PC Magazine recently sat down with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to discuss a wide range of topics and, as invariably happens, a portion of the conversation turned to Apple:
PC Magazine: Microsoft is the icon of the PC. What do you think about the Apple commercials: “I’m a Mac, and I am a PC”?
Steve Ballmer: I think they need a little bit of correction, and you’ll see us be much more vigorous about stating the case for the PC. The truth of the matter is, this is ironic. The PC outsells the Mac 33 to 1—32 to 1. And despite the fact that we don’t sell PCs, we only sell Windows to people who make PCs. And the attack is actually on the PCs, interestingly enough. You’ll see us defend the PC. We’re going to talk about why—look, PCs are better than Macs. That is not something that can be debated. 32 out of every 33 times, somebody buys a PC instead of a Mac. I’m not saying that there are not some things that people like about Macs, apparently there are. But have you ever seen a cheap Mac? No.
MacDailyNews Take: Ballmer’s definition of “better” needs a lot of work. Apple doesn’t make “cheap” junk, but compare a Mac to a similarly-spec’ed PC and you’ll find the Macs is very competitive and, oftentimes, even less expensive. And using every cash register and dumb terminal in the world in an attempt to diminish Mac “market share” is just plain pathetic.
• NPD: Apple took 20% market share of U.S. retail notebook sales in July and August – October 01, 2008
• Net Applications: Apple’s Mac OS share hit new all-time high of 8.23% in September 2008 – October 01, 2008
• NPD: Apple vaults to 10.6% share in North American notebook market – September 17, 2008
• Gartner: Apple Mac grabs 10.4 percent share of U.S. home market – August 26, 2008
• Gartner: Apple Mac #1 in Q2 08 Europe education market share – again – August 01, 2008
Ballmer continues: You know, they like to act like Macs are lightweight, there are much lighter weight PC notebooks. Macs—do they have the best battery power? Of course they don’t have the best battery power. Macs tend to have nice screens, but can you get nicer screens for a PC? Of course. Do Macs work in business? No, they do not.
MacDailyNews Take: Ballmer’s fear is palpable. Does he understand that an entire business unit of his company is dedicated to making Microsoft Office for Mac? (This is why Mac users should not buy Office, by the way; Microsoft will take your money and then immediately turn around and ignore your very existence). Do PCs run Mac OS X Leopard and iLife and many other best-in-class Mac-only apps? No, they do not. Only Apple Macs run all the world’s major OSes and applications:
• Apple Macs run Windows Vista less awfully than PCs – April 17, 2008
• Windows to Mac switcher finds comfort in ability to run Windows, then leaves Windows behind – April 16, 2007
• Apple Macs that can run Windows are bad news for Microsoft – August 08, 2006
• Couldn’t you just buy a Mac and run Windows? Microsoft CEO Ballmer: ‘No, we prefer real PCs’ – April 29, 2006
Ballmer continues: You know, there are so many—you know, can you find Macs in—I’m very sensitive to exactly what mouse I have on my laptop. Can you find a range of choices? Of course you can’t find a range of choices.
MacDailyNews Take: This guy runs a company? (Yeah, into the ground.) Virtually any USB mouse from any company works with a Mac and, oh, by the way, this one does, too (for just one example of many from Microsoft itself): Microsoft Notebook Mouse for Mac: “Microsoft’s most portable wireless notebook mouse connects seamlessly to Mac’s using Bluetooth.” We heartily discourage Mac users from buying products made by companies whose CEO’s do not even know they make Mac products and who routinely disparage Mac users.
Ballmer continues: You know, anyway—can you find the applications you want on the Mac? Well, you don’t really get full Microsoft Office.
MacDailyNews Take: Because I tried to have them cripple it in order to push more PC sales since we screwed the pooch with Vista, but it backfired: VBA returns to future Office for Mac versions – May 13, 2008. And, check this out, too: Fortune Small Business: The best PC for Microsoft Office is Apple Mac – August 08, 2008
Ballmer continues: So 32 out of 33 times people chose PCs, there must be something better about the PC, and that’s a story that deserves to be told. I think it’s a story of choice.
MacDailyNews Take: Yeah, the wrong choice: Mac vs. Windows in business case study: Macs have 1/3 fewer problems that are solved 30% faster – June 02, 2008
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Someone really should let Uncle Fester in on the news: Only Apple Macs run Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, etc. and their attendant applications. In other words, not only is the Mac able to run the world’s most advanced operating system, Mac OS X, it can also slum it as a fast PC when the user so desires (or is forced to by Microsoft’s many attempts at lock-in). Because Apple Macs also offer the full “PC experience,” Ballmer’s criticisms — and $300 million ad campaign — fail completely.
How come no one has mentioned Ballmer’s numbers are wrong?
If people choose a PC (presumably a Windows PC) 32 times out of 33, that would leave 3% of the market for Mac and everyone else. This is too low. Ballmer’s using old numbers.
where is Visio, Project, One Note, and others…… for MAC???
i dunno when you yanks are gonna wake up to the fact that politics is all a smokescreen
“i dunno when you yanks are gonna wake up to the fact that politics is all a smokescreen”
If that were true, wouldn’t we have two people running for President that would almost the same? Same opinions on almost all issues with the only difference being one Rep. and one Democrat?
…oh…
…uh…
Nevermind….
