“Steve Ballmer was sobbing. He repeatedly tried to speak and couldn’t get the words out. Minutes passed as he tried to regain his composure. But the audience of 130 of Microsoft’s senior leaders waited patiently, many of them crying too,” David Kirkpatrick reports for Fortune. “They knew that the CEO was choked up because this executive retreat, held in late March at a resort north of Seattle, was the last ever for company co-founder Bill Gates, as well as for Jeff Raikes, one of the company’s longest-tenured executives. ‘I’ve spent more time with these two human beings than with anyone else in my life,’ Ballmer finally said. ‘Bill and Jeff have been my North Star and kept me going. Now I’m going to count on all of you to be there for me.'”
MacDailyNews Take: Dork. Supposedly, Microsoft is Ballmer’s “family.” If true, that’s really sad. See: Microsoft CEO Ballmer: I’m outta here in 9 or 10 years; as soon as my last kid goes away to college – June 05, 2008. “Saint Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go… I owe my soul to the company store.” Ballmer can’t even manage his own priorities, much less a multi-billion dollar company. Maybe they’re not just crocodile tears, it could be that he’s really, genuinely crying — because he knows there’s no unprepared sugared water salesbozo around to sign away Apple’s company jewels this time.
Kirkpatrick continues, “What the executives were witnessing was the end of an era. On July 1, Gates officially retires from daily duties at the software giant. He’s leaving in order to begin a second life as a full-time philanthropist and to explore his dizzying range of intellectual interests.”
MacDailyNews Take: Yeah, the vertigo is intense when you’ve spent the last 25 years staring 850 miles due south.
Kirkpatrick continues, “But his departure raises some obvious and very large questions about the future of Microsoft: Can the now $60 billion behemoth keep finding new ways to grow? Will Ballmer and his lieutenants be able to successfully adapt their products to an increasingly web-driven world? In short, does the company have what it takes to thrive without its iconic founder at the helm?”
MacDailyNews Take: No. No. And no.
Kirkpatrick continues, “And then there’s Apple. From the iPod to the iMac to the iPhone, its products have cornered the market on cool. Apple’s small share of the PC market in the U.S. is growing fast – it was 7.4% in the first quarter of 2008, up from 5.1% a year earlier, according to International Data Corp. (IDC). Perhaps even more alarming, its ubiquitous ‘Get a Mac’ TV ads have painted the personal computer loaded with Windows software – the central achievement of Gates’ 33 years at Microsoft – as a loser. To a lot of consumers out there, Microsoft really does seem like that bumbling nebbish played by Daily Show contributor John Hodgman.”
“The feud with Apple is mostly about honor. It pains Ballmer and his troops react viscerally when they watch those Apple ads – and when they see how much they’ve harmed Microsoft’s reputation. The consulting firm CoreBrand calculates Microsoft has declined from 11th among global brands in 2004 to 59th today, and reports that the two-year-old ‘Get a Mac’ campaign has almost certainly played a role,” Kirkpatrick reports.
Kirkpatrick reports, “The ads hurt even more because they strike a nerve… Ballmer does not intend to keep tolerating Apple’s insults.”
MacDailyNews Take: “Buy a Dell and get a Zune?” Sounds more like a prison term than a marketing promotion.
Full article, in which Kirkpatrick looks at Microsot’s plans to make Windows “cool” with a new marketing campaign, here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “JES42” for the heads up.]
he’s not sad, he’s scared shitless.
He IS scared. Gates is the only thing keeping Ballmer at the helm.
Watch how fast they boot his ass out after Gates leaves.
“”What the executives were witnessing was the end of an era.”
I think they mean, “end of an error”.
Biggest fscking error in history.
He’s used loads of antiperspirant for the big day and the sweat can’t come out any other way.
It’s not about ads or just perception.
Using a PC is torture. Using a Mac is joy.
That simple.
Not an error, truly, for W H Gates jnr had a direct line to W H Gates snr.
Barmier has direct lines to the nearest Dunkin’ Donuts and restroom.
I love using my Mac. At the same time, i don’t feel the need to bash Microsoft at every turn. If Steve Jobs retires, you’d be seeing a lot of people crying too. Apple is a company and Macs are tools. As much as I love my Mac I’d use something else if it was better for what i need my tool to do or what my tool can do for me.
