Microsoft really, really hates Apple’s ability to be so cool

Microsoft wants to be invited into your living room – but Apple looks the cooler bet… At a Financial Analyst’s meeting earlier this year, Ballmer said that he tells Microsoft people: ‘The goal is to be first

51 Comments

  1. It seems everyday I come up with another way to use my Apple products to make my home better. In fact, using the “iPod as a remote control” hack, I am able to start my truck remotely with a cronjob (every weekday, my truck starts at 7:30am using the remote starter and an IR signal ). My house is wired for entertainment, with Aiport Expresses near each stereo (even the kitchen radio). I couldn’t imagine trying to get all this going with MS products.

  2. Microsoft cool – Nah
    Gates cool – maybe in alternate universe where geeks are the champions who get all the girls ( Oh how I wish that was so ;D )
    Ballmer – HELL NO, but then again with those excellent dancing skills and bit of practice, Ballmer could become the next Fonzie. Aaaayyy!!!!!

  3. Does Coca-Cola talks about Pepsi’s bad taste? Does BMW talks about how sad Ford is? Does any leading technology company talks about how bad the competitors are? I think a company (and a politic candidate, for that matter) talks bad about competitors when it cannot offer by itself a good alternative, one that can erase by itself competence, that company is lost in space and it knows it.
    If you talk about how bad a competitor is instead of demonstrate your own value WITH FACTS, then, you are a looser.

  4. Rick,

    I also find it interesting how certain large corporations do criticize the competion. You point out that Coke does not belittle Pepsi, but the reverse is not true; Pepsi advertising regularly uses low digs at Coke to market their own syrup. Take the most recent Pepsi commercial advertising the half-carb version of Pepsi; they compare it to the regular version of Coke, without acknowledging that Coke has its own half-carb version (C2); while the ad is essential factual, it is in reality a lie by omission. This, to me, is somewhat akin to saying that Windows XP is faster that a Mac Classic; sure, it’s true, but it also ignores that fact that it’s a 15 year old model and that the current G5 with OS X blows Windows out the door.

    I have far more respect for advertisers willing to advertise on their own merits rather than dump on the competitor. Now as for personal blogs, message threads, etc…have at it!

  5. “Apple can’t do it,” says Ballmer of the complete converged environment.

    I wonder if this little comment will find its way into Apple’s bulleting board; posted for all Apple personnel to see and remember.

    When Apple puts it all together in the consumer space, Windows wont’ know what hit them.

    The big problem with Windows is that like a cheap copy of a Picasso, its culture of copying Apple will not ever be able to surpass the original

  6. Errrr Pepsi tastes alot better than coca cola. Even virgin cola tastes better than coca cola. Coca cola only works when mixed with alcohol as people are too drunk to realise how bad it really tastes.

  7. Microsoft is synonymous with lack of innovation, paucity of elegance, and deplorable function. Example, Longhorn is 10 years behind schedule, is not close to being 64-bit operational, and lacks Microsoft�s most desired and expected feature, WinFS.

    Why? Microsoft has no imagination, vision, or talent. Well, maybe they have some talented people, but these few talented people inappropriately tasked.

    It seems that all Microsoft and its leadership is capable of doing is release gas rather than innovate and release commercial products worthy of praise.

  8. HDL,

    You may have hit on something here….. Steve J said that Apple isn’t pursueing digital video

    Steve B is pissed off and trying to goad Apple into action. He (steve b) knows Apple won’t do it….. he also knows that until apple does it, MS has nothing to copy, so he can’t do it.

  9. You guys are fucking idiots, Did MS Copy Apple on the following Products..No, And if you say yes, then you’re a bunch of dick licking apple bitches…You’re so blinded by apples mktg that you cant see past the cracks in your own asses.

    Application Center
    BizTalk Server
    Commerce Server
    Content Management Server
    Host Integration Server
    Identity Integration Server
    ISA Server
    Live Communications Server
    Operations Manager
    SharePoint Portal Server
    Speech Server
    Systems Management Server
    Virtual Server
    Class Management Server
    Project Management Server
    Active Directory
    Visio
    Netmeeting
    How about the NT Kernel?

    Who did they copy NT from? I know that MS has it’s problems but geez people, it took UNIX 50 yrs to get where it is today. MS went in a totally new direction. How about supporting more hardware than Apple or *NIX will ever support…Thats a pretty difficult task. It’ll take windows some time to become more mature (Id say another 10 yrs)

    These are markets that apple hasn’t and most likely wont touch because Apple isnt a business solutions software maker….

    Not everything revolves around Apple, Besides it’s faithful bigots of elite cock breath’s….

    As i’ve said before, is this an Apple site or a Microshaft site…Make up your damn minds….

  10. meat of moose…

    your posts are always informative as well as entertaining….

    but, to take your view of Micro$ofts inability to innovate one step further….

    isn’t it possible that the reason for the “beleagured” Longhorn’s late arrival on the scene ..due to the fact that Billy Gates found out that trying to steal from Mac OS once more…

    re: a true 64-bit, real user-friendly intuitive GUI, based on Unix … is a bigger task than he ever imagined ??

    If thats so… maybe thats the main reason we’ve learned that LongHorn has been gutted !!

  11. darknite:

    Bill Gate�s and Ballmer’s POS the PMC is a disaster in the making. Now, if Apple made a similar item (G-d forbid) this would give Microsoft�s PMC the “Apple Seal of Approval”. Gates and Ballmer could brag, �See, see, we�re just like Apple.�

    Guess what? This will not happen. Microsoft went out on a limb to prove that they are innovative and progressive and they make this POS.

