“Speaking to a group of market analysts this week, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer repeatedly mentioned Apple, including a suggestion that a growing rate of Mac adoption is statistically insignificant,” Neil Hughes reports for AppleInsider. ‘Share versus Apple, you know, we think we may have ticked up a little tick,’ Ballmer said at the 2009 Financial Analyst Meeting, ‘but when you get right down to it, it’s a rounding error. Apple’s share change, plus or minus from ours, they took a little share a couple quarters, we took share back a couple quarters.’”
MacDailyNews Take: Ballmer’s head is a round error. And his fear is palpable.
Hughes continues, “The Microsoft executive said he expects Windows to continue to trade market share with Mac OS X back and forth, though he added he feels taking customers from Apple is a limited resource.”
MacDailyNews Take: Because, all together now: Once you go Mac you never go back, baby!
Hughes continues, “‘Apple’s share globally cost us nothing,’ Ballmer said. ‘Now, hopefully, we will take share back from Apple, but you know, Apple still only sells about 10 million PCs, so it is a limited opportunity.’”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Yeah, stellar businessman, that Ballmer. After all of these years, we still can’t tell if he’s stupid, delusional, a liar, or all three rolled up into one sweaty, unkempt mess. Really, now, who’d want the smartest customers; the cream of the crop, who’ve proven to repeatedly and routinely spend their money on quality (oops, therein lies Microsoft’s problem) versus those who’d rather settle for junk hardware and a derivative problematic OS in order to “save” a few bucks upfront and who are then highly likely to “trade” software with their friends, “borrow” it from work, etc. rather than buy a legit copies? (Microsoft’s other problem.)
Educated computer buyers overwhelmingly invest in Apple Macs. Cheap, uncool (as Microsoft’s own ads describe them) computer buyers wander aimlessly into Wal-Mart and shortsightedly saddle themselves with Windows PC junk. They also tend not to buy software. Certainly not like Mac users do. Software developers should take note; the smart ones have already.
Steve Ballmer never learns:
Direct link here.
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