“In an interview, Ballmer talks a lot about how, five years after Chairman Bill Gates made him CEO, he is redefining Microsoft for its next phase, making it more disciplined and decentralized,” Kevin Maney reports for USA Today. “While it’s clear that Microsoft is changing, old behaviors die hard. When Ballmer gets talking about how Microsoft must be first with technology innovations — which, so far in Microsoft’s history, has not often happened — the exchange is more like vintage pugilistic Microsoft.”
Ballmer: “You’ve got to be not just first in an area; you’ve got to be first with important innovations even in areas that you’ve pioneered.”
USA Today reporter: “Well, you guys have proved over and over again being first is not necessarily …”
Ballmer: “We love to be first.”
Reporter: “You love to be first but …”
Ballmer: “We love to be first.”
Reporter: “You certainly weren’t the first — you know, I mean, here looking at your …”
Ballmer: “We love to be first. Well, our big success is Windows. We were first. Windows, we were first — and then everybody faded out because there was a period during which the concept was — I mean, Apple stuck around with their concept of that, but everybody else faded out, basically.”
Maney writes, “Tech people must be scratching their heads. Windows wasn’t the first graphical user interface — that was invented by Xerox and was first made popular by Apple Computer. Microsoft didn’t have the first browser or video player or cell phone operating system. Time and again, the company has come in late and, in many cases, won the day with tenacity. It is a strength Microsoft could boast about but doesn’t. The yin and yang — past and future — in Ballmer’s remarks echo around Microsoft. In interviews with nearly a dozen Microsoft executives, the company sometimes seems to be grappling with which parts of itself to leave behind and which parts it can’t live without. Change is happening. But it apparently isn’t easy, and it’s not yet evident what kind of company Microsoft is becoming. ‘The problem isn’t that Microsoft can’t change,’ says Jeffrey Tarter, editor of influential newsletter Softletter. ‘The real problem is it’s not at all clear how the company should change.'”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The only thing Steve Ballmer does first is order seconds. Dance, Monkey Boy, dance. It’s clear that Monkey Boy’s idea of chronological order is as backwards as clicking “Start” to stop your computer. Sweat much? Developers, developers, developers…. The famous Microsoft first? MS Bob. Stick to copying Apple, Monkey Boy, it’s taken you guys this far.
Now we know why Longhorn is taking so long, Ballmer’s desperately trying to build a time machine that’ll be able to transport him and a copy of Apple’s Mac OS X back in time so he can be “first” for once.
That was the best MDN take ever! I just about spit my lunch all over the screen.
I wish this interview would have been videotaped. It would have been hilarious!
One question though: how’d they get him to stop shoving Krispy Kremes down his pie hole long enough to answer the questions?
If the part-time/weekend sales guys from somewhere like CompUSA ran the company (M$), then it would probably run it whole lot better than Steve Balls-up manages to do it.
Do you think Balls-up’s got no hair because Bill pulls it out when Balls-ups kneeling down before him?
“Hey Steve, while your down there….
……ah, yeh baby. That’s it, more, more, more…”
That was not a ‘monkey dance’ … it was a lard ass baboon dance
You mean you would like to be the first for a start Mr. Balmer ?
Keep on trying….
Well, we know that MS weren’t the first people that IBM approached to develop an operating system for the first PC.
Weren’t the first with a GUI-based environment for a commercialised personal computer.
Never originated a presentation package – simply bought Powerpoint from Forethought.
Purchased the Macintosh version of MS Mail from another developer
Weren’t the first with a web browser.
Or a personal e-mail product.
Did not develop the first PC operating system to seamlessly use all of its RAM – EMM386 anyone?
Did not develop the first multi-format media player for a mainstream PC – apparently beaten by something called QuickTime back in 1991 (I love the fact that Real claim to have pioneered the market in 1995).
So, for a company that loves being first, how come they’re second so much of the time.
Microsoft: Where do you want to go today?
Wherever Apple went five years ago.
Ballmer is obviously on crack. Here’s proof of who was first! (1984 Mac intro)
http://www.industrial-technology-and-witchcraft.de/
Man, talk about a reality distortion field. Balmer is totally deluded. I guess the reported defines tanacity as “Throw money at an inferior product until the competition goes out of business.”
It’s got to be a miss quote. should read
We’d love to be first . . .
We’d love to be first . . .
