Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher spoke with Microsoft’s Disinterested Figurehead Chairman Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer at this year’s D conference last evening:
AllThingsD’s John Paczkowski provides notes. Here are a few excerpts:
Mossberg: What about Vista and the lousy reception it’s been given. Is Vista a failure?
Ballmer: Vista is not a failure. Is it something we’d like to improve? Of course. Is it something that with 20/20 hindsight we’d do differently? Sure, he confesses. But Vista has sold a lot of copies, he adds.
MacDailyNews Take: To clueless Best Buy shoppers guided by ignorant USA Today articles. They did not choose Vista, they don’t know any better. Most Windows users don’t even know what an OS is, much less choose one. Most Mac users, on the other hand, have tried to use Windows (at work and/or school) and have chosen Macintosh for a reason.
Walt jumps in and asks about the percentage of Vista sales that result in downgrades to XP. Ballmer dodges. Gates looking a little depressed.
Walt asks if Vista has damaged with Windows brand.
Gates says Microsoft’s philosophy is to “do things better.” And Vista has given us lots of opportunity to do that, he notes. (Audience laughter.) There are plenty of lessons out of Vista–compatibility and other issues vendors are concerned about.
Ballmer says that according to consumer research, the No. 1 complaint about Vista was the change to the Windows user interface.
MacDailyNews Take: And so, in their finite wisdom, they’re about to change the upside-down and backwards Mac WIndows user interface again with Windows 7. Read on:
Paczkowski notes, “We’re about to get a Windows 7 demo (Oh, one more thing …. Here’s hoping Microsoft shares only those aspects of the new OS that it doesn’t end up de-featuring at a later date.) Ballmer says what we’re about to see is ‘just a snippet’ of Windows 7.”
Paczkowski writes, “Windows 7, like other Microsoft OS’s before it, seems to have borrowed a thing or two from Mac OS X. This time it’s Apple’s Dock, which Microsoft appears to have borrowed. Multi-touch and a Dock. In Windows. Steve Jobs must be so proud.”
MacDailyNews Take: Some things never change. Unless Apple does. Then everything changes. Microsoft’s OS, the music business, the smartphone and wireless industries…
Microsoft’s Julie Larson-Green conducts the WIndows 7 demo. Paczkowski notes, “Larson-Green pulls up a brand new app, “Touchable Paint.” She uses all 10 fingers to draw a tree. Then, she brings up a photo gallery. Noting that multi-touch makes it faster and easier to manipulate photos, she demonstrates … well, she demonstrates a lot of features that anyone who’s ever used an iPhone will already be familiar with: two-finger zoom, flicking through a slideshow, single finger panning through thumbnails… Walt asks if multi-touch is built throughout the OS. Larson-Green says it is.”
Walt asks Ballmer if he’s worried about the next iteration of Mac OS X, which will likely be released before Windows 7. Is there a risk that the work you’re doing now with multi-touch will look dated when Apple (AAPL) releases its next OS?
Ballmer says he’s confident Microsoft will have fantastic Windows 7 PCs, regardless of what Apple’s got on the market.
Walt presses him, noting Apple’s recent growth in the PC market.
Ballmer notes the difference in scale between the two companies: “We sell 270 millions PCs a year, and Apple sells 10 million. They’re fantastically successful, and so are we.”
MacDailyNews Take: Microsoft sells zero (0) PCs a year. Apple sells 10 million more personal computers per year than Microsoft. Apple created the personal computer as we know it today. Microsoft copied/stole it. If you want to count faulty, Red Ring of Death, sound-like-a-hurricane-in-your-living-room Xboxes as “Microsoft PCs,” you’re desperately grasping at straws. Please stop reading now and head on over to Dell.com to begin configuring your next POS.
Walt hits on Windows quality issue, noting that he’s seen old Macs running significantly faster than new Vista machines.
Ballmer admits there’s room for improvement: Steve Jobs has a great business, he says. His model works well. But so does ours. 10 million people like his model. 290 million like ours.
