Today was my last day at Microsoft.
I started working for Microsoft over fifteen years ago – in fact, switching into the IE team fifteen years ago this month. It’s been a tremendous learning experience for me; I can hardly begin to describe how much I’ve learned, how many different experiences I’ve had, and how many fantastic people I’ve had the privilege of meeting and working with (both inside and outside the company).
As I reached the conclusion that I’d helped IE along as much as I could, I felt it was a good time to reassess where I ultimately want to go with my career, and I realized that I really needed to stretch my wings beyond Microsoft. After all, I’ve stolen as many office supplies as I possibly could*. I’m now going to go take a month or so of well-deserved time off, and in November I will begin a new role with a new employer – I’ve accepted a position as a Developer Advocate with Google.
I’ll spare the minor details of my decision (other than how excited I am to turn my Office Space style commute into a 6 mile bike ride to Google’s Fremont office), and just say I’m very excited to work for a company that invests so much in making the Web platform better for developers and consumers, and I hope that I can use this as an opportunity to not only do no evil, but to actively do good.
I would like to thank all the wonderful friends I’ve made at (and through) Microsoft, and actively express my desire to keep in touch. For anyone wishing to reach me, my personal email remains the same – cwilso@gmail.com – and of course, I’m always available on Twitter (Twitter.com/cwilso).
-Chris
* Just kidding**.
** I could have stolen more if I’d really tried. ***
*** sheesh. Seriously, just kidding.
in progress 
It will be interesting to hear how you deal with a change to a satellite office for a big company after working at Mothership.
Good luck and do good things.
Congrats, Chris! I hope the switch to google will mean more dive time since it’ll have less drive time.
WOW.
Congratulations, Chris! Very, very excited for you and for what it means for the community.
Happy to hear it, Chris! You actually did good things at Microsoft. Imagine what you can do at Google. 😉 Congrats! See you at SXSW?
Allow me to add my name to what will ultimately be a very long list of people wishing you well Chris. Having traveled a similar time-line path myself (I worked 15 years for EMI Music in the 80’s and 90’s) I know that you must be having bittersweet feelings about walking away from the long and deep relationships you formed, yet excited about what the future holds. I wish you good luck and clear sailing
I left Microsoft in July, and am doing my own thing. CONGRATS, Chris!!! What a great move!
Best of luck, sir. When you see Hixie in the corridor, be sure to pass the HTML5 leather chaps on to him.
bruce
Chris,
I am excited to hear about the move. I wish I had the chance to work with you on the Open Web Advocacy team at Google. I would have had a lot of fun.
Cheers,
Dion
Congrats, Chris! Great Move.
yay !-) Congrats Chris !
Congrate, you have made the good choice change from a litle office for a real big company 🙂
Best wishes for the future, Chris!
Congratulations. I hope it will bring you joy in your work.
Congrats Chris!
Congratulations! Any chance you can let us know what you’ll be getting up to at Google?
Fabulous new for you and for Google! I hope that many exciting challenges await you. Thanks for your many years of great work at Microsoft!
Congratulations. Good luck at Google!
Congrats! Cant wait to see what you do for the web at Google.
As one who has needled and jabbed you over IE for many years, using this nick and my real name, it’s good to see you’ve learned you need to move to a better place. Just don’t mess anything up and clean up after yourself and lose the Microsoft attitude and way of thinking.
Congrats Chris! Good luck in the new venture.
Congratulations, Chris!
“I hope that I can use this as an opportunity to not only do no evil, but to actively do good.”
Even in the worst science fiction book/movie, they never had been such a control freak company, able to spy every citizens move … how can you ever believe only 1 second you will work for “good” …
Please, never trust them.
Congratulations! I just started at google myself last week, its an amazing place.
I completely sympathize about the commute. When I left Microsoft for Adobe, my commute changed in the same way, and it was amazing how much happier I was based solely on that change. (I lived in Wallingford at the time.)
Wish you all the best for your next challenge, google place feel like it’s an amazing place where to work … enjoy and help us to developpe the web better 🙂
by the way the subway pictures of paris is great , let me know if you are passing by paris again maye we can hand out for a drink or else
Wish you all the best for your next challenge, google place feel like it’s an amazing place where to work … enjoy and help us to developpe the web better 🙂
by the way the subway pictures of paris is great , let me know if you are passing by paris again maye we can hand out for a drink or else …
see you
No surprise that Google would want to employ you! Best wishes, and I hope the job fulfils your expectations.
Thanks for all the great work, Chris. You’ve done very important things at Microsoft and helped push the web platform in the right direction… Good luck with your new career at Google. Fremont, eh? Nice. I don’t live very far from there. Perhaps we can have a beer or two sometime at the Triangle and discuss the web.
Best,
C
Congrats! Looking forward to working with you.
Awesome news Chris! Congrats!
Congrats Chris and Welcome to google!
Congrats!
Sorry, late to the party as ever. Well done, celebrate the differences, and remember to allow yourself LOADS of acclimatization time.
We are going to miss you here on the IE team. Congrats and good luck.
Chris, I can’t wait to see where you take the web next. You will always be my web hero / iron man of the internet!
P*ss Off Traitor, I want those Share Options back. That IE9 BETA is bloated too. Looking forward to blowing you out the water with Bing v2.0 and you can tell Schimdt, I have a dusty file in my safe with enough “Hidden Camera” Pics from our Vegas trip to make him re-think his hiring strategy. Love you lots. Ballmer.
xx
I like how you linked “Google” to http://www.google.com. Very thoughtful.
Good luck at Google!
Chris, congrats! As a colleague, you will be missed! As a friend and mentor, I hope this move will actually geographically improve our chances of meeting! Best of luck 🙂
We had the opportunity to see you at @media last year in London, and you did get get a quite few laughs and digs about IE! It’s great to hear about your move and i’m sure from Google’s perspective it’s a very strategic move due to the IE9 previews!
Congratulations and I hope it meets all your expectations.
Hey Chris – welcome to Google! Was happy to see this news… a pretty large gang of FOWA’07 presenters here to welcome you – coincidence only 🙂
15 years working on IE makes you part of the broken and retarded mess known as IE7 and IE8.
Your “Compatibility View” system goes down in history as the ultimate web standards joke on Microsoft.
I can’t believe Google was dumb enough to hire an idiot like you.
Like all baby boomers, it’s time for you to retire and end the stupidity of Internet Explorer.
-Dr. Powershell
Congrats! Just make sure you’re not hit by a flying chair on your way out 😉
We are ALL going to miss you.
Time to update this https://cwilso.com/about/ I guess. Cheers!
Veel geluk met uw nieuwe functie en bedankt om mijn recente keuze voor Google op deze manier te bevestigen.
“Do not try to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” (A.Einstein)
Wow, Chris. 15 years. Success in your future journey. It was nice to correspond / debate with you in that brief period of time.
Yay for you, Chris! Hope to run into you on the canal, or around Fremont. (I live nearby; am there almost daily. Would be fun to have lunch sometime.) Wondering if you’ll be at the TPAC? Hope so, but imagine vacation and non-compete means you will not be.