“Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer vowed to ‘kill’ internet search leader Google Inc. in an obscenity-laced tirade, and Google chased a prized Microsoft executive ‘like wolves,’ according to documents filed in an increasingly bitter legal battle between the rivals.,” The Sydney Morning Herald reports. “The allegations, filed in a Washington state court, represent the latest salvos in a showdown triggered by Google’s July hiring of former Microsoft executive Kai Fu-Lee to oversee a research and development centre that Google plans to open in China. Lee started at Google the day after he resigned from Microsoft.”
The SMH reports, “The tug-of-war over Lee – known for his work on computer recognition of language – has exposed the behind-the-scenes animosity that has been brewing between two of high-tech’s best-known companies. Ballmer’s threat last November was recounted in a sworn declaration by a former Microsoft engineer, Mark Lucovsky, who said he met with Microsoft’s chief executive 10 months ago to discuss his decision to leave the company after six years. After learning Lucovsky was leaving to take a job at Google, Ballmer picked up his chair and hurled it across his office, according to the declaration. Ballmer then pejoratively berated Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Lucovsky recalled. ‘I’m going to f—ing bury that guy, I have done it before, and I will do it again,’ the declaration quotes Ballmer. ‘I’m going to f—ing kill Google.'”
The SMH reports, “In a statement, Ballmer described Lucovsky’s recollection as a ‘gross exaggeration.'”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Isn’t Microsoft CEO Uncle Fester, er, Steve Ballmer, himself a “gross exaggeration?” After watching Monkey Boy dance, it’s remarkably easy to imagine chairs and expletives being hurled around Ballmer’s office. More Ballmer movies here.
In an interview with BusinessWeek, back in October 2004, Apple CEO Steve Jobs basically explained what’s happening at Microsoft: “How are monopolies lost? One day, the monopoly expires for whatever reason. But by then the best product people have left, or they’re no longer listened to… Who usually ends up running the show? The sales guy… And so the company goes through this tumultuous time, and it either survives or it doesn’t… Look at Microsoft — who’s running Microsoft? Right, the sales guy. Case closed.” Source: BusinessWeek
Hey MacMania – You said “Hand Jobs” – good one
I hope Google buys one of those linux distribution put some money and make it better, then challenge MS, maybe there are planning something like that with all of those engineers around google… and that has MS getting crazy…
Steve Balmer is not the only one with a temper — Steve Jobs has a well-earned reputation for “heading around the bend” when things are not going smoothly — the history of Apple is REPLEAT with such stories.
Of course, I could NOT picture Jobs doing the monkey boy dance, EVER !
Niffy
Anybody knows Steve’s middle initial? Is it an “O”?
That would make him an SOB!
Gotcha!
What a lard ass, bloated cry baby.
Has a virus stuck up his ass.
We’ve seen Monkeyboy dance, but did you know he could sing?
http://www.badmanners.net/latinhamstersnack.html
http://www.henderson-management.co.uk/BAD MANNERS.htm
Amen Marty Graw!!! Oh how I hate Billy Gates and friends (both of them).
Ballmer is the fattest, most disgusting mess of a human I have ever seen. Waste of skin.
Microsoft is in desperate need of new “none sweating, shouting and chair throwing” Management.
Niffy,
Steve J does have a history of an ill mannered temper at Apple – before NeXT and his return to Apple. It seems he learned more than how to make a better OS, while gone.
poggi11,
It’s SPJ – P for Paul
I’ve been using Ubuntu Linux for a few weeks now. It’s no OSX, but it beats Windows into a corner with a big open-source stick. Anyone using PC hardware or older Apple kit should give it a serious look.
Gates stepped aside because he’s clever enough to know what it happening. Google is absurdly profitable and after Microsoft. Apple is firing on all cylinders and after Microsoft. Open-source is advancing fast and after Microsoft. The script kiddies are simply after Microsoft. The company isn’t going to disappear, but they’ve already lost their dominant position in people’s minds. By 2007, 75% market share. By 2010, 60%. Ballmer will get the blame, leaving Gates his position in history.
