> it was just a SQL database that stored arbitrary data.
I mean, for some definitions of “just”, “SQL database”, and “arbitrary data.” :) It was a schematised graph database implemented on top of a slimmed-down version of SQL Server. The query language was not SQL-based.
> It was abandoned due to The Cloud.
It was discontinued circa 2007. The cloud was much less of a Thing back then. I don’t recall that factoring at all into the decision to cancel the project, though it would have been prescient.
(Disclaimer: I was on the WinFS team at Microsoft.)
Skydrive released in 2007.
But fair enough, I grabbed my Beta 1 copy from \\products; it was fun to play with. I wish they’d seen it through. Microsoft had plenty of 'slimmed down' versions of SQL Server, i.e. the CRM addin for Outlook, so that isn't quite a unique feature of WinFS.
Did Microsoft tell the WinFS team why they decided to cancel the product? If so, can you reveal what the real reason was?
I mean, it’s not like whenever a project is cancelled at Microsoft they bring team members into a room and say, “We’re totally going to lie to the public (and therefore the shareholders) but here’s the real reason...”
Maybe all the nuances aren't fully communicated publicly when a project is cancelled, but I don’t recall having a sense that what was said publicly was any different than our understanding internally. But that was almost 20 years ago.
The majority of the teams I was on during my time there were ‘internal startups’: Mira, NetGen, WinFS, MatrixDB. Like startups anywhere, projects being unceremoniously cancelled was par for the course.
I don't remember Microsoft ever really giving the public a reason for canceling it. It just seemed to disappear with everyone just speculating what the reason was. Was there a press release that I missed?
I vaguely recall something being posted to the blog. I doubt the blog is still up. I could google around and check the Wayback Machine and so forth, but it would probably be faster if you did it yourself. I don’t have any inside info, I’m afraid.