Behind the Code

Behind the Code with Anders Hejlsberg

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This episode features industry luminary, Anders Hejlsberg. Before coming to Microsoft in 1996 he was well noted for his work as the principal engineer of Turbo Pascal and the chief architect of the Delphi product line. At Microsoft, he was the architect for the Visual J++ development system and the Windows Foundation Classes (WFC). Promoted to Distinguished Engineer in 2000, Anders is the chief designer of the C# programming language and a key participant in the development of Microsoft's .NET Framework. In this show, Anders is joined by a surprise guest.

This episode of 'Behind the Code' is hosted by Barbara Fox - former senior security architect of cryptography and digital rights management for Microsoft.

Behind the Code with Jim Gray

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

This episode features Jim Gray. He is a 'Technical Fellow' in the Scalable Servers Research Group (Sky Server, Terra Server) and manager of Microsoft's Bay Area Research Center (BARC). Jim has been called a 'giant' in the fields of database and transaction processing computer systems. In 1998, Jim was awarded the ACM's prestigious A.M. Touring Award.

Before joining Microsoft, Jim worked at Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC), Tandem Computers Inc., IBM Corp., AT&T and he is the editor of the 'Performance Handbook for Database and Transaction Processing Systems' as well as co-author of 'Transaction Processing: Concepts and Techniques.' In this interview, Jim is joined by former colleague from DEC and partner on the Terra Server project, Researcher, Tom Barclay.

This episode of 'Behind the Code' is hosted by Barbara Fox - former senior security architect of cryptography and digital rights management for Microsoft.

Behind the Code with Peter Spiro

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Don't get a real job until you're 30. This is Technical Fellow Peter Spiro's advice, and something he fell just short of doing. Discover how this forestry student got a job at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and then came to Microsoft to help build the team that drove SQL Server to the huge success it is today.

How do you learn the necessary skills for leading huge projects? Try restaurant work or being in the Peace Corps. Also, never underestimate the power of knowing how to live it up. In this episode, learn how Peter uses his passion and energy to influence technology across Microsoft while empowering talent and growing teams to produce first-rate software.

Behind the Code with Rob Short

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Occasionally the office of the CTO, David Vaskevitch, sits down with some of Microsoft's most influential technical employees to capture their stories. Instead of examining specific technologies, BTC takes a closer look at the person, the career and what it takes to produce world-class software.

Rob Short is an operating system pioneer. He helped Microsoft transition from the 1980s with DOS and 16 bit windows into the 32 bit world with Windows NT in the 1990s. More recently, Rob was part of the team that further enhanced windows to take advantage of the 64 bit processors of the new millennium. Today he is the Vice President overseeing development of windows kernel and virtualization technologies.

This episode of "Behind the Code" is hosted by software architect, Keith Kaplan.

Behind the Code with Rico Mariani

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

For eighteen years at Microsoft, Rico Mariani’s contagious enthusiasm for technology has inspired countless others to write better and faster code. Most people inside Microsoft know this software architect from his frequent postings on the internal performance tuning alias, and other people know him by reading his blog on MSDN. He often says that being an architect is a teaching gig and his passion for sharing knowledge has established him as an industry expert. Additionally, Rico is responsible for many of the cool features and tools that make programming easier, like value tips.

Behind the Code with Eric Horvitz

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Microsoft is well known for Windows, Office, .NET, Xbox, Zune and other products and technologies. Less discussed, however, is Microsoft Research, a team focused on how computers and technology can make life easier, with an eye toward developing new technologies that can improve all our lives. Eric Horvitz joined Microsoft Research in 1993 and has since formed the Decision Theory and Adaptive Systems group. Discover what possibilities Microsoft Research holds for improving life for all and just what those projects entail.

Behind the Code with Patrick Dussud

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Learn where variables go when they are no longer used as Microsoft Technical Fellow Patrick Dussud shares his programming work. Dussud has spent his career implementing “garbage collection,” a form of automatic memory management, in various programming languages and systems.

Behind the Code with Rebecca Norlander

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The computer world is often dominated by men, leaving little room for women. Despite this obstacle, Rebecca Norlander, a technical strategist for Microsoft, has made a name for herself. Learn about struggles in this field that are unique to women and the lessons she has learned from those challenges.

Behind the Code with Catharine van Ingen

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

What do global warming, a scientific instrument weighing about 4500 tons and bill collection have in common? The once Berkeley 'hippie chick' turned Software Architect Catharine van Ingen.

Catharine has a wealth of experience in hardware, including work with the Alpha machine and MIPS processor teams, and in industrial-strength software for algorithms used to manage water flows, logging data from particle accelerator detectors, and buying Mickey Mouse watches over the Internet.

On Behind the Code discover how Catharine:
Grew in her career within the developing storage industry.
Met and worked with technical legends, such as Gordon Bell and Jim Gray.
Navigates the challenges of managing outsource projects.
Drives changes in products despite obstacles.
Is making an impact helping scientists to collaborate.

Get ready to laugh, learn, and catch a glimpse into the career of one of the leading technologists at Microsoft.

Behind the Code with Terry Crowley

Thu, 22 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

It is hard to imagine a time when the Internet wasn’t a part of our lives, but it has only been a little over a decade since the Internet became so widespread. Terry Crowley, a technical fellow and director of development for Microsoft Office, played an integral role in the early history and evolution of the Internet. Join us as he shares his reflections on the Internet, the origins and evolution of FrontPage, experiences in Office and his expectations for where this technology may lead us.

Behind the Code with Mohsen Agsen

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

A rolling stone gathers no moss. What it does gather, however, is a great deal of experience. During his long career at Microsoft, Mohsen Agsen has been actively avoiding gathering moss. LAN manager, MCS, bCentral, Exchange, Visual Studio and ... oh yes ... games too. These are just a few of the products and technologies that Mohsen has been involved in. At each step along the way, he's built and maintained a reputation for being a strategic thinker and technical leader.

During this episode, we discuss with Mohsen some of the challenges that Microsoft has faced in the past, and learn how not just Microsoft, but the industry in general can deal with the challenges of today.

Behind the Code with Richard Ward

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Just as artists embody a diverse set of talents and interests, computer engineers also use a diverse set of experiences for inspiration in their work. Richard Ward does just that for Microsoft. Bringing his eclectic background and interests, Ward uses this diversity for his own art of programming within the Windows Core Architecture team. Learn about which experiences Ward finds most useful as he builds out the core infrastructure components of what will, one day, be running on the vast majority of the world’s computers.

Behind the Code with Tony Williams

Tue, 12 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT

This episode features the co-inventor of COM, software architect, Tony Williams. In his eighteen years at Microsoft, Tony has worked on the Windows team, in Microsoft Research, and on Office. His contributions benefit not just Microsoft's applications, but the fundamental way that all Windows applications are written. Tony has been an unwavering champion of componentized application development. Today (8/06) Tony is driving the design of a new component framework which will be used in Office 12. This interview is hosted by software architect, Keith Kaplan.