Balmer is genuinely sad. He can’t dump out his stock due to his insider position. He can only watch it erode under his guidance.
Some of those guys were sobbing with joy. Imagine being in a room with Barmier and him not being able to speak, truly an unbelievable, unexpected, unlikely to ever happen again, experience, one to savour.
I’m no Windows fan and I think my Apple laptop rocks, and I have little doubt VIsta and the Zune player pretty much suck as products. But even if there is little reason to respect Steve Ballmer as a tech executive, making fun of his display of emotion over the departure of two people he probably really cares about, and calling him a “dork” for that display, is completely uncalled for, don’t you think?
Whatever his faults, the guy is a human being and deserves to be accorded a basic level of respect to which we are all entitled.
Maybe the resident dorks at MDN need to grow up a little.
You can’t market cool. The iPod ads were ‘cool’ because the product was already cool.
Apple now remains cool by saying nothing. MS will remain uncool by both their products and telling us how cool MS is.
Ballmer has nowhere to hide now – the buck stops with him.
slow news day…
From the article, He’s leaving in order to begin a second life as a full-time philanthropist and to explore his dizzying range of intellectual interests.
There’s real news, Bill has intellectual interest, even bigger news, it means he must have intellect. No, that can’t be, must be a report in Forbes.
From the article, Last year’s rollout of the latest version of Windows, called Vista, was a public relations and consumer marketing disaster.
No it wasn’t, it was junk, pure junk. Fsck public relations and consumer marketing (BTW they are the same thing). It’s about customer experience.
From the article The rest of the software industry, meanwhile, is either supporting its products with advertising, like Google, or starting to rent them as online services.
Wrong again, there is one company that shuns saddling it’s customer with advertising and actually sells stuff (that works).
From the article. But despite setbacks, despite image problems, and despite Google, Microsoft is in many ways stronger than it has ever been. Just look at the numbers.
Spoken like a true bean counter.
(PS, I am not a bean).
Apple hasn’t damaged Microsoft’s reputation and credibiltiy nearly as much as Microsoft itself has by producing and mismanaging a poor product. It is as if they are blaming Apple for their own incompetence.
I agree with R5D4
“Yeah, the vertigo is intense when you’ve spent the last 25 years staring 850 miles due south.”
Nice one.
Thank you, R5D4. I was thinking the same thing, but I couldn’t have said it better.
From the article. Steve has a computer in his head.
Most of us have a brain.
This shit is so funny, how to condense what is wrong with the corporate world (and much more) in one article.
In fact, now that I’ve had a few minutes to reflect on my last comment—
IF I DON’T SEE A RETRACTION OF THE FIRST PART OF THE MDN TAKE ON THIS STORY BY 11 PM PST TODAY, I AM FOREVER DONE WITH THIS BOARD.
This site in informative and fun but, in the end, inessential to my continued enjoyment of Apple and its product. Thank you.
R5D4,
It seems clear to most of us that MDN is criticizing Ballmer for misplaced priorities – crying about MS execs’ retirements, but won’t retire himself until his last kid is out of the house.
Misplaced priorities, indeed.
Ballmer is the very definition of a dork.
R5D4, Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
From the article. As evidence, he estimates that about half the questions he’s asked on conference calls concern the money-losing $3.3 billion Online division – or Windows Live Services, which includes Microsoft’s search product and Hotmail – even though it represents only about 6% of company revenues. Of course, that’s the division that competes with Google.
Good job it’s not more than 6% of revenues otherwise it would be losing even more money.
R5D4 – goodbye!
From the article. <The one concrete commitment Gates has made to Ballmer, other than continuing to chair board meetings, is that he will keep working with the search and advertising team.>
So we see Bill’s priorites (or rather his dad’s) find out what people are interested in and shove more advertising at them.
From the article. This year Microsoft will put about $1.7 billion into data centers and servers for its online business.
Lets hope they are running IIS.
Correct me if I am wrong but Bill is staying on as Chairman of the board isn’t he?
Bill is just getting out so he can save face when he buys an iPhone on July 11:-).
Also Bill Gates, at least get Tech, he is a geek at heart even if he is a plagiarizing ruthless business geek. He may not be the best programmer in the world but he has programmed a computer before, what has Ballmer ever done but befriend Bill Gates.
