Bill Hill is he staying or going?

In my feed reader today was a post from Bill Hill's blog saying he was leaving Microsoft but on his site the post has gone. It would be a shame if MIcrosoft have lost him.

From the post I have
<Snip>
For some time, I have been preparing by setting up my network and communications. You’ll find me on FaceBook and LinkedIn, as well as on my website and this blog.

As you all know, I’m a Man With A Mission. I have no intention of becoming a beach bum. I always said that I would probably go back to writing, which I did professionally for almost as long as I worked in the software industry...

I saw that too, what a shame if it is true. RSS feeds catch everything

intelman said:

I saw that too, what a shame if it is true. RSS feeds catch everything

well he's been there for a while, perhaps he has other interests and it's time to move on ?

The post is there again - Leaving Microsoft: The Journey Continues....

The Bill Hill videos were always my favorites.

Microsoft should try to keep him, this is a real loss.

Good luck Bill.

Sorry to hear it.

Thought he might have a shot at turning IE's RSS reader into the ultimate multi-column kickass reader.  Something where I think real progress can be made in the short term, instead of waiting for newer standards to make multi-column and fixed layouts on the web itself a thing of the past.

Keep up the good work Bill.  Everytime I look at text on my phone's 240 DPI screen, with ClearType I think awesomeness.

Hello Everyone:

This is Bill Hill; I've created a new Channel 9 identity as a non-Microsoftie -because I like Channel 9 enough to want to still hang out there from time to time. It's one of my favorite places in all of Microsoft.

Yes, it's true, I have left the company. I'm sorry for the RRS feed confusion. Here's what always happens: I write a blog entry in the Blogger edit window - which is a horrible place to proof-read. Then when I post it, I always spot at least one typo. So I take the post down to edit it, and then re-publish it. I might end up doing that several times - maybe I'll spot something I feel I could have said better. You can take the man out of editing, but you can't take the editor out of the man...

So RSS catches the first post, alerts everyone who has a feed, but by the time they get there, it's down.

Thanks to all the many Niners, and many others, who've emailed me with good wishes, now and over the years.

Bill Gates told me a few months ago that I had really made a difference in my time at the company, and I hope that's true. When I arrived at Microsoft in 1995, people thought I was mad when I said we needed to improve reading on screen. "No-one will ever read for any length of time on a screen," they said. "They'll print out anything they want to read."

Fourteen years on, now people spend about 80% of their time at the computer reading. I have the satisfaction of knowing I helped make that happen. Commissioning Verdana as "a font for reading long passages of text on the Internet" was my first big project at Microsoft.

A lot has happened since then, but there's still a long way to go. Internet Explorer 8 now has the foundation it needs to become a really great reading application.- since it has integrated the world-class PTLS engine and adopted standards-based rendering by default.

I've left some thoughts behind, of course...

I'm not sure what my plans are yet. I do need to write a book about all this - which started for me, I guess, in 1985 when I became involved with hypertext (pre-Web, of course).

I'll keep everyone informed as much as I can on my blog. I'm also on FaceBook (and LinkedIn, for more business-type contacts).

As I look towards the future, there's a little sadness. Greg Hitchcock on the ClearType team revealed that he's a software engineer with the soul of a poet (for the first time in the 14 years I've known him). He wrote me a mail that ended:

"A tear falling on a dirty mark on a piece of shredded tree leaves a blur. A tear falling on an LCD screen leaves a rainbow". I gasped at the beauty of that.

Thanks for being so great, Niners!

billhill49 said:

Hello Everyone:

This is Bill Hill; I've created a new Channel 9 identity as a non-Microsoftie -because I like Channel 9 enough to want to still hang out there from time to time. It's one of my favorite places in all of Microsoft.

Yes, it's true, I have left the company. I'm sorry for the RRS feed confusion. Here's what always happens: I write a blog entry in the Blogger edit window - which is a horrible place to proof-read. Then when I post it, I always spot at least one typo. So I take the post down to edit it, and then re-publish it. I might end up doing that several times - maybe I'll spot something I feel I could have said better. You can take the man out of editing, but you can't take the editor out of the man...

So RSS catches the first post, alerts everyone who has a feed, but by the time they get there, it's down.