We’d love to be first . . . If only other people would just stop getting there first
He is right… Microsoft WAS first with Microsoft Windows…. and chevrolet withe the first corvette…boeing with the first 747….
for those of you who dont have my “famous” ballmer dancing in the grass desktop. get it while its up.
Some select quotes from Monkeyboy:
Microsoft’s new mission: “Enabling people and businesses around the world to realize their full potential.”
***WTF does that mean????
“Next, all Microsoft platforms must embrace three capabilities: security (from viruses, identity theft, etc.), communications (helping devices connect to networks) and search and information management (which applies to everything from searching the Web to finding what you want to watch out of 500 TV channels). Microsoft has struggled with security and is behind competitors in search.
Finally, Microsoft products have to integrate with each other. In Microsoft’s eyes, that’s a benefit to users. The integration makes it easy to move among software programs and devices. In the eyes of many competitors and some government agencies, that can be a way for Microsoft to shut out competition”
***What happened to being first? Sounds like they are just trying to copy what Apple has already done again.
“That’s what we’re trying to do,” he continues. “We have to be a place that can, with great energy and passion that’s baked into the place, do amazing things on a regular basis. We have to be able to predictably do the amazing.”
***They already very predictably amaze me with the stupidity and difficulty of use they so regularly built into their products. Oh, and they amaze me with how often they get away will illegal dirty business practices.
“I don’t know if (Microsoft is in) phase one or phase two,” Ballmer says about Microsoft’s transition. “Maybe it’s actually phase about three to phase about four, but at least as a bigger company, we’re graduating from somehow a phase one to a phase two.”
***Does M$ have standard drug testing? They should.
Hahaha you don’t get taken to court for being first
we love to be first
we love to be first
we love to be first
what is this, the freakin’ intro to The Simpsons.. I think the records broken.. or maybe someone should reach around to his back and pull that big string again..
Five years of being CEO – what do the shareholders think:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=MSFT&t=5y&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=
That’s despite many attempts to keep the stock price up, a (strangely timed) split, introducing regular dividends, paying a one time $3 per share dividend (worth $32 billion), share buy backs and a pledge to buy back a further $30 billion of shares over the next three years.
This guy is such an idiot! He doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about.
“We love to be first…”
And if you keep repeating it enough times, maybe it’ll come true…
There’s no place like home.
librium:
My desktop needed that, today. Thanks!
People, don’t waste your time!!! How can we get insight of technology innovation from interviewing a used car salesman??? The one and ONLY thing that the Ballmer man did right was to room with Bill!!! Any Joe blow rooms with Bill get to be CEO, no skill needed!!!
Lets not forget Microsoft was first to write a malware for DOS called “Guru meditation.” When MS Word decided it is an illegal copy, it cleared the screen and drew a picture of Guru. Then a message came up that said something like, “Guru meditating. Now erasing the hard disk.” My understanding is it did not actually do anything to the hard disk, but it was meant to scare people.
Napoleon Dynamite: Grandma just called and said you’re supposed to go home.
Uncle Rico: She didn’t tell me anything.
Napoleon Dynamite: Too bad, she said she doesn’t want you here when she gets back because you’ve been ruining everybody’s lives and eating all our steak.
Uncle Rico: I’m not goin’ anywhere, Napoleon.
Napoleon Dynamite: Get off my property!
Uncle Rico: It’s a free country. I can do whatever I want.
Napoleon Dynamite: Get off my property or I’ll call the cops on you.
Uncle Rico: Well then do it! Go on!
Napoleon Dynamite: Maybe I will, GOSH!
LOL! Napoleon Dynamite Rocks! I voted for Pedro! Ballmer will end up having a heart attack, or end up eating Tina.
rick asks: “Can a lie said 3 times became a true?”
…works for GW Bush all the time.
Napoleon Dynamite: Pedro offers you his protection.
Bwahahahahaha ! Ballmer is a heart attack waiting to happen. He’s one plate of cheese fries away from the big dirt nap, and funny thing is, he won’t be first at that either
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i have four words for balmer:
1- Developers !
2- Developers !
3- Developers !
4- Developers !
( try to get some of them .. the smart ones i mean )
In all fairness, Ballmer probably thought Maney was taking lunch orders. I mean, lets face it, he’s hungry all the time, cause he’s fat, and he sees a guy with a pad of paper and a pencil and think to himself, “It’s meatball sub time! Hey, we love to be first, I’ll have the heartattack special with a cup of hot fat and whaaaaa….reporter? Oh, well, Windows is first! Yeah, how about that sandwich?”