Ballmer said:
“… have you ever seen a cheap Mac? No.”
You Betcha
The fact is that Microsoft has only succeeded in selling crap to morons. The widespread use of Windows is a testimony to the stupidity of people, not the quality of Microsoft products. Are you listening, Ballf*ck?
“32 out of every 33 times, somebody buys a PC instead of a Mac”
cockroaches outnumber people too, but with very few exceptions, they are not better than people…..
“If people choose a PC (presumably a Windows PC) 32 times out of 33, that would leave 3% of the market for Mac and everyone else. This is too low. Ballmer’s using old numbers.”
not only that, but by his conflated reasoning there are no linux users, no BSD users, and no dual booters.
in fact, there used to be a great article about the market share numbers used by MS. if you took the numbers they claimed to be owned by your average person, and combined them with the number of computers sold, and extrapolated from the percentage of people who own a computer, you found out that over 10 billion had to live on the earth.
yeah, i wouldn’t put a lot of stock in monkey boys numbers.
You want dumb and dumber?
Remember 9/11?
And you obviously support a candidate for president of our country with an arab name? You’re kidding, right?
Hello? I think YOU are the dumbest!!!
“But in business, the combination of Windows Server 2003/2008, Active Directory and Group Policy, and XP works quite well.”
You are joking, right? I administer several Windows Server 2003 boxes with Active Directory. What a nightmare! Give me a Unix server any time.
I’m not sure how the world takes this guy, or MS, seriously. I still hear people talk about MS technology as if it were the best. Sure, it’s the most commonplace, but that’s about it. His comments are that of a typical IT “professional” – spewing stuff that is not true just to push his agenda.
On top of that, he publicly admits that Mac’s Office is not the “real” Office? He’s a moron. It matters not. I push all Windows users to have OpenOffice and all Mac users to have Open/NeoOffice.
Anyway, you all know the song by now…
Eric Willard is a moron.
Billy Gates is a moron.
Steve Ballmer is a (fat f###in’) moron.
la la la la la…
Ballmer: “Well, you don’t really get full Microsoft Office.”
And whose fault is that?
If there was a full version of MS Office for Mac, I “may” get it for one reason and one reason only – Access. I know Access backwards and forwards (work) and it is the only MS program I would want on my home computer. .
Word is a good program, and I don’t think I would be able to do my job fully without all its capabilities (which is why I am dreading the switch to 07). But i have no use for it at home
For a MS Office Specialist Master, you would think I would actually like MS
The reason there is no “full” office suite for Mac, is that having a full Office would give businesses and other power users an excuse not to upgrade to Mac. so its either powerful OS and crippled Office or powerful Office and crippled OS.
He is just a lucky fool.
Enough Nobama/McSame comments. Everything in the world isn’t about the presidential election, despite what the 24-hour news channels want you to think. I come here to get AWAY from that crap every once in a while.
This Bataan Death March of an election is the longest and most painful in US history — it’s like “American Idol” for ugly people who can’t sing.
PS: Ballmer is an idiot.
Oh really? Can it be true that 32 out of 33 peeps buy a PC? I hear 43 gigatrillion insects live for the joys of eating shit. True. So what? You really want to join the herd on this one? the herd.
“And you obviously support a candidate for president of our country with an arab name? You’re kidding, right?”
He obviously forgot about that part of the constitution that expressly forbids anyone with an Arabic-sounding name to be president so as not to offend the criminally stupid mouth-breathers in your state.
Actually If you go to the article read the whole thing; Ballmer just sounds even dumber. He keeps talking with his ‘team’ before answering, and keeps arrogantly interrupting the interviewer before he finishes a question. The responses to the Apple questions are probably his best thought out.
Ballmer doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Windows users continue the tradition of getting a computer from the majority of manufacturers, running their inside out OS. But is the number increasing or decreasing? And Apple only sells Mac OS X to people who make Macs. And we can find the applications we need on the Mac, thank you very much.
I say we write in Ballmer for president.
He wouldn’t be much worse than the other current choices.
And he couldn’t be any worse than the choices we’ve had since 1988.
Is he really that arrogant that he won’t let Microsoft’s PR people instruct him on what to say and how to say it? Or maybe he’s just that bad, and shouldn’t be let loose in front of the media ever again.
As has been posted here numerous times:
Nobody at MS has the courage to stand up to him.
Hence his monkey-escape public appearances.
Then again, would YOU want to stand up to a 200 pound primate with a peanut shell brain?
Me neither.
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when are you idiots going to realize
PC stands for PERSONAL COMPUTER!
what you call a “mac” IS a PC because it is a computer that is personal.
However, if you’re at a business, the computer is NO LONGER personal.
I thought I had been on a computer news site. Somehow I was unwillingly taken to a political site.
FileMaker Pro kicks the shit out of Access, about as much as Keynote does to PowerPoint. There is a better way, folks.
I can’t wait until 5 November, so that the juveniles here will go back to insulting computers instead of candidates.
Sheesh!! O’Cain, McBama, what’s the difference. Either will screw up.
@@MacFhearghail…’And you obviously support a candidate for president of our country with an arab name?’
I thought Obama sounds more like Alabama than Arabic. You cannot get more ‘Merican’ than that….am I right?
I say Steve Ballmer for President. He has all the qualifications. He has a poor memory, lies alot and has a stupid smirk all the time.