Thanks to all the many Niners, and many others, who've emailed me with good wishes, now and over the years.

Bill Gates told me a few months ago that I had really made a difference in my time at the company, and I hope that's true. When I arrived at Microsoft in 1995, people thought I was mad when I said we needed to improve reading on screen. "No-one will ever read for any length of time on a screen," they said. "They'll print out anything they want to read."

Fourteen years on, now people spend about 80% of their time at the computer reading. I have the satisfaction of knowing I helped make that happen. Commissioning Verdana as "a font for reading long passages of text on the Internet" was my first big project at Microsoft.

A lot has happened since then, but there's still a long way to go. Internet Explorer 8 now has the foundation it needs to become a really great reading application.- since it has integrated the world-class PTLS engine and adopted standards-based rendering by default.

I've left some thoughts behind, of course...

I'm not sure what my plans are yet. I do need to write a book about all this - which started for me, I guess, in 1985 when I became involved with hypertext (pre-Web, of course).

I'll keep everyone informed as much as I can on my blog. I'm also on FaceBook (and LinkedIn, for more business-type contacts).

As I look towards the future, there's a little sadness. Greg Hitchcock on the ClearType team revealed that he's a software engineer with the soul of a poet (for the first time in the 14 years I've known him). He wrote me a mail that ended:

"A tear falling on a dirty mark on a piece of shredded tree leaves a blur. A tear falling on an LCD screen leaves a rainbow". I gasped at the beauty of that.

Thanks for being so great, Niners!

As always interesting to hear from you man!

what about doing something totaly different; even if it's a short term thing?

give your self a radical holiday of a kind so that when you are done you can go back to the reading-and-tech stuff with a really fresh mind !

I think it's really a shame that the tablet-pc slate has not taken off more, I would love to see a high ppi tablet device.
if that is you want to takle that end of things

or the space between the PDA and the netbook, a smaller tablet like device that would be larger than a pda.

or  more on the web space  what about a new format based on the xml-html but with better handling of good layout and reading?

just a few of my ideas ... if you like them take them

billhill49 said:

Hello Everyone:

This is Bill Hill; I've created a new Channel 9 identity as a non-Microsoftie -because I like Channel 9 enough to want to still hang out there from time to time. It's one of my favorite places in all of Microsoft.

Yes, it's true, I have left the company. I'm sorry for the RRS feed confusion. Here's what always happens: I write a blog entry in the Blogger edit window - which is a horrible place to proof-read. Then when I post it, I always spot at least one typo. So I take the post down to edit it, and then re-publish it. I might end up doing that several times - maybe I'll spot something I feel I could have said better. You can take the man out of editing, but you can't take the editor out of the man...

So RSS catches the first post, alerts everyone who has a feed, but by the time they get there, it's down.

Thanks to all the many Niners, and many others, who've emailed me with good wishes, now and over the years.

Bill Gates told me a few months ago that I had really made a difference in my time at the company, and I hope that's true. When I arrived at Microsoft in 1995, people thought I was mad when I said we needed to improve reading on screen. "No-one will ever read for any length of time on a screen," they said. "They'll print out anything they want to read."

Fourteen years on, now people spend about 80% of their time at the computer reading. I have the satisfaction of knowing I helped make that happen. Commissioning Verdana as "a font for reading long passages of text on the Internet" was my first big project at Microsoft.

A lot has happened since then, but there's still a long way to go. Internet Explorer 8 now has the foundation it needs to become a really great reading application.- since it has integrated the world-class PTLS engine and adopted standards-based rendering by default.

I've left some thoughts behind, of course...

I'm not sure what my plans are yet. I do need to write a book about all this - which started for me, I guess, in 1985 when I became involved with hypertext (pre-Web, of course).

I'll keep everyone informed as much as I can on my blog. I'm also on FaceBook (and LinkedIn, for more business-type contacts).

As I look towards the future, there's a little sadness. Greg Hitchcock on the ClearType team revealed that he's a software engineer with the soul of a poet (for the first time in the 14 years I've known him). He wrote me a mail that ended:

"A tear falling on a dirty mark on a piece of shredded tree leaves a blur. A tear falling on an LCD screen leaves a rainbow". I gasped at the beauty of that.

Thanks for being so great, Niners!

