J Allard (his legal name; formerly James Allard) (born January 12, 1969 in Glens Falls, New York)[1] is "Chief Experience Officer" and Chief Technology Officer, for the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. He also oversaw Microsoft's first foray into the video game industry, the Xbox and he is also known to have contributed to the first edition of the specification for the Windows Sockets API, with assistance from many others.
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Microsoft
He is known for his historic 1994 memo, "Windows: The Next Killer Application on the Internet",[2] about the coming rise of the Internet. The memo, distributed to Microsoft leaders, reshaped the company's direction. Allard is a 1991 Boston University graduate with a bachelor's degree in computer science, and he received an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Letters) from Boston University at the 2009 Boston University Commencement Ceremony.[3] Allard has also been known to play The Game as part of Team Pink. He was also later found to have gotten 3rd place.
Zune
When Bryan Lee stepped down from his post as Zune Executive in charge of business development, Allard took over as the new executive.[4] Allard is overseeing development of the Microsoft Zune, a handheld portable media device, initially seen by some media as a potential iPod rival.[5] Allard has notably signed several artists as part of a broad Zune marketing campaign by Microsoft, which included heavy promotion during Seattle's Bumbershoot festival in 2006.
Xbox
Allard oversees all design and engineering for the Xbox console, peripherals, Microsoft's multiplayer online service Xbox Live, as well as development tools for video game developers. His responsibilities for Xbox carried over to Microsoft's 2005 video game console, the Xbox 360. On Xbox Live, Allard's Gamertag is "HiroProtagonist", derived from the name of the main character of Neal Stephenson's book Snow Crash.
In the Xbox Live Arcade game Space Giraffe developed by Jeff Minter, the first level is called "The Eyes of Allard." Allard's face is visible in the background of this level.
Lemonade Stand
In a 2006 December story, Business Week incorrectly stated that Allard had written the computer game Lemonade Stand.[6]
References
- ^ "J Allard". BusinessWeek Online. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_49/b4012008.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
- ^ "Leaders of The Pack". Newsweek International: p. 41. April 25, 2005. ISSN 01637053.
- ^ "BU Commencement 2009 - Speakers and Honorees - J Allard". Boston University. 2009-05-01. http://www.bu.edu/commencement/2009/speakers/allard.shtml. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
- ^ "One Zune exec out; J Allard takes over the program". http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070201-8754.html. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
- ^ "J Allard: Corporate Vice President, Design and Development, Entertainment and Devices Division". Microsoft. 2006-10-06. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/jallard/default.mspx. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
- ^ The Soul Of A New Microsoft, Business Week, December 2006.
External links
- Bio at Microsoft.com
- Xbox Live Gamercard (login required)
- E3 2005 speech
- Interview about Zune
- Halo 3 game history
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