At the Microsoft’s recent “the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Global Summit,” a gathering of the company’s top software developers, Microsoft repeatedly proclaimed to their MVPs that they would “win” in search and other aspects of their Windows Live thingamabob.
“‘We’re a two-trick pony, and that’s rare in the history of business. Desktop software was a trick. Server was a trick. Our third trick is trying to do online, and our fourth trick is trying to do consumer electronics,’ Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said during a wide-ranging question-and-answer session with Joss and about 200 Stanford Graduate School of Business students Thursday,” Ryan Blitstein reports for The Mercury News. “‘Google built one very good business. They only have one thing they do. Everything else is sort of cute,’ Ballmer said.” Full article here.
On Friday, former Microsoft technical evangelist and prominent blogger Robert Scoble weighed in, “Microsoft executives are bragging to MVPs that ‘we’re in it to win.’ I don’t think Microsoft is. The words are empty. Microsoft’s Internet execution sucks (on whole). Its search sucks. Its advertising sucks… If that’s ‘in it to win’ then I don’t get it.”
Scoble writes, “Microsoft isn’t going away. Don’t get me wrong. They have record profits, record sales, all that. But on the Internet? Come on. This isn’t winning. Microsoft: stop the talk. Ship a better search, a better advertising system than Google, a better hosting service than Amazon, a better cross-platform Web development ecosystem than Adobe, and get some services out there that are innovative…”
“Oh, and Ballmer, if I ran Google your speech at Stanford yesterday would be plastered on every door on every campus Google has. Why? It’ll motivate Google employees the same way a coach will motivate an opposing team during the Superbowl by taking trash in the press. You’re up against a formidable competitor and one you’ve never seen before that has some real, significant weapons that you can’t deal with,” Scoble writes.
Scoble writes, “This isn’t Netscape you’re talking trash to, Steve. Have you really studied Google? It doesn’t sound like you have. Again, Microsofties, you’d be better served not to talk trash until you have something YOU CAN SHIP!”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “pogo” for the heads up.]
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Microsoft’s Windows Vista: Five years for a chrome-plated turd – January 30, 2007
Digit: ‘Microsoft’s Windows Vista may be the best reason yet to buy an Apple Mac’ – January 29, 2007
Engadget: Microsoft’s Zune software: ‘It sucks’ – November 13, 2006
Apple Macs can run more software than Windows PCs – October 30, 2006
Top Windows developer dumps Microsoft’s ‘pile of crap’ for Apple’s Mac OS X – September 12, 2006
PC World writer’s advice for Microsoft: ‘Stop making crap’ – July 27, 2006
Literally thousands of people had a problem with the 10.4.9 update..
Better than millions of PC’s infected with adware, spyware and malware don’t you think?
Apple isn’t perfect yet, neither is software or programmers, neither is the idiots who install programs that alter the OS itself.
Apple does strive for perfection though, it shows with each advancement of the operating system.
It’s in Apple’s interest to make a problem free operating system because it affects their profits.
Microsoft on the other hand produces CRAP and lets others handle the problems.
Microsoft is so desperate that it’s paying people to use its search engine:
http://tinyurl.com/2wdunk
What’s next: “Free Zune with every search”?
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IMO Gates’ & Ballmer’s existence is pretty hollow. Microsoft’s cycle of dishonesty, bullying and less-than-mediocre product development is not a life well lived. No amount of money can make these very real character flaws go away.
I’ll stay where I’m at, faults and all, thank you. It’s exactly where I’m supposed to be.
@Apple Sucks
Thats a silly site – very slow (so i guess running on someone’s home computer) and nothing substantiated with links. Do you have some personal reason to want to make this sort of claim on here? Is there something you would care to disclose?
I didn’t have any issues with the 10.4.9 update.
@ sydney Stephen
Yeah, I’ll clue you in. There’s a bunch of Apple fanboys on here. I’m not one of ’em.
Typical Apple fanboy response: “I didn’t have any problems with 10.4.9 so everything Apple does is awesome and anybody that has problems with anything to do with Apple products is a dumbass.”
Exactly. About time somone figure that out!!
So if Google’s apps are just “kinda cute”, why is Microsoft putting so much effort and so many dollars into ripping them off?
Could it be that Google are slowly but surely painting Microsoft into the irrelevant corner?
Hello? Hello? Can anyone hear me? Is anyone out there? Hello!
Is anybody there? Hello? Hello? For Gods sake answer me!! Answer me!!
Can anyone hear me? Hello? Is there anyone left?
Hello? Ballmer?
@Apple Sucks,
Why the bitterness? Did you spend your weekend installing Vista or something?
As for deleted Apple forum threads, prove it. Give us links to Google caches. Right now you’re just a troll.