Thanks so much for your many years of working to make my computer better, Bill.  I also think you've helped a lot of us here learn how to take a wider view on the topic of reading text, something we normally just take for granted.

If and when you write a book, I'll buy it for sure.  

billhill49 said:

Hello Everyone:

This is Bill Hill; I've created a new Channel 9 identity as a non-Microsoftie -because I like Channel 9 enough to want to still hang out there from time to time. It's one of my favorite places in all of Microsoft.

Yes, it's true, I have left the company. I'm sorry for the RRS feed confusion. Here's what always happens: I write a blog entry in the Blogger edit window - which is a horrible place to proof-read. Then when I post it, I always spot at least one typo. So I take the post down to edit it, and then re-publish it. I might end up doing that several times - maybe I'll spot something I feel I could have said better. You can take the man out of editing, but you can't take the editor out of the man...

So RSS catches the first post, alerts everyone who has a feed, but by the time they get there, it's down.

Thanks to all the many Niners, and many others, who've emailed me with good wishes, now and over the years.

Bill Gates told me a few months ago that I had really made a difference in my time at the company, and I hope that's true. When I arrived at Microsoft in 1995, people thought I was mad when I said we needed to improve reading on screen. "No-one will ever read for any length of time on a screen," they said. "They'll print out anything they want to read."

Fourteen years on, now people spend about 80% of their time at the computer reading. I have the satisfaction of knowing I helped make that happen. Commissioning Verdana as "a font for reading long passages of text on the Internet" was my first big project at Microsoft.

A lot has happened since then, but there's still a long way to go. Internet Explorer 8 now has the foundation it needs to become a really great reading application.- since it has integrated the world-class PTLS engine and adopted standards-based rendering by default.

I've left some thoughts behind, of course...

I'm not sure what my plans are yet. I do need to write a book about all this - which started for me, I guess, in 1985 when I became involved with hypertext (pre-Web, of course).

I'll keep everyone informed as much as I can on my blog. I'm also on FaceBook (and LinkedIn, for more business-type contacts).

As I look towards the future, there's a little sadness. Greg Hitchcock on the ClearType team revealed that he's a software engineer with the soul of a poet (for the first time in the 14 years I've known him). He wrote me a mail that ended:

"A tear falling on a dirty mark on a piece of shredded tree leaves a blur. A tear falling on an LCD screen leaves a rainbow". I gasped at the beauty of that.

Thanks for being so great, Niners!

Bill, although it saddens me to see you leave Microsoft, I have no doubt you will find another way to deliver your great contributions to the world, and I wish you all the best with that. After the vacation that figuerres suggested, of course.

Microsoft has been one of the few companies that "gets" screen reading, and that is surely to no small degree thanks to your contributions.

For example, I recently got an iPhone 3G, very neat device. The application I use to read e-books (Secure eReader; unfortunately Microsoft Reader's DRM activation scheme has screwed me over a few too many times so I'm staying away from that now) is also available on the iPhone, and arguably the iPhone version has a better UI.

But... no ClearType. As a result, I still use my almost 4 years old Axim X51v, with Windows Mobile, to read e-books. The iPhone has a much nicer screen (especially since I accidentally put my Axim through the washing machine), but the text quality of the Axim is still far nicer than the iPhone. Sure, I'll use my iPhone to read in a crunch, if I've forgotten the Axim or it ran out of battery (the washing machine incident didn't help the battery life either), but Windows Mobile is still my preferred reading platform, thanks to ClearType.

In any case - back on topic - the best of luck with whatever it is you're planning to do from now on. 

billhill49 said:

Hello Everyone:

This is Bill Hill; I've created a new Channel 9 identity as a non-Microsoftie -because I like Channel 9 enough to want to still hang out there from time to time. It's one of my favorite places in all of Microsoft.

Yes, it's true, I have left the company. I'm sorry for the RRS feed confusion. Here's what always happens: I write a blog entry in the Blogger edit window - which is a horrible place to proof-read. Then when I post it, I always spot at least one typo. So I take the post down to edit it, and then re-publish it. I might end up doing that several times - maybe I'll spot something I feel I could have said better. You can take the man out of editing, but you can't take the editor out of the man...