MacDailyNews Take: 290? We thought it was 270? In less than 5 minutes, Balmy sold 20 million more nonexistent PCs in his mind. Anyway, most of those 290 million never made a choice because they have no idea there even is a choice. They were stuck with Windows at work or school and therefore consigned themselves to Windows PC purgatory because “that’s what they use at work/school.” Fortunately thousands of people awaken with each passing day. Of the now 300 million total, about 10 million people per year have used both; they choose Macs for a reason. And, by the way, the installed base for Mac OS X is approximately 25 million users, not the 10 million Ballmer is trying to insinuate (notice that he dropped the “per year?” We did.) 25 million users LOVE Steve Jobs’ model, the rest don’t know any better.
Kara asks Gates how it feels to have Microsoft defined by Apple via its “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” campaign.
Gates clearly isn’t happy with that question. Dodges. Ballmer jumps in. Hits that 290 million metric again. “Every share point Apple picks up is a share point we don’t like. But we like selling 290 million units.”
MacDailyNews Take: Ballmer’s delusional. Microsoft sells zero (0) PCs a year. Most Mac users have made conscious technology choice and are therefore better informed than the vast majority of Windows sufferers.
Much more in the full article, including a video of the Windows 7 demo and photos of Kermit and Monkey Boy on stage with Mossberg and Swisher here.
MacDailyNews Take: To find out which of the cool iPhone features has been patented by Apple and are now protected from replication and which ones you can expect to be copied soon by the likes of Nokia, Samsung or Motorola, we’ve combed through the U.S. Patent and Trademark database and checked all relevant Apple’s patents.
And we came to a conclusion that this time Steve Jobs did his homework and most of the key features that make iPhone an iPhone will not be easily copied by competitors. This applies to Multi touch display, the idea to use full screen of the device for User Interface, scrolling, zooming and other finger gestures, soft on screen controls, multifunctionality, proximity, ambient light sensors and many other functions.
When Steve Jobs exclaimed [in front of a slide displaying “200+ patents” during Macworld Expo 2007’s iPhone-dominated] keynote, “And boy have we patented it!” it was not an empty boast. The have indeed PATENTED it. And though not all of the claims have received patent protection yet and even less of them may withstand scrutiny in court if Apple decides to enforce them, many of the claims should should stick. – Unwired View, May 2007
Apparently Linux doesn’t include modern computer features like spell check.
Nor do you need to understand the difference between surf and serf, or God’s and gods.
@ MikeR and twilightmoon: Actually I think Linux user is Greek. So he could well have multiple Gods… Zeus, Red Hat, Ubuntu, Debian…
feral: Ralph Steadman is an amazing artist.
I was thinking more of a cross between H. R. Giger and Dr. Seuss.
one thing about Windows 7. I can’t wait to watch some accounting hack try to make Excel work! I tried everything, pinch, twist, rake my fingers across the screen and it won’t Sum!
Need I mention that the MDN Takes start out a bit snippy, move on to downright nasty, then move on again to merely redundant? Now … OK. A little redundancy was called for by the players in question … but you can get the bulk of it out of the way once then move along to “ditto” rather than restating and expanding.
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twilightmoon, the comment from HD Boy was merely LIKENING the computer industry to the political industry. Not LINKING it. And it was a valid comparison. But … I agree: there was no good reason to make the comparison, unless it makes you feel good to denigrate the Bush Administration. I’ll admit, I’ll miss that pleasure starting in about eight months, I hope, but not here. This is not the place for that conversation.
At least he didn’t link the “delusional” aspects of each, as well.
“While we’re at it, “god” is spelled with a big G”
only if you believe it is…..
remember, religion is just myth information.
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“And we came to a conclusion that this time Steve Jobs did his homework and most of the key features that make iPhone an iPhone will not be easily copied by competitors. This applies to Multi touch display, the idea to use full screen of the device for User Interface, scrolling, zooming and other finger gestures, soft on screen controls, multifunctionality, proximity, ambient light sensors and many other functions.”