I will say this for Bill gates, if rewards his friend handsomely.
Apple has damaged Microsoft’s market share and it’s image, but not really due to the Mac. It’s more due to the iPod, iPhone and iTunes. That’s because Apple really doesn’t market OS X. It markets Macs, iPods, and iPhones.
Microsoft had done most of the damage itself. Vista is a nightmare product for MS. There’s no hiding it, no fixing it, and it HAD to be released.
As for Microsoft, Gates has been the de facto CEO all this time, even after he “stepped down.” Basically everything defaulted to Gates, even though he supposedly wasn’t making day-to-day decisions. You could tell in interviews about Vista that he was frustrated and that he was still heavily involved in “fixing” the mess.
Now that he’s retiring for good, the Board of Directors and Shareholders won’t put up with such substandard performance. While Gates was there, people had this belief that he could fix what was wrong with MS. Now that he’s gone, I give Ballmer another year at best before he’s ousted with his golden parachute.
And that’s actually bad news for Apple. Not because it hurts Apple, but it give MS a chance to be more competitive once Ballmer is gone.
Just curious. How many of you out there are squirting songs at each other?
gagravvar wrote:
“Biggest fscking error in history.”
I bet’cha Ponchus Pilot doesn’t think so….
@R5D4:
Have a nice life.
Buh-bye.
@ R5D4 and his sympathizers
you are a dork too
satisfied?
From the article. Two days a week this group drove to a special skunkworks away from the Microsoft campus in Redmond to work quietly on the project, code-named FTP168 (the “FTP” is said to stand for “free the people”).
Sure the ‘F’ doesn’t stand for a different word?
R5D4,
Pardon me for asking, but WTF is the significance of “11 PM PST” or are you just as fsckin’ nuts as I suspect you to be?
From the article: the company will launch a new version of Windows Mobile as well as a new version of the services known as Windows Live. For the first time, they’re going to be promoted as aspects of the same thing.
They are “going to be promoted as” in other words they will not be. When Steve Jobs canned Newton his reason was that one company couldn’t manage two operating systems. Think it through.
More like a Microsoft S.O. B story!
“The aim of the [Windows advertising] campaign will be to talk about things you can do with your PC that you could never do before.”
Assuming you can get it to work.
That’s where I think it will fail. First, they have to talk about the things that Windows can do that a Macintosh can’t. Most of those things are pretty esoteric to a typical consumer–I don’t really care about tuning my car via the ECU. So they end up looking like Apple–“Look, you can edit your home movies!”–and pointing out the stuff that Apple did 5 years ago.
That said, it will be interesting to see how Apple responds to this.
As I’ve said many many times, I believe MS’ mac envy is its biggest weakness, culminating (so far) in Vista. But then everything it does is reactive.
The biggest win of the commercials may be the way they get under the skin of MS execs. So Vista gets aero and the sidebar, when what MS’s customers NEEDED was security and WANTED was for drivers to work.
And in Snow Leopard, Apple is going to exploit MS’s cluelessness about its customers big time. Performance, reliability and “no new features” (thus no new learning curve, though, of course, no MacOS has had any kind of learning curve to upgrade since 10.0.) Now the IT department gets mac envy.
The shocking thing about MS… a company built on business acumen, not technology… is how they’re flunking Management 101… not knowing their customers and meeting their needs. Only a monopoly could breed such cluelessness.
All you guys would be crying if Jobs left and you don’t even work with him or know him. You don’t know Ballmer either. Do you assume he’s not capable of having actual feelings because of who you perceive him to be. Like it or not, MS changed the world once just like Apple is doing now. Stop being so bitter and enjoy it.
If you listened closely you probably heard a ” death rattle “.
That signifies the death of Microsoft. Vista was a disaster and MS is hoping to get people to forget it by announcing the scheduled delivery of the next version of Windows.
When will MS stockholders get wise and bot this bozo ???
@ Judge Bork
No real significance, but I figure that’s about the last time today I’ll bother to check back (I’m on the West Coast), and that gives MDN a lot of time to delete that part of their take.
