Questions abound on firing of Microsoft CIO

In addition to the question of what corporate policy now-former Microsoft Corp. CIO Stuart Scott violated to lead to his termination by the company on Monday, many other unknowns remain.

For instance, why didn't Microsoft and Scott work out some sort of face-saving departure? Was Microsoft tougher on Scott than it might have been on someone else because he was CIO? And what career paths remain open to the 40-something Scott?

One thing is for certain: Scott's firing has become unusually public, even though the termination was disclosed in an internal memo and Microsoft didn't formally announce it to the outside world or specify what internal policy he had violated.