“Q&A: The former Microsoft employee and software-development pundit shares his two cents on what’s going on with Microsoft.

“If you work at Microsoft (or are part of the Redmond ecosystem), Joel Spolsky probably needs no introduction. And it’s not because his company, Fog Creek Software, is a household name. But Spolsky (known in Microsoft circles as just-plain Joel, or “The Joel”) is one of the characters whose words have had serious impact on Microsoft, especially this past year.

“Spolsky is a former Softie himself. From 1991 to 1994, he was first a program manager on Excel, and later a Microsoft Consulting Services employee, specializing in Excel. He founded Fog Creek, a software vendor and consultancy that develops software-management products, among others, in 2000.” [Read more…]