Most people accredit Microsoft with single-handedly instigating the rise of the Internet and personal computer, and likely, the culture of the Net Generation. Former Microsoft Executive and University of Florida alum Jim Allchin remembers it differently.

“When I first joined Microsoft, it was a laughing stock in the industry for networking,” Allchin said. Allchin recounted a particular sales meeting for Windows NT, one of Microsoft’s rudimentary operating systems that served as the precursor to Windows 2000.

“We had marketing people from Windows Client Group, and one guy who worked on Windows 95 kept staring at our spreadsheet,” Allchin said. “He kept saying, ‘these numbers have to be wrong’.”

Most of the marketing team was more accustomed to seeing multiple zeroes following sales numbers, Allchin said. “The guy kept laughing. He said, ‘I’m just going to put a bunch of these in the back of my car and go sell them door to door’.”

Now, Allchin’s division is the third largest in Microsoft, the culmination of seventeen years of development.

“We built a great product that had a lot to offer,” Allchin said. The main differentiating factor of Windows NT was its ability to run multiple applications simultaneously, and on a more scalable level.

“Novell couldn’t run applications. We could.” Windows NT offered professional users a variety of applications such as mail and sales tracking. “We offered a server that could do both [networking and applications]. Unix could also do that, but we were so much cheaper.”

Allchin first started at Microsoft after having worked at Texas Instruments and Banyan Systems, Inc., where he was a core developer of the VINES operating system.

“VINES was interesting because we didn’t think about just one server. We created this directory service that let you find the information you needed based on content,” said Allchin. VINES was one of the first operating systems to focus on networking between computers and was revolutionary in its set of routing algorithms, one in particular allowing clients to set up their own network addresses.

Organizations such as Compaq and the World Bank used VINES for business operations.

Allchin’s work on VINES was what made him such an attractive candidate to Microsoft.

“Bill (Bill Gates, that is) convinced me that I would have a wider impact at Microsoft than anywhere else, so I decided to go,” said Allchin.

Allchin grew up in Michigan and later Florida, living in a house his father built out of sheetrock. “It was really great. We didn’t have much money, but in terms of a loving family, I have a very good childhood,” Allchin said.

Allchin first attended UF as an electrical engineering major, dropping out after a few semesters to do music. “Every second that I had, I was playing music. I really didn’t have the study ethics and the drive,” said Allchin, citing musicians such as Tom Petty and Lynard Skynard as jamming buddies.

Eventually, Allchin returned to UF, but not to study engineering. “They literally just opened the computer science program. I had already taken enough of the courses in electrical engineering.”

Upon his return, Allchin became a more dedicated student. “There’s a lot of things you’ll end up studying that you just won’t care for, but there’s a set of techniques about learning that you will use going forward,” Allchin said.

Allchin later went on to get his masters in computer science from Stanford and his PhD at Georgia Institute of Technology.

“When I was working after my undergraduate, I stopped all of it to go back to school,” Allchin said. “People told me I was crazy, but I wanted to go back to school. I wanted to learn more.”

Allchin emphasized the importance of love of the game. “Passion rules the day with me. Who knows if you’re going to make any money? I know wicked smart people who don’t make any money, but they’re doing what they love, so at least they’re happy…Just get the best education you can in the field you’re passionate about.”

The day Microsoft released Windows Vista, Allchin retired. Since, he has released a solo album entitled “Enigma”. To hear a sample of his music, click here: http://jimallchin.com/fr_shopmusic.cfm

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