Joe Beda, one of the developers on the Avalon team, is leaving Microsoft to join some old friends of his working in a new Google group in Seattle. I talked with Joe, and it seems this has been in the works for a while and the timing is a bit odd because of the new announcements. I feel bad that Joe is leaving, I think he is going to miss one of the most exciting parts of the product cycle, but I'm happy he is going to do something he seems excited about.

It's funny, at his farewell lunch today we talked about how moving groups inside Microsoft is something like moving companies outside of Microsoft. I switched divisions just over 2 years ago, and it was a great experience. New development models, new people, new problems. From this perspective I totally respect Joe's decision to move on to something new.

Good luck Joe, and keep in touch!