After five fine years, I'm leaving Microsoft. 

I couldn't have hoped for a better experience.  I've learned more in five years than I did in four of medical school; deep technical sk1llz, consulting skills, how businesses operate, how to develop _products_ not just projects...an amazing amount, a firehose. 

Microsoft is one of those rare places that inspire real passion in people.  I have a Windows XP logo tatto'ed on my right shoulder...yes, it's real and it's permanent (to paraphrase Terri Hatcher in Seinfeld).  I've yelled myself hoarse at Steve Ballmer's annual ra-fests; I was right there at "developers developers developers developers..."  Most of the time, I got up in the morning excited about going to work. 

It wasn't all rosy and wonderful; like any company there are imperfections.  I'd like to post a constructive commentary on that in a later blog.

I'm going to a super-cool small software company here in Houston called "PROS Pricing Solutions".  They are the forerunners in a field variously named but herein "revenue optimization".  Basically, I have something that is valuable NOW, but in a while it will expire; what should I sell it for to maximize my profit?  Applies to airline seats, hotel rooms, transmission capacity, you name it.  Takes serious, heavy-duty math and code to grind an answer.  My PhD buddy John Salch (was in Rice grad school while I was in med school) will be filling me in on the gory details.

I'll be tech-lead doing hard-core development--my favorite thing to do in the whole wide world.  I haven't met everyone on my team yet; but judging from my interviewers (three PhD's and a very smart developer) they will be stellar.

It's going to be a pleasure to focus on ONE THING, and do it exceedingly well, producing a product. 

The company is about fifteen minutes' drive from my house...hey maybe I'll get one of those uber-dork Segway thingies, you know, "Ginger" :)

I'll also get to play with...er, um...alternate tech such as ...er, um....the "J" word and the "U" word.  I'm really keen though; it will be nice to become multi-lingual and multi-platform.

Stay tuned.  I will have MUCH to blog on, I'm sure, as I get immersed in new tech and new problems.

ex-msft Michael