    Let�s look at Microsoft history: no Longhorn, no secure IE, no 64-bit OS, no WinFS, no more service packs for non-XP users.

    Microsoft thought that they could just stuff some features in plastic box and the lemmings would buy it. MS hubris is made apparent by this garbage masquerading as technological genius.

    Well, this PMC POS is now the signature product for MS since Longhorn is dead. This is what happens when desperation, not innovation, drives your company.

  12. WinMacMan wrote;

    Who did they copy NT from?

    Great question… the answer would be Digital Equipment Corporation’s own VMS operating system in which Microsoft hired away the VMS development team to start development on NT.

    here’s an article on the subject…

    http://www.winnetmag.com/Article/ArticleID/4494/4494.html

    The other things listed… most are not Microsoft firsts. And in regards to Visio, that product was bought by Microsoft, not developed by Microsoft.

  13. hey .. WinMacMan…

    Just a couple of questions for ya…

    1) how many of those apps you mentioned did Billy Gates (and crew) actually write…. and how many have they depended on their strong-arm tactics… to “aquire” ??

    2)and…. just how “mature” do you expect DOS to become ??

  14. > How about the NT Kernel?
    > Who did they copy NT from?

    DEC. At least that where they bought the expertise for its creation. (Or re-creation after their break with IBM on what was to have originally been NT)

  15. WinMacMan

    Yeah, you are right, you win. Apple, Unix, Novell, they are all losers…. Only MS could have come up with such a great virus proliferation infrastructure…

    Boy, did you school us….

  16. I didnt say Apple, Unix and Novell were losers. I was stating the obvious that all things M$ are not copied from Apple as you all so agree…And the fact that this site (and the forum users) are infatuated with MS…

  17. ummmm perhaps WinMacMan
    is more “Win”…and no “Mac”…

    Like his hero, Billy Boy…he hasnt a clue…

    Ya know… Ive used a whole bottle of Windex.. and I still cant get that blue/green screen of death off my monitor !!…

  18. WinMac

    MS since its very beginning has done very little more than copy, buy, or steal products and wrap them in an MS label.

    Remeber, before it was MS DOS it was something like Seattle DOS, or QDOS.

    Billy purchased it a just before a meeting with IBM, and sold it to them as his own creation. Once that happened, the pattern was set, and little has changed in the MS business practice book. Sure there have been a few variations on a theme, but overall, MS doesn’t do things themselves.

    If you really need the latest example, MS blows smoke about how they were going to get into digital music, they claimed on on hand that Apple and the iTMS had nothing to do with the decision. Than they admit that when faced with the task of doing it, the directive was “copy Apple”

    Several reviewers noticed that it looks identical to the iTMS, but with none of the ease of use or user friendliness. That is a fairly accurate description of any/all MS products.

    As for giving windows another ten years to “mature” (with Long/Latehorn it could read manure) Many users will not be willing to wait for 2-3 years. With increasing attacks from malware, virii aned etc people are more willing to find,look at, and use any alternative that offers any relief from the hell that is MS.

  19. And the fact that this site (and the forum users) are infatuated with MS…

    No, this site or its users are infatuated by Microsoft, but like the fact that since the MS sponsored tech media like to print half-truths on all MS and non-MS related articles, that sites such as MDN shed the real truth on such silly propaganda.

    At least Mac users have the balls to put Apple in its place when need be… the Windows using elite don’t seem to carry those similar balls, but make excuses for Microsoft’s obvious ills! I didn’t realize this fact until I stepped outside the Redmond circle.

  20. Mac Zealot,

    I agree with you. That is why Balmer so badly wants Apple to get into this space. It will validate MS, it look like Apple is copying them, and it will give MS enough material to copy and use in MediaPC II

  21. “Did MS Copy Apple on the following Products..No “

    You are right: MS does not steal/copy/buy just from Apple. It steals/copies from all industry and buy anyone they can when the germ of an ideas is involved. If they can’t they use monopoly practices to squash competition.

  22. I noticed he said, “You want to be the first guy to be cool, too.”

    Well, that’s called copying. That’s called being the second guy.

    “Hey, he’s cool! I want to be cool like him, so I’ll be the first to do what he’s doing too.”

  23. Given MS’s established and proven track record on security (heh), they’re the last company I want in any room of my house.

    Mr. Ballmer, actions and results matter a lot more that words. When you’re “cool” and seriously ready to get into mainstream media, you wont have to bother pointing it out.

    -sip

  24. The basic fact is that, to answer every problem, Apple say “how can we make this work the best?” and Micro$oft say “how can we make the most money from this?”. I know who I would rather deal with…

  25. darknite said:
    “Remeber, before it was MS DOS it was something like Seattle DOS, or QDOS.
    Billy purchased it a just before a meeting with IBM, and sold it to them as his own creation”

    —————

    Well, actually Billy & friends purchased DOS AFTER their meeting with IBM. They had no OS, nothing. They bluffed IBM and signed the non-exclusive deal with IBM anyway.
    Then, they went to the guy and offered $40000 (not sure about the exact number) for DOS.

  26. Microsoft is a eunuch in the harem.

    It sees it done every day.

    It just can’t do it itself.

    david vesey

    p.s. did anyone else besides me notice that most obnoxious trolls split when I outed them as Bill Gates? Yes, it’s an outrageous statement and premise. And you can mock me if you like.
    But.. where are the trolls? The really rude, vulgar.. nutzoid morons who were here every day?

    Gone.

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