Technology | Steve Sinofsky With Sinofsky Exit, Microsoft Loses Its Steve Jobs Farhad Manjoo: Who cares if Windows boss was kind of mean? By Evann Gastaldo Posted Nov 14, 2012 1:16 PM CST Copied Steven Sinofsky, president of the Microsoft Windows group, delivers his presentation at the launch of Microsoft Windows 8, in New York, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Farhad Manjoo pulls no punches when it comes to the departure of Windows chief Steve Sinofsky from Microsoft: It's like FDR firing Dwight Eisenhower on D-Day. Of course, both Sinofsky and Microsoft are trying to paint this as a mutual, amicable decision, but that's ridiculous, Manjoo writes on Slate. Sinofsky was fired because "he was a jerk." But "so what?" Manjoo wonders. Sinofsky was also the guy who could have, finally, brought Microsoft into true competition with Apple—and he's reminiscent of the abrasive Steve Jobs in more than just his attitude. Sinofsky was behind both Windows 8 and the Surface tablet—and even if you don't like the Surface, the two products "represented Microsoft's D-Day, its bold attempt to beat back Apple's post-PC invasion," Manjoo writes. And "Sinofsky deserves all the credit (or blame) for Microsoft’s new path," forging ahead "single-mindedly and almost single-handedly." He won few friends while doing so, but he got the job done. Who cares if Microsoft will now enjoy a more harmonious environment? With Sinofsky gone, the company "is rudderless at a time of intense competition." Click for Manjoo's full column. Read These Next Trump laid a 'trap' for Democrats, and GOP aims to pounce. Men's, women's hockey players stick together after Trump joke. Christina Applegate pulls back the curtain on her real life. Cindy McCain says she's leaving the World Food Programme. Report an error