HP Personal Systems CTO Phil McKinney to retire

By Andrew Couts November 1, 2011

phil_mckinney_hirez — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Hewlett-Packard chief technology officer of its PC division, Phil McKinney, announced late Monday that he plans to retire from the company to help build startups. McKinney’s retirement comes just days after HP announced that it will continue to produce PCs through the Personal Systems Group (PSG).

“This is not the traditional retirement,” writes McKinney on his blog. “I’m not planning on spending my days playing golf or sitting around the house driving my wife crazy. I have far too much passion, energy and ideas to sit on the sidelines.”

Instead, McKinney says he plans to “help innovators get better at innovating,” something he says he’s done at HP “for the better part of the last dozen years.” But now, his “mission” to further the technological advancements at HP has come to an end.

“I can honestly say that I’ve done everything that is within my power to fulfill that objective,” he writes.

McKinney says his retirement will be filled with repeating “what [he] did at HP by helping others get better at innovation.” This includes filling “board seats, advisory roles and mentoring opportunities” that were not a possibility while he was at HP because he “will no longer have to worry about conflict of interest and other corporate restrictions.” He also plans to focus on the launch of his first book, Beyond The Obvious.

McKinney’s departure comes at a volatile time for HP. The company recently ousted its previous chief executive, Leo Apotheker, after he liquidated the company’s inventory of TouchPad tablets by slashing the price to as low as $99, then announced that the company may spin off or shut down the PSG to focus on its business product division.

Apotheker was quickly replaced by former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, who announced last week that HP will continue to produce PCs under the PSG, but that the company will make fewer models to focus on quality. Whitman also said that tablets running Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 will be part of the company’s consumer lineup.

McKinney says he will remain with HP during the company’s transition period. His last day with HP will be December 31.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…

Computing

Get this Asus laptop with a year of Microsoft Office for $199

asus vivobook go laptop deal amazon march 2024 lifestyle

You don't need to spend several hundreds of dollars on a new laptop that you'll use as a productivity tool because there are budget-friendly options like the Asus Vivobook Go L510MA. It's actually currently even cheaper from Walmart after an $80 discount, which brings its price down to just $199 from $279 originally. There's no telling how much time is remaining before the offer expires though, so if you want to take advantage of it, you're going to have to proceed with the purchase as soon as possible.

Why you should buy the Asus Vivobook Go L510MA
For a laptop that will be able to handle basic activities like doing online research, building reports, and browsing social media, you can't go wrong with the Asus Vivobook Go L510MA. It's equipped with the Intel Pentium Silver N5030 processor and 4GB of RAM, which are a far cry from the specifications of the best laptops, but it will be enough for simple tasks. The device also comes with a 15.6-inch screen with Full HD resolution, which is pretty large and sharp for its price, but it's still portable as it only weights about 3.5 pounds with a thickness of just 0.72 of an inch.

Computing

These are the 10 best gaming PCs I’d recommend to anyone

Graphics card in the CLX Hathor PC.

We review dozens of gaming PCs each year. In 2024, there are a ton of great options, but we've narrowed them down to a list of the 10 best gaming desktops that deserve your hard-earned money.

In 2024, we still recommend the Alienware Aurora R16 because of its fantastic design, solid performance, and decent value. However, there are several other options depending on your needs and budget. If you want a deeper look into how we evaluate gaming PCs, make sure to read about how we review desktops.

Computing

Samsung’s crazy 57-inch curved 4K monitor is $700 off today

The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 57-inch mini-LED gaming monitor placed on a desk.

Your investment in gaming PC deals will go to waste if you don't upgrade your screen, and if you're willing to splurge for the best possible gaming experience, you'll want to go for the 57-inch Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 curved gaming monitor. It's pretty expensive at its original price of $2,500, so you're going to want to take advantage of any discounts that are available. Fortunately, Samsung has slashed its price by $700 so it's down to $1,800 -- it's still not cheap, but once you're playing your favorite games on this monitor, you'll quickly understand why it's worth every single penny.

Why you should buy the 57-inch Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 curved gaming monitor
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 curved gaming monitor features a 57-inch screen with dual 4K Ultra HD resolution and a 1000R curvature, so it will fully immerse you in the worlds of the video games that you play with its lifelike details and vivid colors. It also supports HDR 1000 for better visual accuracy, and it uses Quantum Matrix technology for controlled brightness and improved contrast.