Microsoft News Tracker

Dean Takahashi at his Mercury News blog:

Ted Hase was the former drill sergeant who led the strategy on how to get Bill Gates and the rest of Microsoft on board with the Xbox game console proposal in 1999. He and his cohort Otto Berkes left the project early on when it took a turn from a Windows game machine to a non-Windows games console. He went back to the Windows group as an evangelist, but he took a stab a few years ago at creating something called the Homestation, something like a dorm room PC. He also tried to kick start Microsoft’s relations with Hollywood on a project dubbed the Xbox Entertainment Network. But Microsoft canceled that program in 2003 in the midst of budget cuts. He continued to champion new ideas for digital entertainment. But Friday is his last day at Microsoft.

An interesting Q&A with Hase follows. Per Todd Bishop at the Seattle PI:

Hase, most recently the director of strategic product placement in Microsoft’s Media and Entertainment Technology Convergence Group, declined to say whether Apple is among his employment prospects.

There appear to be a number of opportunities on the table. More details by following the links.