Jeffrey Snover Claims Microsoft Demoted Him For Inventing PowerShell

PowerShell inventor Jeffrey Snover has aired some grievances about how his indispensable tool once got him demoted. The Register reports: The Microsoft Technical Fellow discussed the incident in a weekend Twitter thread that started when controversial investor Peter Thiel discussed the virtues of courage. 'Courage is a key characteristic of future leaders and previous employees,' Snover joked in response to Thiel's musings. He also asserted that 'many people focus on getting their boss to pat them on the head rather than address problems.' Snover said he was urged by friend Kevin Kean -- who served as director of the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) in the mid 2000s -- not to reveal PowerShell, as it may not well be received.

This is not the first time Snover has revealed his demotion, but he hasn't previously discussed his profound embarrassment -- or that he kept it secret from everyone other than his wife. 'I never mentioned it to anyone for over a decade until I got promoted to Distinguished Engineer,' tweeted Snover, who was given the honor in March 2009. Snover then contrasted Microsoft's policy for company-related passion projects to Google's famous 20 percent rule.

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