Ballmer is doomed to be simply the Sculley of Redmond.
Marty Graw said:
“PS. Michael Anthony may not be on the genius level like Eddie VH, but he’s at least as good as 99% of all rock bass players.”
I gotta disagree with you there. Michael Anthony is not capable of playing more than one note per song. And he always had this tendency to keep looking at Alex VH with this goober look on his face like, “Am I doing this right?”
Monkeyboy strikes again…Google strikes again…I loved how the MS Nazis used to close hotmail accounts when they neared the 10mb limit, Google comes out with a Gig of Gmail space and MS suddenly decides to give everyone a 250mb limit and surprisingly, the Nazi attitude still goes merrily on with the CEO…go away MS…just go away.
Andrew Hamilton
Las Vegas Videographers
http://www.hiproductions.com
Ballmer is a douche. A big fat retarded Douche. Bigger than John Edwards in fact.
“If I were sitting in Ballmer’s office and saw those large sweat circles under his armpits, I ‘d probably run for some Right Guard before he had a chance to throw office furniture at me.”
God help you if Ballmer gets you into a headlock! Just the thought of it makes me want to barf!
Miscrosoft’s new slogan:
Who do you want to f__king kill today?
These personal attacks on Balmer are pointless and shallow. What he looks like is irrelevant – it’s how he runs Microsoft that is important. M$ is consumed by greed and everyone can see it. Their desperation to rake in more and more money is what is rotting them from the inside out. That and the absence of a compelling product.
Long live Steve Jobs and the Macintosh!
Here is one artist’s rendering of why Ballmer turned MonkeyBoy:
http://www.bbspot.com/Features/2001/08/ballmer.html
“These personal attacks on Balmer are pointless and shallow.”
True, but it’s just to much fun to stop.
“What he looks like is irrelevant – it’s how he runs Microsoft that is important. M$ is consumed by greed and everyone can see it. Their desperation to rake in more and more money is what is rotting them from the inside out. That and the absence of a compelling product.”
Too true, but it’s not just about the money. It’s quite obvious they want control of damn near everything as well.
“Long live Steve Jobs and the Macintosh!”
I’ll second that.
lol! Maybe I’m wrong about the money. It’s the MDN magic word.
“Here is one artist’s rendering of why Ballmer turned MonkeyBoy:
http://www.bbspot.com/Features/2001/08/ballmer.html “
That looks like a rolled-up dollar bill.
Think about it. Money could be considered a drug. Drug abusers usually have delusions of grandeur and/or invincibility, become excessively irritable and aggresive, engage in public displays of outrageous behaviour, and often suffer from a noticeble decline in personal hygene.
Now consider Steve Ballmer.
Yep, money’s a drug, allright.
Time for an intervention.
First question:
Doesn’t anyone have video of Uncle Fester throwing the chair across the room? That would be awesome.
Second question:
If everyone does a Google image search for “Uncle Fester” and then clicks on Monkeyboy’s picture, would that eventually make it the first image shown? That would also be awesome.
Steve Ballmer is the first thing that shows when you do a search of “monkey boy” on Google.
yes, but only with a space between monkey and boy. Without a space he drops to #7.
I can only imagine that at any presentation that he gives at MS, there must be a lot of jockeying amongst the employees to avoid the front row seats for fear of sweat spray. He may not be the most psychotic CEO in history, but he is definately the most publicly psychotic CEO anywhere.
Jobs is exactly right about monopolies – the same happened at Quark. The visionary guy (Tim Gill) left in ’95 and the sales guy (Fred) ran the shop and brought it down.
The chair throwing thing does not show that he’s competitive…
We already know he’s competitive.. he doesn’t have a choice..
It shows that Google is a much more fearsome opponent than once thought. It shows that Google is, clearly, tormenting Ballmer.
MSN is, amazingly, nowhere when it comes to Internet Search.
Once again, they’ll use the OS to try and kill Google.. but amazingly, Google will be there with bells on.. They can write their own desktop search utilities for LH (as they’ve already done for XP)
This is insecurity, not competitiveness.