And for proprietary lock-ins, have you ever owned, say, a car? Or dealt with ineffective dealer shops and blatant cover-ups? Apple and MS are downright gentlemanly.
@kipmarlowe:
Exactly. The pressures of “success” only get worse, with the constant stress of trying to maintain it. Less sleep, less time with family. Just achieve an amount of success where you can get through life with minimal worries, and enjoy your life. You caan’t take it with you.
Magic Word: George. Too many Georges can be as bad as not enough.
Mmmmmmm, suck
@Apple Sucks
Well I wouldn’t class myself as an Apple fanboy – if by that you mean I have no objectivity. I run an IT business with 8 or 9 Windows servers and a mix of Windows/Mac desktops.
So if you have objective, substantiated, remarks which highlight deficiencies in Apple’s service or which show behaviour designed to mislead users, or conceal problems, then I am certainly interested.
However there are some posters on here who rubbish Apple and promote MS – seemingly just to annoy other subscribers. To avoid being confused with these people you should:
– provide your email address
– avoid emotional language
– choose one issue and provide extensive documentation to support your claim
That way we have the opportunity to check out your claim and contribute to the debate.
I did check out what I could of your references. The Appledefects site isnt very impressive – its very slow so i guess its running on a home computer of some sort. And the complaints dont seem to be really supported. I read one complaint from a guy in melbourne about having 6 notebooks, but his problems seem to have been with the local agent and the respondents all indicated they thought his problems were a one-off…
I love my Mac.. But I’m far from a fanboy…
Yeah, Apple is all about choice!!!! That’s why if you want to run OSX, you need to buy one of their computers to run it on… Oh it may SEEM a little expensive, but that’s because Apple doesn’t make “junk”…
What PC manufacture makes anything that approaches Apple’s Quality. I mean, $600 for a computer with integrated graphics, only 512 Meg of Ram, no keyboard or mouse, and you need a putty knife to open it… On top of that, once you open it, you need to disassemble it to put in the RAM (and if you get the RAM from Apple, you get to pay twice as much as you would for a PC!!!!)…
WOOO HOOO WOOO HOOO Apple…
I love OSX, but Apple’s hardware is WAY overpriced. Sorry fanboys, if Apple cared about choice, they’d open OSX to all PC’s. They won’t do that because it would indeed kill their hardware sales. Underneath the pretty cases are nothing more than a cheap PC with a TPM chip…
To Apple Sucks:
I updated yesterday, not a problem.
I always run repaire permissions, run the updates, repair permissions again check for more updates, repeat the previous process if necessary. I’ve never, in OSX history had an update that has screwed up my computer. Anal retentive, yes, but it works. And the MacCast guy does updates the same way if I’m remembering correctly, he said he doesn’t have problems either.
Now I can’t say as much for Adobe’s CS, who’s updates have caused me NUMEROUS headaches through the years.
Boy you can say that again Scoble. Balmer is a real hot air balloon mouth with nothing to back up his trashy words. He acts like Google is some sort of start up company. At $450 a share he better think again about how he talks trash about Google.
I love my Mercedes.. But I’m far from a fanboy…
Yeah, Daimler-Chrysler is all about choice!!!! That’s why if you want to run a Mercedes motor, you need to buy one of their cars to run it on… Oh it may SEEM a little expensive, but that’s because Mercedes doesn’t make “junk”…
What car manufacture[r] makes anything that approaches Mercedes’s Quality. I mean, $600[00] for a car with 4 wheels, only 200 horsepower, no GPS or On-Star, and you need a key to open it… On top of that, once you open the hood, you need to disassemble it to change the oil (and if you get the oil from Mercedes, you get to pay twice as much as you would for a Kia!!!!)…
WOOO HOOO WOOO HOOO Mercedes…
I love Mercedes, but Daimler-Chrysler’s hardware is WAY overpriced. Sorry fanboys, if Mercedes cared about choice, they’d open Mercedes to all car makers. They won’t do that because it would indeed kill their car sales. Underneath the pretty cases are nothing more than a cheap cars with a combustion engine…
@Mac Fan
Who says Apple are about choice? Apple are, like any other corporation, in the business of building products to sell to the market they choose, in order to provide a return to their shareholders.
What YOU want is material to Apple, but only to the extent that they believe they can provide you with what they want and still fulfil their obligations to their shareholders.
And given that this was tried before and proved unsuccessful I think it unlikely they will do it again.
An Apple computer is sold as a package. Its your choice whether to buy it or not. And Apple has no obligation to sell you one component only.
Perhaps you are under the misapprehension that a consumer’s rights override those of the shareholder. They do so only to the extent that Apple are required to conform to standards of behaviour to protect the rights of the consumer, as laid down by law. Nowhere is there a law which requires any corporate to make everything that every consumer may wish for.
