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Good News and Sad News - Leaving Microsoft

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The Good News

You might have heard, Visual Studio 2010 is done, launched, and out the door! That’s right, after several short years F# version 1.0 is generally available! While it’s been alive and well in CTP form for many years, now you can go to the store and buy it. This doesn’t just mean that F# is easier to obtain. It marks a significant step in the language’s evolution; by shipping it in a officially supported release F# is a real product and is backed by Microsoft for at least the next decade.

I’m super excited about the release and look forward to F# taking off. It has already far surpassed my expectations in awesomeness, adoption, and excitement. If you are reading this blog then you are probably an F# enthusiast and none of this would have been possible without your support. So really, you should be just as proud as me.

The Sad News

However, for me at least, the excitement and buzz of the Visual Studio 2010 launch will be short lived. Earlier this month I’ve accepted a position at another software company and will be leaving Microsoft. My departure will no doubt raise the average IQ of both companies.

I first started working at Microsoft in 2002 as an intern, and since then I have shipped three versions of Visual Studio, filed a few patents, and even managed to have dinner at Bill Gate’s house. Working at Microsoft has been a fantastic experience and I have nothing but fond memories for my time spent here. However, having worked at Microsoft since before I graduated college I’m eager to try something new. So this Friday I’ll be packing up my belongings and exploring not-necessarily-greener-but-certainly-different pastures.

How will this impact the F# team? Well, without their weakest link I think the team will do just fine.

However, I will still be part of the F# community and you will definitely see a second edition of Programming F# when the time comes.  In fact, next Tuesday 4/20 I’ll be giving a talk: Writing a Java to x86 Compiler in F# at 11:00AM PST. If you have that time free watch it LIVE over LiveMeeting!

Anyways, you should definitely keep an eye on F# as this language will absolutely transform the way we write software on the .NET platform. You can reach me via my new blog https://achrissmith.blogspot.com/.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    April 13, 2010
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    April 13, 2010
    Congrats on the move. I've really enjoyed reading your blog. Hope your time at Google is just as prolific.

  • Anonymous
    April 13, 2010
    Best of luck whatever you do and hope the future is as rewarding as the past. Take care.

  • Anonymous
    April 14, 2010
    Hi Chris, Thank you very much for all the good work you've done at Microsoft, and in the F# team! I wish you the best for your future job. Laurent.

  • Anonymous
    April 14, 2010
    Congratulations to Google on the great new addition! I'm really excited to see what great things you'll do there! Good luck, Chris!

  • Anonymous
    April 16, 2010
    Best wishes and keep up the good work!  And thanks for the work on [i]Programming F#[/i], it was one of the main factors in my conversion to F# fandom.

  • Anonymous
    April 22, 2010
    Congrats. Thanks for your posts up to now on F#. They were great!

  • Anonymous
    May 04, 2010
    hi, wish everything is ok in your feature career,and I have a question about your essay, what does "not-necessarily-greener-but-certainly-different" meaning? :-)