Apple stole or copied all these ideas from other people. None of the patent applications are worth the paper they’re written on.
“The have indeed PATENTED it. “
They have indeed applied for patents, which is not the same thing as them being issued.
Lets face it, no patent for a phone controlled completely by a touch screen is going to stand any kind of scrutiny. HTC had these years before Apple. Ambient light and proximity sensors? All sorts of devices had these long before the iPhone. Multi Touch? An almost 3 decades old technology recently commercialized by Apple.
Almost none of these patents will be issued, and those that accidentally sneak through will be shot down almost immediately.
I’ve tried Linux and there’s no software for a pro graphic designers on it. What they do have doesn’t even compete with Illustrator or Photoshop.
It’s a hobbyist OS that feels like it’s from 1992.
@Zune Tang®
Dude, I know you mean well and all (and that you’re really a closet Mac fanatic), but can you change your tune for a while? No one buys it anymore that you love Windows (and have life-size posters of Ballmer and Gates at home). Choose a different tack.
“…and I’m tired of people trying to link Apple and Microsoft to politics.”
If you cant see the link, you need glasses. The rampant stupidity and greed on the faces of Bush, Ballmer, Cheney, Gates, Blair and all the rest of the insane scammers that have managed to cheat and lie thier way into power – they are all the same assholes that WANT to rule the world and consider themselves better than the ordinary man and woman.
Wake up – life isnt as simple and compartmentalised as you think.
Make no mistake – Gates and Ballmer are NOT nice techie guys who done good……
“Apple stole or copied all these ideas from other people.”
That’s an awfully big statement coming from such a little person.
You gotta love the way Uncle Walt just relentlessly prods them.
I’ll give MS credit for one thing, though. It’s probably to their advantage to put this out there and talk about it now. That way, when Apple eventually does come out with a larger Multi-touch device (whether it be a pad or some type of laptop or desktop), MS can still give the illusion that they did it first, or at least early. Sure, the iPhone has been out for a year, but they’ll make the case that it’s a phone, not a computer. The educated know better, but the unwashed masses may not.
What’s this about an XP downgrade? Are they offering some sort of deal? I bought Vista for Parallels, but I’d drop it like a brick if I could get XP for free. Anyone know?
Microsoft:
“We simply repeat our lies until you believe it’s the truth.” ™
What a pathetic duo and what predictable answers! Bullshit, bullship, flimflam, vapor, fart, bullshit…. On reading the interview, it occurred to me that those two characters are not so unusual; that the world is full of fidiots in charge of large organizations with a dedicated fan base – starting with religious bodies. Oh the humanity! The deception! The Delusion!
It’s sick! The war in Iraq is sick. Neglect of veterans is sick. Neglect of the poor is sick. The torture of prisoners is sick. Suicide bombers are sick. Abuse of anyone, particularly weak children, is sick. Unjust laws are sick. Belief in a god is sick. The Drug War is sick. The sick are elected to high office by the sick.
I’m stupefied! And you can substitute “stupid” for “sick” in any of my sentences here. Unless you’re sick.
It will be very interesting to watch the patent fight that is likely to ensue Windows 7 being released. Ballmer said multi-touch is part of the Windows 7 OS. That means that if Apple has the patents for multi-touch use in a computer OS, it will likely be able to block Windows 7 from being released due to violation of Apple’s patent.
Looks like Apple may have finally turned the tables on Microsoft. Apple may have backed MS into a corner from which it can’t escape to compete without infringing upon Apple’s copyrights and patents.
DLMeyer: “twilightmoon, the comment from HD Boy was merely LIKENING the computer industry to the political industry. Not LINKING it. And it was a valid comparison. But … I agree: there was no good reason to make the comparison, unless it makes you feel good to denigrate the Bush Administration.”
I’ll take your correction to heart, but the spirit of what I said was not whether the comparison was valid or not, but that it’s irritating and tiring to see Apple vs MS computer discussions getting repeated dragged into the political mud.
