[BBPandy]

What do you guy think of this news?
Will it cause any kind of changes to the future of TAT and its implementation in BlackBerry 10?

[anon(2757538)]

Too late in the game for his departure to have an affect...I doubt he's a monkey writing code everyday.

[greatwiseone]

Well, it's not surprising. I would've expected it to happen earlier. Not sure if he's the type to work in a BIG (but shrinking) company.

[OniBerry]

I wonder what if another small start up is in the works...

[_StephenBB81]

I wonder what if another small start up is in the works...

I'd put money on it.

He's got a good chunk of change from his buy out he's fulfilled any contractual requirements of the purchase and being an entrepreneur with his own seed money he can have the freedom he once enjoyed.

[howarmat]

I dont really see this as a good thing. TAT is his baby so to speak and for him to just leave and have no part of it seems kinda odd.

[rupam95]

Great news!!!

Finally we can finally see some TAT works on the playbook....Soon eh?

[SurrealCivic]

I dont really see this as a good thing. TAT is his baby so to speak and for him to just leave and have no part of it seems kinda odd.

TAT "was" his baby! And just like any successful entrepreneur, you have to learn to let go and move on.

[GTiLeo]

Maybe its medical reasons like steve jobs departure from Apple

[_StephenBB81]

I dont really see this as a good thing. TAT is his baby so to speak and for him to just leave and have no part of it seems kinda odd.

While I don't see this as "good news" I don't see it as bad news.

Once you sell you "baby" it isn't your baby anymore.
Just like in the restaurant industry when a chef sells his restaurant to an owner, very rarely does he stay on as head chef after the transition is complete, he leaves and either starts a NEW restaurant, or retires.
When you're used to being the big man, and then you just become a cog in the machine it is a hard culture shock,

ESPECIALLY when you find yourself with a big bank account

[James Nieves]

Hopefully he feels he's taken his talents to aid building the "Framework" and he feels his baby is now birthed in a place that will grow, and so he turns away to new things. It's easier to let go when you're confident in what you put out there to the world.

Who knows, I would hope this doesn't bode ill for RIM. Will the media throw this up for headlines and to fill white space?

[howarmat]

While I don't see this as "good news" I don't see it as bad news.

Once you sell you "baby" it isn't your baby anymore.
Just like in the restaurant industry when a chef sells his restaurant to an owner, very rarely does he stay on as head chef after the transition is complete, he leaves and either starts a NEW restaurant, or retires.
When you're used to being the big man, and then you just become a cog in the machine it is a hard culture shock,

ESPECIALLY when you find yourself with a big bank account

i agree with that for the most part and if its on good terms then good for him. But we havent even seen cascades in use yet and that is where TAT comes into play big time. I can see leaving once that is out in the wild but not before.

[pcguy514]

if it wasnt for the ex founder part, id say he was handing over the @tatmobileui twitter account to the social media team lol

[James Nieves]

But haven't we seen Cascades in use, the UI Framework was used to build apps and UX on other devices. I mean back in 2010 Jakobsson spoke an echo of what we're hearing from RIM executives today.

Q: While your demos� are spectacular, many commentators have expressed the feeling that the eye candy gets in the way of efficient usage of the device, with the most widely lauded smartphone user interface, the one on the iPhone, being little more than a grid of icons. How do you respond to this accusation?

A: I think an interface needs to be both easy to use as well as aesthetically pleasing, and the iPhone is great at being simple and smooth, but not very personal. Apple did a great job to improve the worlds of UIs by introducing a new paradigm, finger touch, and when breaking the norm I would as well take a step back in complexity (which Apple did). But I truly believe that the next wave of devices will be more personal. Compare it with clothes or cars � why don�t they all look the same � simple, streamlined, and so focused on delivering the core functionality that they lack personality. As the mobile matures there will be more expressive UIs.

[Link]

With that said I believe Heins sat down and heard what these guys: TAT Founded in February 2002 by Mikael Tellhed, Ludvig Linge, Paul Blomdahl, Karl-Anders Johansson, Per Grimberg, and Hampus Jakobsson--had to say. And I feel like RIM has amalgamated a "vision" with BB10 if the sight is clear it will hit home, execution and selling it is what's needed. As mentioned the cascades UI was something embedded or baked into other OS's but not as deeply as we're going to be seeing with QNX and BB10. And this framework has essentially gone proprietary through the BB10 beta releases of it to developers.

Same interview:

Q: What does your company do exactly. Your Cascades product usually appears in your videos � what is this exactly?