And if you believe I’m nuts because I find comments like “Dork. Microsoft is Ballmer’s family. That’s what’s really sad” mean, uncalled for and valueless, then fine, I’m nuts and proud of it. Everone should be that nutty.
That’s it for me.
MDN’s takes contain the truth. That upsets and infuriates Microsoft sycophants to no end.
Keep up the great work, MDN!
@R5D4 and fans
Barmier has one skill (allegedly), he’s a salesman. When he has tears he does so because he thinks they will benefit him, they will add to the profits. Rather than not read MDN again you should not read Forbes again, or learn to read, or learn at least something.
Balmy bawls his eyes out over departing MSFT executives, but can’t wait to throw a party the day his last kid gets the hell out of the house.
MDN is right: “Ballmer can’t even manage his own priorities, much less a multi-billion dollar company.”
“A Microsoft sob story”
They could have capitalized S.O.B.
Oops, sorry Reclaimer.
Poor, sad little “The Great Apple Fanboy Massacre’s” posting on pro-Apple websites borders upon the sociopathic.
Perhaps instead of trolling sites that you obviously don’t like (your obsession is sign of mental illness), you should spend time ranting to a psychiatrist.
With Gates officially gone will they replace PC guy with a really fat bald anger management candidate?
Oh, and perhaps “The Great Apple Fanboy Massacre” should take remedial maths.
“100,000 ads”?
Not only are you unable to count, but your penchant for gross exaggeration proves you need to seek out help.
@R5D4: Don’t let the virtual door hit your vagina on the way out…
Snif snif.
Anyone see that one hour program om BBC2, in the UK, about Bill Gates, and his founding of Microsoft, and its challenges, and its naughtiness, with Netscape, and its competition with internet companies, like Google & Yahoo?
It was good
@R5D4
See
for the quintessential Steve Ballmer, hawking an EARLY version of Windows while wearing the tackiest used-car salesman plaid sports jacket you’ve ever seen.
He’s a bad salesman and he’s a dork. He’s also a very, very, very, VERY wealthy dork who got lucky as hell when they handed out college roommates. That doesn’t excuse his gross incompetence.
If you’ve ever had MS Windows inflicted on you, then your sympathy is misplaced. Stop sobbing and get over it. MDN’s take was just fine.
I for one cannot wait to see MS’s big ad campaign later this year.
Let’s see, it has been 3 years in the making and is put together by a committee. If you replace 3 with 7, that reminds me of something else MS recently did that was a huge success.
These ads are definitely going to be good! I can almost feel the WOW. I hope I’m sitting down when the first one appears on my TV so I don’t fall on my ass laughing.
Give the guy a break, after all he is human. Forget that monkey boy stuff, anyways man has 99% of the same genes as monkeys it’s just that in most people the 1% takes precedence.
They guy has a computer in his head and runs a computer company, it’s obvious, where’s your sense of logic, you should buy a computer off him not a toy MAC from Apple.
Apple charges you lots of money for their computers and operating systems, I mean to keep current with MAC SOX you would have spent hundreds more than XP service packs and the glorious Vista. Live is great, and MSN, and HotMail, and they are all free, just watch up to fifteen minutes advertising out of every hour of your free time, and that’s free otherwise it wouldn’t be called free.
“Maybe the resident dorks at MDN need to grow up a little.”
“IF I DON’T SEE A RETRACTION OF THE FIRST PART OF THE MDN TAKE ON THIS STORY BY 11 PM PST TODAY, I AM FOREVER DONE WITH THIS BOARD.”
R4D5…
Maybe try following your own advice.
BTW… thanks for clearing a little bandwidth for the rest of us.
There are a few regular trolls here that should make and own up to that kind of promise.
Rarely have I encountered such a piece of rank hagiography. Reminds me why I dropped FORTUNE.
It’s going to take a lot more than repackaging and marketing, not to mention those 11×17 sheets of numbers, to improve Microsoft’s standing. Apple succeeds not because Jobs tells people Apple’s products are “cool”. The customer makes an emotional connection with the product and concludes “wow, that’s cool!” And those “Get a Mac” ads that get under their skin? It’s because Apple makes visceral what the customer has long felt: that Windows sucks, and there’s a better alternative out there.
First, I would like to thank MDN for altering their MDN take to read as it now does, whether or not I was the catalyst for the revision. I no longer consider you guys dorks, and you are responsive to your readers.
