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Sep 18, 2023 · After nearly 20 years at the company, Panos Panay has decided to leave Microsoft. Panos has had an incredible impact on our products and culture as well as the broader devices ecosystem.
- Emma Roth
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Microsoft held its "special" event for Surface and AI this week. The company told people to keep their eyes out for big announcements. My eyes are still looking, as I imagine so are many sets of eyes from Surface enthusiast. This week's showcase gave us little to be excited about from Microsoft's hardware division. In fact, it was so lackluster that it's easy to see why Panos Panay left the company.
Panay's departure from Microsoft seemed abrupt, but as more details come into focus, it's not surprising. This week, a report revealed that Panay left his role as EVP of Experiences & Devices due to cutbacks, layoffs, and device cancelations. Microsoft reportedly plans to ditch its efforts to make niche or experimental hardware.
Microsoft Event 2023
• Windows 11 '23 Update ships Sept 26
• What's new with Surface Laptop Studio 2
• Surface Laptop Go 3 arrives October 3
• Copilot AI comes to Bing, Edge, & Windows
In our Surface Pro 9 review, Bowden called the device "a decade of form factor perfection." I fully agree with his claim, and he does an excellent job illustrating the strength of the 2-in-1 in his review.
When Microsoft introduced the first Surface Pro, the PC space was drastically different than it is now. Microsoft burst onto the scene with a 2-in-1 featuring a detachable keyboard and a kickstand, memes be damned. After a few generations, the Surface Pro lineup hit its stride. Later, the device led to emulation by Dell, Apple, and many other companies.
The Surface Pro lineup is probably the best example of a Surface device doing its job. Surface hardware doesn't always introduce a new form factor, but it often does. Even when it doesn't, Surface devices generally do something different than most of their competitors. Look no further than the Surface Book's detachable display or the Surface Duo's screens for evidence of Microsoft pushing limits.
Experimental devices don't always work out. For example, Microsoft shifted away from the Surface Book's design to the Surface Laptop Studio. While the latter still isn't a traditional laptop, it is less out there than the book. But there was a time when that was okay. Microsoft could try something with Surface and spark passion among creators or other PC makers. Those days may be over.
Many of us mocked Apple's "what's a computer" advertisements a few years ago, and rightfully so. That question would have been better posed in a Surface ad. The history of Surface includes detachable screens, foldable phones, and moveable All-in-Ones. Now, Microsoft appears content to crank out overpriced PCs with older specs.
Without looking, can you even name all the devices Microsoft announced yesterday? Heck, two of them weren't even unveiled during the event! The Surface Go 4 for Business and Surface Hub 3 were announced basically as footnotes on a Microsoft page summarizing this week's news. When that page went live, there wasn't even a post about the Surface Hub 3, just a video.
Before this week's event, I worked on a piece titled "Surface has run its course. It's time for Microsoft to move on." I didn't publish it, however, as I wanted to see if any announcements from the Surface and AI event changed my mind. To the contrary, the presentation solidified that the Surface that turned heads for over a decade is dead.
Maybe that was the plan all along? Microsoft wanted to push OEMs to make unique PCs, and we see that regularly now. The newly announced HP Spectre Foldable is just of many PCs pushing the boundaries of computing. The Legion Go and ROG Ally are also the types of devices I imagine Microsoft wants to see on the market. Now, companies make those, and Microsoft doesn't need to invest time and money into R&D.
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Lucy Gray sees the joy and relief in his face and she realises that he isn’t going to leave with her, and she has a really strong feeling that he was involved in the murder of Sejanus because there’s nobody else it could be. She makes an excuse to get away from him by saying she’s going to find Katniss plants (ha get it cos Hunger games).
Sep 18, 2023 · Microsoft executive Panos Panay has left the company, ending a nearly twenty-year run in which he helped launch the Surface business and took a leadership role on Windows 11. He's going to...
- Alex Wawro
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Nov 18, 2023 · It also happens to have a segment touching on the co-founders' departure from Microsoft. This includes both Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington, with the documentary going into detail about how the pair had to prepare themselves.