A: We provide a UI platform, Cascades, which can be embedded in OSs or put in an app an then run "on top". The videos you see are mostly implementations of UIs running on real hardware using Cascades. These are done to show off what the platform can do, but also to inspire companies to not just to copycat UIs. - 2010

[_StephenBB81]

i agree with that for the most part and if its on good terms then good for him. But we havent even seen cascades in use yet and that is where TAT comes into play big time. I can see leaving once that is out in the wild but not before.

While I agree him leaving before the release of the BB10 UI is a bit suspect, BUT if he would stick around just until then that is a good 5 months away to stick around is a long time if you've got the itch.

Also I suspect he wasn't really a code monkey and his Vision of the UI has probably been altered though the new corporate structure in the last 6 months, now that the cascades TOOLS are mostly out, I suspect the UI excitement is done.

I will be excited to know how long it takes him to get a new start up going.

[howarmat]

While I agree him leaving before the release of the BB10 UI is a bit suspect, BUT if he would stick around just until then that is a good 5 months away to stick around is a long time if you've got the itch.

Also I suspect he wasn't really a code monkey and his Vision of the UI has probably been altered though the new corporate structure in the last 6 months, now that the cascades TOOLS are mostly out, I suspect the UI excitement is done.

I will be excited to know how long it takes him to get a new start up going.

Right that is my thought too.

[Rooster99]

While I agree him leaving before the release of the BB10 UI is a bit suspect, BUT if he would stick around just until then that is a good 5 months away to stick around is a long time if you've got the itch.

Also I suspect he wasn't really a code monkey and his Vision of the UI has probably been altered though the new corporate structure in the last 6 months, now that the cascades TOOLS are mostly out, I suspect the UI excitement is done.

I will be excited to know how long it takes him to get a new start up going.

Sorry, I agree with howarmat - the timing is odd and disquieting.

TAT got a lot of PR out of the RIM purchase and BB10 involvement, and that PR will just increase if the BB10 launch is successful and Cascades is a large part of it. Holding on another 5 months to get another jolt plus see your "baby" actually delivered would be natural. Then a fairwell to a loud "Thank you" and fanfare.

Not sure what this means but the timing is definitely odd. It speaks to me of a difference of opinion that can't be resolved.

- R.

[CairnsRock]

Sorry, I agree with howarmat - the timing is odd and disquieting.

TAT got a lot of PR out of the RIM purchase and BB10 involvement, and that PR will just increase if the BB10 launch is successful and Cascades is a large part of it. Holding on another 5 months to get another jolt plus see your "baby" actually delivered would be natural. Then a fairwell to a loud "Thank you" and fanfare.

Not sure what this means but the timing is definitely odd. It speaks to me of a difference of opinion that can't be resolved.

- R.

His company has been assimilated, his usefulness has been wrung dry, he has been sidelined.
A typical process for small fish consumed by bigger fish.

He can't stomach it any longer. Time to move on. Good for him.

[Plazmic Flame]

I'd put money on it.

He's got a good chunk of change from his buy out he's fulfilled any contractual requirements of the purchase and being an entrepreneur with his own seed money he can have the freedom he once enjoyed.

That sums it up right there. I'm sure he'll want to look back one day and see that TAT's influence was one of the primary reasons for the resurgence of the RIM empire but he will move on and do more amazing things, I'm sure of it. Definitely will start following him to get first heads up.

[TheScionicMan]

Or it could be a million other things that we have no reason to know about...

[rolextwelve]

I follow his @hajak twitter account and someone asked him about this. He replied with: "cause I'm a startup-guy and even if I really liked the company and the people, I felt it was time to start another one. Why?"

[bk1022]

This is typical of a buyout. There is a period where the previous ownership is obligated to stay, and during that time they learn quickly that they cannot stand the fact that they are no longer in charge.

This is why Bikoff insisted he got to run Glaceau when he sold it to Coke. He wanted the money and he wanted to run the company. But this type of deal is rare.

[Alex_Hong]

I'm not particularly surprise at the news. I mean since he was willing to sell TAT to RIM, that means that he already has the intention of moving on. Anyway TAT was a user interface design company to begin with, and i would guess that getting a company to use their design was their intention. They have the UI design talents, but no OS to build it on. So, maybe he thought that there isn't really a point for him to stay on, as mentioned the cascades tools are mostly out. Nowadays they don't even call it TAT much anymore, just RIM's Sweden branch.

All we can do is speculate, but i mean there's no point probing what his reason was. Lets just wish him all the best in his future endeavors. Still very much looking forward to see what TAT has brought to BB10. And of course, what he's going to do next.

[TRlPPlN]

he's moving on to his next venture. it happens all the time in acquisitions. i swear some of you guys make a big deal out of nothing.

[Snowman888]

If is reason is true, 'he's a start up guy' then I don't blame him and would've expected his exit earlier. I can imagine him getting frustrated with process and red tape in a large company versus agile decision making and process in a start up.