People who work for for-profit companies, especially large ones, are always a bit uninteresting to interview, with media training and marketing instructions taking out all the sharp edges. CNet interviewed Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and they got some very interesting quotes from the love-him-or-hate-him CEO.
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Member since:2005-06-29
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First I'd like to say that Windows 7 runs great on netbooks. I'm a member of the Channel 9 Community and I've read various reports there (and elsewhere) that Windows 7 is great on a netbook. I haven't read a lot of negative reports about Windows 7, not even in the context of limited hardware. On the contrary.
Second, I've met Steve Ballmer in person. I've seen him defend Microsoft in a Q&A with a small group (not more than 40 or 50) of Belgian Microsoft Partners. And although they were Microsoft Partners, the questions were very harsh and to the point. The Ballmer I've seen was very humble and likeable. That's in sharp contrast with his public image. Later that day, I saw him give a keynote to a large group and there I saw him "perform" his "act" of being loud and extravert again.
There's 2 sides to the man, and most people only see 1 side.
Member since:2006-07-25
Ive met steve ballmer aswell when he was in london a few weeks back. I think he is a terrible public figure for microsoft. He makes incredibly rash and stupid comments which lets down the intelligent people at microsoft. At least with bill gates he had some carisma which a lot of people could either like or dislike.
He is completely unprofessional and i find him really boring to listen to also, i switch off a lot of his presentations.
I personally think they should move some of the newer talent to the spot light a lot more. I find Steve Sinosky a much more likeable, intelligent speak that Ballmer. I think they should retire him to a seat upstairs, he may keep his CEO title but please other someone who is likeable giving important presentations.
I can't help but feel that if Ballmer was to annouce his retirement Microsoft's shares would go up.
Microsoft is a good company with lots of intelligent people and cool technology.
The development of vista was disasterious, while the Vista product today is good. I did have a few BSOD and corrupted startup's in the early days of it's release. However this, as others have pointed out has meant that Microsoft got caught out in the netbook market, as they in the mobile phone market.
As good and clever as Dave Cutler is, i think that now he has moved on from the Windows team, a breathe of fresh talent has also been moved in.
Windows 7 will be microsoft coming back fighting and entering the netbook market correctly and not just patching with Windows XP. In the same way i expect the next major release of Windows Mobile will be a lot better due to the competition from apple but also the increased competition from Google and Palm.
Edited 2009-01-12 10:35 UTC
Member since:2005-11-15
All I hear about Windows 7 is...
"It runs GREAT, really GREAT..."
It makes me skeptical, REALLY skeptical...
I heard similar drivel from Vista, and frankly I will wait until the general public has used Windows 7.
Me I would wager that Windows 7 will NOT RUN great. Why? Because that would be a REAL difference. Up to now each and every Windows operating system has been more bloated than the previous. I have yet to see something else.
And if there is one thing that Microsoft is not getting. I am quite happy with XP... I do use Vista and hate every moment of it.
Member since:2006-01-03
Member since:2006-07-12
I love him in the developers, developers, developers song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hadxBZWxNrs does that count?
"I can't find one person who has been using the Nexus 7 for an extended period of time, and hasn't seen a massive downgrade in performance. Just what kind of downgrade are we talking here? I cannot pick up my Nexus 7 without experiencing problems like a lag of ten seconds, or more, just to rotate the display; touches refusing to acknowledged; stuttering notification panel actions; and unresponsive apps." Fully and utterly agreed. My Nexus 7 was blazing-fast and awesome for a few months, and at some point, it just started sucking. Just like that. I've tried loads of ROMs, and nothing helps.
A new release of the hobby operating system MenuetOS! The release notes are a bit non-descript, but you'll have to take what you can get: "updates and improvements (picview, httpc, ehci, ...)"."The Internet is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetimes. But for 2 out of every 3 people on earth, a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach. And this is far from being a solved problem. There are many terrestrial challenges to Internet connectivity - jungles, archipelagos, mountains. There are also major cost challenges. Right now, for example, in most of the countries in the southern hemisphere, the cost of an Internet connection is more than a month's income. Solving these problems isn't simply a question of time: it requires looking at the problem of access from new angles. So today we're unveiling our latest moonshot from Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access." Insane.
"MineAssemble is a tiny bootable Minecraft clone written partly in x86 assembly. I made it first and foremost because a university assignment required me to implement a game in assembly for a computer systems course. Because I had never implemented anything more complex than a 'Hello World' bootloader before, I decided I wanted to learn about writing my own kernel code at the same time. Note that the goal of this project was not to write highly efficient hand-optimized assembly code, but rather to have fun and write code that balances readability and speed. This is primarily accomplished by proper commenting and consistent code structuring." Just cool.
Jon Rubinstein, former CEO of Palm: "Well, I'm not sure I would have sold the company to HP. That's for sure. Talk about a waste. Not that I had any choice because when you sell a company you don't get to decide that. Obviously, the board and shareholders decide that. If we had known they were just going to shut it down and never really give it a chance to flourish, what would have been the point of selling the company? I think the deal we had with Verizon really hurt us, but who knew that at the time? These things are all hindsight.""And so it is with Dell's Alienware X51 R2, a small form factor gaming PC in console digs. It's shaped similar to Microsoft's Xbox 360 Slim, and though it's slightly larger than either a 360 or PlayStation 3, the X51 R2 would be right at home in a living room setting nestled next to a large screen TV. Indeed, it's adept at running Steam's Big Picture mode, and if your primary objective is to play games in the living room, go ahead and consider the X51 R2 a hybrid game console." This is obviously not the only machine like this - still, these are very valid console alternatives even for those that don't like being hunched over with a cramped WASD-claw. Also, PC gamers among us: could you get away with the $699 model for gaming?
From Bloomberg: "Microsoft, the world's largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process. That information can be used to protect government computers and to access the computers of terrorists or military foes." The lid has officially been blown off.
"The key takeaway we've reached (after two less than 24 hours playing with the iOS 7 Beta release) is this - every App must consider even basic updates to its UI to survive in a post-iOS 6 world." Great. Telling developers to update their entire application - user interface and behaviour alike - to target a look and behaviour that isn't final yet. Seems like potential for a lot of wasted work here."Overall the app is really basic, and designed for on the go editing. Microsoft says it's not planning to create an iPad version, noting that tablet users can utilize the Office Web Apps instead. We'd like to see some additional options for editing, including more clear options for text formatting and the ability to insert and change images, but it's a solid attempt for something you're only really going to use for editing in emergencies." A resounding meh can be heard from all over the world."Today, most people are using modern browsers that support the majority of the latest web technologies. Better yet, the usage of legacy browsers is declining significantly and newer browsers stay up to date automatically, which means the leading edge has become mainstream. Given these factors we've decided to retire Chrome Frame, and will cease support and updates for the product in January 2014." Eh.
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2005-06-29
Anyone out there with a love for Ballmer?