HP PC CTO Phil McKinney Soon Calling it Quits

By Douglas Perry
published

HP will be losing Phil McKinney, chief technology officer of the PC unit.

McKinney announced on his blog that he will be retiring and, in the future, helping others to innovate.

McKinney is believed to have orchestrated HP's acquisition of VoodooPC and he is believed to have had a close relationship with VoodooPC co-founder Rahul Sood, both of which frequently showed their respect to each other. Sood announced his departure from HP in late 2010. Together, McKinney and Sood developed some of the most recognizable PCs that HP has come up with over the past decade, including the Blackbird and Firebird PCs, as well as the Envy 133 notebook. Without those sparks, HP's product lineup would have been as boring as a toothpick.

McKinney said that he will now be focusing on publishing a book, he wants to become a blogger, podcaster, speaker and teach innovation. He noted that his last day at HP will be December 31.

Douglas Perry
14 Comments Comment from the forums
  • captaincharisma
    time to jump off the sinking ship
    Reply
  • dark_knight33
    If they stopped choosing puppets (whitman) and incompetent (Leo) CEOs to lead HP, maybe they could hold onto some talent. I thought Mark Hurd was a greedy, arrogant prick, and deserved to fired, but at least he made HP profitable.

    2nd executive to announce leaving HP in such a short time is a bad sign. The employees have no confidence in the board, they're the ones that should be leaving.
    Reply
  • Ragnar-Kon
    captaincharismatime to jump off the sinking shipEh I wouldn't call HP's PC lineup a sinking ship. The whole... buying Palm to get webOS and then deciding that webOS was crap thing was pretty bad, but McKinney was more than likely not involved in that fiasco.
    Reply
  • zybch
    If only they'd stop bogging down their PCs with inordinate amounts of crapware that cause a 50% drop in speed they might sell a few more.
    Reply
  • LukeCWM
    zybchIf only they'd stop bogging down their PCs with inordinate amounts of crapware that cause a 50% drop in speed they might sell a few more.
    Crapware is how they keep the PCs affordable. It's essentially paid advertising space that brings down the overall cost to the consumer. I'd rather buy a cheaper machine with the same specs and spend an hour cleaning the crap off of it than pay a premium.
    Reply
  • captaincharisma
    9322523 said:
    Crapware is how they keep the PCs affordable. It's essentially paid advertising space that brings down the overall cost to the consumer. I'd rather buy a cheaper machine with the same specs and spend an hour cleaning the crap off of it than pay a premium.

    well my MSI laptop was affordable and the only crapware it had on it was norton antivirus with a 30 day sub, trial of MS works, and some crappy printing software. theres no way they can keep using that excuse
    Reply
  • soundping
    NEXT!! Now serving CTO #26
    Reply
  • youssef 2010
    HP is one of the oldest companies to work in the electronics business. It'd be a shame if it files for bankruptcy. And, looking at the 2010 Revenue, that won't be happening any time soon. Also, they may use these guys as consultants.
    Reply
  • legacy7955
    The amount of bashing the number 1 desktop PC maker is just ridiculous.

    Most folks don't have the skills to build their own PC, and even if they did if something doesn't work they'd be stuck after spending hundreds of dollars with a useless brick.

    I agree that HP should offer the option for a bit more cash to delete all the crap ware...people would pay the extra . I would.

    HP and other OEMs are useful because they offer a one stop warranty, which happens to be darn good on the HP! Problems send it back post paid, for a few bucks more they will send a tech out to repair the unit.

    HP has a very good PC product they just have to now focus on this.
    Reply
  • goodguy713
    legacy7955The amount of bashing the number 1 desktop PC maker is just ridiculous.Most folks don't have the skills to build their own PC, and even if they did if something doesn't work they'd be stuck after spending hundreds of dollars with a useless brick. I agree that HP should offer the option for a bit more cash to delete all the crap ware...people would pay the extra . I would.HP and other OEMs are useful because they offer a one stop warranty, which happens to be darn good on the HP! Problems send it back post paid, for a few bucks more they will send a tech out to repair the unit. HP has a very good PC product they just have to now focus on this.
    i dont know about a useless brick to be honest when you buy parts to build a computer they still have valid manufacturer's warranty.. worst case senario you have most of the time at least a year.. some are rated even longer. so your point is pretty much lazy mans excuse ... pick up a book and join the reading rainbow.. lol seriously its really not rocket science to put a computer togeather... an usually for a lot cheaper ... but if you dont mind throwing your money to a company like that go for it unless you order a buisness class computer it will be assembled in mexico .. i used to work for them years ago.
    Reply