Here’s the problem with your post R….
You are trying (I suppose) to make the point that a Mac is a Mercedes and all PC’s are Kias…
Well, that’s the typical fanboy position, I know. Problem is, Apple sells Kias for Mercedes’ prices. The Mac Mini (which I am using) is the perfect example… I know you fanboys like to rip on Dell, but lets consider it, shall we… I can get a dell with a REAL video card, a Real Hard drive (not this crap slow 2.5 notebook junk), a case I can open in 30 secs, and RAM which I can change or add in 2 minutes, a real DVD drive with a burner (and one that I can use my mini dvd’s from my camera on), and double the Ram…
So it sounds like I am paying a premium for a pretty little case with an apple on top of it…
As far as “Junky Dells” and “Crappy PCs”, get off of it… When Apple when Intel they are the same basic components. (except in this case, not as good)…..
Apple is not a Mercedes. The only thing that makes them great computers is that they run OSX, and so would every other PC now made on the planet if Apple would allow it….
Problem is for you fanboys, it would also run BETTER on just about every other PC manufactured…
That’s why if you want to run a Mercedes motor, you need to buy one of their cars to run it on…
Careful there. Both Dodge Sprinter vans and Sterling heavy trucks can be had with Mercedes engines. Point still taken though.
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Let’s try this auto analogy:
Apple is the auto maker selling quality mid- to high-end product to consumers. Sure Apple might cost a bit more up front, but the comfort and longevity make up for it.
Dell is the auto maker selling low-end product to fleets. So what Dells are wheeled tin cans, they’re cheap to buy and cheap to dispose, and any problems in-between are handled by the on-site shop.
Yes, both are fossil-fuel burning, CO2-belching, rolling metal boxes. But both serve very different markets. Dell would never care about body panel gaps, Apple would never accept cheap vinyl seats.
@Mac Fan
How much do you think Apple would charge for OS/X if it was sold separately? It is such a tired and silly argument that Apple should sell you OS/X to run on your own hardware – we are all sick of hearing it. Its not going to happen no matter how much you whinge about it.
Apple sell a solution. You can buy an OS/X upgrade cheaply enough – but you have no way of knowing how Apple would, or even ought to, split the price between hardware and software. Your Mac Mini comes with OS/X which is, as we all agree, a much better operating system than Windows. You know it BECAUSE YOU BOUGHT IT. So stop grumbling…
Vista’s honeymoon is over
Despite the fanfare at its launch, Vista has received a mixed reaction, writes Roulla Yiacoumi.
Since Vista was launched on January 30, its creator has been racking up negative commentary.
“Utterly unimaginative, internally discordant and woefully out of tune,” was the verdict at Forbes.com . “Wait for half a year until the driver issues are settled and then buy a new PC,” the BBC instructed its readers. “Not yet ready for prime time,” USA Today wrote.
Most consumers will avoid the upgrade route altogether and simply buy their next PC with Vista pre-installed. Gartner is predicting that by 2010, 72 per cent of machines sold to consumers will come with Vista.
And the rest? “Seven to 10 per cent will have Mac, less than 3 per cent will have Linux and the rest [15 per cent] will be people downgrading Vista to XP,” Gilliland says.
Sounds like a cue for another Mac ad.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/laptops–desktops/vistas-honeymoon-is-over/2007/03/18/1174152859046.html?s_cid=rss_technology
I love Ballmer. It is the best thing in years. Ballmer is like free press pro-Mac. The more he speaks the more he damages Microsoft.
I hope Ballmer keeps the helm till the MStrain crashes.
Thanks Ballmer, you’re da man. You make it easier for the Mac.
hey macheads. get a life.
apple is just a corp.(very good one) and Jobs puts his pants on just like the rest of us.
i’d gladly trade places with ballmer or his wife, and i’m not gay.
he’s worth billions, a wife, kids.
ballmer is living the american dream
—-
If ballmer is living the ‘American Dream’ then no wonder the US economy is in such a bad state.
Since when has selling inferior crap products and ripping off customers been part of the American dream??
WOW. Google does one thing, huh? Granted, Google has followed in M$FTs footsteps by “acquiring” some technologies (PICASA for example), but Ballmer is once again out of touch. http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/ Look at all the things Google does.
MDN MW: total, as in “Steve Ballmer is a total moron, completely out of touch with his industry and this competition…”
The funniest thing about these Windows PC fanboys that love to troll here is that none of them know a damn thing about Macs. I know all I need to know about Windows PCs because I have to deal with them at work every single day.
And because I work with both PCs and Macs on a daily basis, I know all too well about just how much “Microsoft sucks.”