There are plenty of people who post on MDN who I disagree with strongly on politics and I don’t mind discussing that but I’d rather not do that on a Mac forum and I’d rather not have every topic turned into a political debate.
If I went to a political forum and repeatedly and consistently tried to turn the debate into one involving Apple vs Microsoft, do you think the people there would appreciate that?
“290? We thought it was 270? In less than 5 minutes, Balmy sold 20 million more nonexistent PCs in his mind.”
All that shows is that to Microsoft, Apple’s entire share is equivalent to a rounding error.
“approximately 25 million users”
So if you want to move away from the per year numbers Microsoft has about a billion customers, not the .
“Apple created the personal computer as we know it today. Microsoft copied/stole it.”
You’re right. The majority of the world’s PCs use the 6502 processor and it’s derivatives. Or the 68k, or the Power PC.
Apple just crushed that early trend towards an industry standardized X86 architecture and all PC vendors now use stolen versions of one of Apple’s architectures.
That is, except for the few rare PCs that Apple ships that use Intel processors, standardized WinTel hardware and can run Windows natively. In that case, but only for those machines, Steve copied what everybody else was doing.
shen: “While we’re at it, “god” is spelled with a big G”
only if you believe it is….”
Oh, I guess spelling is based on religion now?
Let’s look at the statement again: “Get out a little for gods sake.”
So who is being referred to here? Multiple gods? If so the statement should be gods’ sake, so it’s not grammatically accurate and that would be a rather odd phrase.
The more common and expected phrase would be “God’s sake.” This is referring to a specific being. The proper way to refer to the single deity is “God” you do not have to be a believer to respect this convention. The only purpose served by using lower case g is to bait and irritate people who believe in and venerate God.
Say if your name is Ben, and I don’t like you, do I call you “ben”? Are we really going to devolve language based upon personal beliefs?
“Suicide bombers are sick.”
Not to disagree with your sentiment, but I have to agree with Fox News (which is rare) and call them homicide bombers.
Suicide implies that the intent is primarily self-destruction. These terrorists intend to kill others as their main priority. Their own death is a necessary secondary cause but not the primary motive. An actual suicide bomber would choose to explode alone rather than walk through a crowded marketplace filled with children trying to maximize the lethality of his or her weapon.
Consumers that choose Windows over Mac on purpose, do so only to play games on their computer.
Workers who are forced to use Windows against their will also play games on their work computer. Solitaire is their game of choice.
Frickin idiots in charge of things – why?: “”…and I’m tired of people trying to link Apple and Microsoft to politics.”
If you cant see the link, you need glasses.”
I wear glasses.
I’ve already answered your point tho. I don’t give a shit if there’s a link between one thing and another, the point is it’s very irritating having every thread here turned into a debate over Bush or Obama or McCain or Clinton, or anything about politics.
It’s simply rude to expect everyone on here wants every topic turned into a debate on politics. Try going to a political forum and turn every single thread into a discussion on Macs vs PCs and see how welcome you are there.
I don’t capitalize humankind, man, woman or child – and they represent something real. Ben is a proper name.
“Consumers that choose Windows over Mac on purpose, do so only to play games on their computer.”
Or for a lower priced system. Or more system for the same money. Or for features and performance not available on Macs, or for compatibility with software they want to run or because they understand Windows because they work with it every day and don’t need another OS.
Or because, as MDN states, nobody really gives a flying crap what OS their PC runs. Either is good enough for what they want to do.
LiM: “Belief in a god is sick. The Drug War is sick. The sick are elected to high office by the sick.
I’m stupefied! And you can substitute “stupid” for “sick” in any of my sentences here. Unless you’re sick.”
I really think you should go back on your meds.
I’m saying this as a friend.
So by the time Windoze users finally get used to Vista, they will change it again. MS really needs to get a shrink to deal with its Mac envy issues.
7 sounds like a replay of Vista waiting to happen. More forced change, more everything different, more “I might as well get a mac.”
As someone who has to use Windows much of the time.. I just keep hoping 7 will be delayed.