So RSS catches the first post, alerts everyone who has a feed, but by the time they get there, it's down.

Thanks to all the many Niners, and many others, who've emailed me with good wishes, now and over the years.

Bill Gates told me a few months ago that I had really made a difference in my time at the company, and I hope that's true. When I arrived at Microsoft in 1995, people thought I was mad when I said we needed to improve reading on screen. "No-one will ever read for any length of time on a screen," they said. "They'll print out anything they want to read."

Fourteen years on, now people spend about 80% of their time at the computer reading. I have the satisfaction of knowing I helped make that happen. Commissioning Verdana as "a font for reading long passages of text on the Internet" was my first big project at Microsoft.

A lot has happened since then, but there's still a long way to go. Internet Explorer 8 now has the foundation it needs to become a really great reading application.- since it has integrated the world-class PTLS engine and adopted standards-based rendering by default.

I've left some thoughts behind, of course...

I'm not sure what my plans are yet. I do need to write a book about all this - which started for me, I guess, in 1985 when I became involved with hypertext (pre-Web, of course).

I'll keep everyone informed as much as I can on my blog. I'm also on FaceBook (and LinkedIn, for more business-type contacts).

As I look towards the future, there's a little sadness. Greg Hitchcock on the ClearType team revealed that he's a software engineer with the soul of a poet (for the first time in the 14 years I've known him). He wrote me a mail that ended:

"A tear falling on a dirty mark on a piece of shredded tree leaves a blur. A tear falling on an LCD screen leaves a rainbow". I gasped at the beauty of that.

Thanks for being so great, Niners!

"Then when I post it, I always spot at least one typo."

"I'm sorry for the RRS feed confusion."


I hate to criticize, but there ya go.

Wishing you all the best, and please don't forget to post on your blog from time to time

billhill49 said:

Hello Everyone:

This is Bill Hill; I've created a new Channel 9 identity as a non-Microsoftie -because I like Channel 9 enough to want to still hang out there from time to time. It's one of my favorite places in all of Microsoft.

Yes, it's true, I have left the company. I'm sorry for the RRS feed confusion. Here's what always happens: I write a blog entry in the Blogger edit window - which is a horrible place to proof-read. Then when I post it, I always spot at least one typo. So I take the post down to edit it, and then re-publish it. I might end up doing that several times - maybe I'll spot something I feel I could have said better. You can take the man out of editing, but you can't take the editor out of the man...

So RSS catches the first post, alerts everyone who has a feed, but by the time they get there, it's down.

Thanks to all the many Niners, and many others, who've emailed me with good wishes, now and over the years.

Bill Gates told me a few months ago that I had really made a difference in my time at the company, and I hope that's true. When I arrived at Microsoft in 1995, people thought I was mad when I said we needed to improve reading on screen. "No-one will ever read for any length of time on a screen," they said. "They'll print out anything they want to read."

Fourteen years on, now people spend about 80% of their time at the computer reading. I have the satisfaction of knowing I helped make that happen. Commissioning Verdana as "a font for reading long passages of text on the Internet" was my first big project at Microsoft.

A lot has happened since then, but there's still a long way to go. Internet Explorer 8 now has the foundation it needs to become a really great reading application.- since it has integrated the world-class PTLS engine and adopted standards-based rendering by default.

I've left some thoughts behind, of course...

I'm not sure what my plans are yet. I do need to write a book about all this - which started for me, I guess, in 1985 when I became involved with hypertext (pre-Web, of course).

I'll keep everyone informed as much as I can on my blog. I'm also on FaceBook (and LinkedIn, for more business-type contacts).

As I look towards the future, there's a little sadness. Greg Hitchcock on the ClearType team revealed that he's a software engineer with the soul of a poet (for the first time in the 14 years I've known him). He wrote me a mail that ended:

"A tear falling on a dirty mark on a piece of shredded tree leaves a blur. A tear falling on an LCD screen leaves a rainbow". I gasped at the beauty of that.

Thanks for being so great, Niners!

It's great to see that you still read C9 forum posts. I'm guessing lots of MS people use C9 but haven't been brave enough to actually post something on the forums.

If I was Bill Hill what would i do with my newly acquired time off from work?
I would get an Alfred Wainwright guide and head for the hills