecek, existent CVP of the Microsoft Office Products Group, according to Foley.