Johnson's departure from Microsoft probably abrupt

Kevin Johnson's departure from Microsoft, announced last week, has all the markings of being unexpected.

The announcement came Wednesday that the president of Microsoft's sweeping Platforms and Services Division was leaving the company and that, under a reorganization plan, the division itself was being split in two.

That happened the day before he was to have a spotlight role at Microsoft's annual financial analyst meeting.

Remarks from Chief Executive Steve Ballmer at that meeting certainly indicate the move was a surprise.

Ballmer explained to the analysts that he wasn't originally scheduled to talk in detail about the company's Internet search effort. "I was not gonna give this part of the presentation," he said, "but with org changes here, it seemed like today was a good day for me to get in front of you on this topic."

He then wished Johnson well in his next job — chief executive of network-equipment maker Juniper Networks, something not confirmed until Thursday morning.

"He's been a great contributor here," he said, "but we thought it made most sense to try to get our organization changes announced before today and so we moved things along a little faster than we might have because we thought it was important that whoever got up here and talked to you about the big investment we're making in online was actually still going to be here in three weeks.

"So you're stuck with me on this topic today."

Incidentally, Johnson, who played a key role in Microsoft's attempt to acquire all or part of Yahoo, resigned, according to regulatory filing Friday. Analysts and company watchers chattered about whether he had quit or was fired after the announcement.

In the hole

The Microsoft analyst meeting had the usual doughnuts — but we're not talking about the edible variety.

Rather, it's the term given to clusters of Wall Street types who gather around execs in hallways and at meals to listen for that one nugget of information. As our Brier Dudley describes the scene: It's like "groupies seeking autographs from a rock star."

Understandably, Steve Ballmer had the biggest doughnuts, given that the usual draw, Chairman Bill Gates, did not attend last week's meeting.

As to the doughnuts themselves, Brier noted the two analysts who had the seats next to Ballmer at lunch: Adam Holt, of Morgan Stanley, and Sarah Friar, of Goldman Sachs.

Rick Sherlund, the analyst Friar succeeded, usually had one of these choice spots. But he wasn't too far away this year. Now with a hedge fund, Sherlund pulled up a chair to sit behind Friar.

Lost and found?

The theft of British Conservative Party leader David Cameron's bicycle outside a grocery created a bit of a stir in the British press. "If anyone has seen it I would very much like it back," he was quoted saying in Times Online. "To me it was absolutely priceless."

But this being a high-tech world we live in, the bike a short time later appeared to be on the U.K. eBay, according the The Register Web site. "This bike is not exactly new but it is nearly new because it has only been used for a couple of photo-opportunities," The Register quoted the "anonymous huckster." It said the eBay posting added that the bike "leans oddly to the right."

A click on The Register's link to said huckster, however, led on Friday to a note on the eBay site: "This listing ... has been removed or is no longer available."

On the record

New partnerships: Seattle-based thePlatform has been selected to handle the back end video-management system for Time Warner Cable's Road Runner service. Under the agreement, thePlatform will aggregate and publish video content and ads on the RoadRunner Web site. ThePlatform is a subsidiary of Comcast. ... Zazz, a Seattle-based interactive agency, has been selected to redesign the Morgans Hotel Group's Web site.

Download, a column of news bits, observations and miscellany, is gathered by The Seattle Times technology staff. We can be reached at 206-464-2265 or biztech@seattletimes.com.