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.
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
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:2005-11-10
There are three words I never thought I would see together in a sentence: Bill Gates + Charisma.
Charisma is a neutral concept. Bill Gates in my humble opinion has the charisma of a carrot.
Ballmer on the other hand exudes charisma. Note that charisma does not imply "likeable" or "agreeable."
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:2007-02-17
I have to say that on the same machine as my Vista install there are a couple of areas where it runs much better than Vista. Its not a huge difference but its still noticeable. At home I use OSX and Linux, but at wok I use Vista primarily. However I do have to point out that I have yet to install any real work software on it, which generally slow down the machine considerably.
I was pleased with the very Mac/Dock-like taskbar, imo, it works better than the traditional one because I don't have to mentally group instances of applications if I have multiple windows/sessions open. The only real difference between the OSX approach and the Windows7 approach is that Windows encourages minimizing applications more than OSX. OSX use things like Expose and Spaces to reduce the amount of minimizing. There is also a bit more attention to detail this time around which is much appreciated.
The new taskbar is not in anyway original, and could be seen as an underhanded move by MS by the Mac faithful, but that doesn't detract from the fact that imo its a much needed improvement.
Member since:2005-09-13
"The wave of departures is a sign of internal struggle, but amidst all the bad news, there is a glimmer of hope. According to an anonymous HTC executive cited by WSJ, the crucial HTC One is selling 'pretty good so far'. The executive revealed that HTC sold about five million One units since launch, a performance that is deemed encouraging. However, sales have been limited by the persisting supply issues that still plague the production of the HTC One." Finally some good news for HTC. Five million units amidst supply constraints is very impressive.
"Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). Unlike last generation, you don't need to be some sort of Jedi to extract the PS4's potential here. The Xbox One and PS4 architectures are quite similar, Sony just has more hardware under the hood. Weâll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that itâs usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms. On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques." AnandTech does its usual in-depth thing."The Verge has learned that HTC's Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera, left the company last week. Kodera was responsible for HTC's overall product strategy, which makes the departure especially notable on the heels of the global launch of the make-or-break One. It's not just Kodera. In the past three-odd months, HTC has lost a number of employees in rapid succession." I really hope HTC pulls it together.
"It is with huge pleasure that the Debian GNU/Hurd team announces the release of Debian GNU/Hurd 2013. This is a snapshot of Debian 'sid' at the time of the Debian 'wheezy' release (May 2013), so it is mostly based on the same sources. It is not an official Debian release, but it is an official Debian GNU/Hurd port release." Important note: 75% of Debian packages are supported bu Debian GNU/Hurd. Impressive.
"The first killer app was VisiCalc. This early spreadsheet turned the Apple II from a hobbyist toy to a business computer. VisiCalc came with room for improvement, though. In addition, a new architecture and operating system, the Intel-based IBM PC and MS-DOS, also needed a spreadsheet to be taken seriously. That spreadsheet, released in early 1983, would be Lotus 1-2-3, and it would change the world. It became the PC's killer app, and the world would never be the same. On May 14, IBM quietly announced the end of the road for 1-2-3, along with Lotus Organizer and the Lotus SmartSuite office suite. Lotus 1-2-3's day is done." Impressive 30 year run.
"There's a disconnect between how Apple CEO Tim Cook sees his company's tax strategies and how some members of the US Senate view it. That became clearer than ever today after Cook and two other Apple executives testified before Congress, explaining why they're holding most of their international income in Irish subsidiaries like Apple Operations International, which declare no tax residency anywhere in the world. AOI hasn't filed a tax return anywhere in the world for the last five years, yet it earned $30 billion in income from 2009 to 2012, according to a Senate report released yesterday." Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it's just. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and many more - these companies might not be breaking any laws, but it's obvious to anyone that what they are doing is scummy.
The new WebKit Opera for Android has been released. "Opera 14 for Android is built on top of Chromium 26, with a total overhaul of the UI in native code, making it fit well with the latest Android design guidelines. Go get the build from Google Play or point your browser to m.opera.com, and give it a spin!"The Verge pointed me to a blog post by Leap Motion - which reveals how their Kinect-like motion control works with Windows 8. "From the second you plug in your Leap Motion Controller, you'll be able to browse the web and interact with your computer just by moving your hands and fingers in the air. With Leap Motion technology and Windows, you can do everything that's possible with multi-touch inputs - without actually touching anything. This also means that existing applications in Windows 7 and 8 will respond to your natural hand and finger movements. Soon, we'll show you how Leap Motion will work with Mac OS X." Quite cool.PocketNow interviews Marc Dillon, and there's an interesting note about why Jolla is keeping the display properties under wraps: "We're leaving some of those details out because we do understand that there are a lot of really big players in the market and they tend to take certain components in the market and dominate them. We created the ability to actually be able to run Sailfish on multiple hardware displays and be able to swap components, so this is part of the demand and supply planning phase. We are committed to this industrial design which is a 4.5-inch display, an 8 megapixel camera on the back and a front-facing camera at the front, and the exact specs of the display we'll provide when we're close to delivery." Something you rarely hear anything about.
"This is my NeXTstation Turbo Color booting the Mac System 7.1 Operating System using a hardware add-on called 'Daydream'. The Daydream has a Mac ROM and a few custom ICs in it and hooked up to the NeXTs DSP port. Turns your NeXT into a full fledged 68k powered Mac." So cool.
Member since:
2006-08-02
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.