To those who supported my comments: it looks like we were right.
To all my detractors, the original MDN Take read: “Dork. Microsoft is Ballmer’s family. That’s what’s really sad”. Now it reads: Dork. Supposedly, Microsoft is Ballmer’s “family.” If true, that’s really sad.” Also, it looks like MDN revised other parts.
In sum, I am vindicated, and will continue to visit and post on this board.
There is no reason that ragging on MS can’t be tempered with a little civility.
I’m very happy with my Apple products and recommend Apple to others. I use Excel because it does for my business what Numbers can’t.
I prefer Apple over Microsoft and Jobs over Gates or Ballmer.
But, I don’t understand the impulse to spew vitriol at Microsoft, Gates and Ballmer the way so many people on this site do. What does it help? And how does it sound to people new to Apple and to this site? You welcome them by crapping all over the place they come from?
I also don’t get what personal attacks have to do with Microsoft and it leadership or products.
As to the family comment he made, I have several ‘families’–my own, my closest friends, my work mates–and I care for all of them. I’d hate to think that I could only express my feelings for one of them by invalidating the feelings I have for another.
Last words: Well aimed ribbing is often deserved, fun and funny but when it gets really nasty it can leave a bad aftertaste. Even when you disagree others I believe it only makes sense to treat them with the same basic respect you would like to be treated with by those who disagree with you. It feels better..and you seldom win friends, or converts, by spitting at them.
R5D4,
…the guy is a human being…
Are you so sure?
…and deserves to be accorded a basic level of respect to which we are all entitled…
Uh, huh. Just like the deep level of respect that he has when he and his company ruthlessly killed hundreds of companies putting thousands and thousands of skilled, hard-working, career-minded, tax-paying, family-oriented people out of work.
It’s not enough that has he made money for his company — indeed, his fuduciary duty. But, he’s prevented others from getting theirs. Why would he do this? What kind of compassionate human would feel compelled to work to get his earnings — yet, work HARDER to destroy yours?
This is the first post I’ve EVER seen from you. And you come in with your blowhard demands.
I suspect that this is a sock-puppet account, never INTENDED for more than a single use at MDN.
You are a silly person, if you think we are stupid enough not to believe you’ll be here after 2am tomorrow. With a ‘new’ new handle, or re-use an old one.
If not, then GFR!
I cry every time I watch this classic.
Okay, seriously….
Ballmer sells windows1.0
“”The feud with Apple is mostly about honor. It pains Ballmer and his troops react viscerally when they watch those Apple ads – and when they see how much they’ve harmed Microsoft’s reputation.”
Cry me a river.
The greatest harm to MS has been caused by MS itself. MS is its own worst enemy.
@ iPityThatCompany
Chill out. If you read the entire string, you’ll see the controversy is over. And while I don’t post as often as a lot of people on here, I have posted more than a few times in the past. Wasting time on here is one of my current interests.
And I love how a lot of folks on here assume that if your comments don’t reflect those of a blind Apple fanboy, you are automatically a shill for MS or Dell or whomever. That’s the whole “you are either with us or against us” mentality that bought us the war in Iraq and a second term for the Wonder Boy from Houston. Good luck with that.
Anyone see that one hour program om BBC2
No, and I’ll tell you why.
A friend of mine was working for a bit of the BBC that deals with factual programming and was charged with generating some ideas for programmes on science and tech that might appeal to BBC3’s more youthful audience.
I suggested to him that – assuming that they could get past Apple’s Kremlinesque secrecy and were willing to delay transmission to suit any embargos that Apple may insist upon – it would be interesting to watch Apple develop something to do with their iPod division.
Now all of this is unbelievably unlikely in any instance, however any practicality or otherwise didn’t matter to my friend’s boss who said that such a programme would be seen as “an unpaid advert for Apple”.
That was approximately six weeks before the cock-sucking, ass-kissing hagiography that accompanied the launch of Vista again on The Money Programme (“we’re really proud of removing the word ‘Start’ from the Windows menu”).
Two programmes that unreservedly gush on Microsoft and Bill Gates in 18 months is at least one too many, especially when there is very little analysis on Microsoft’s less abuse of its monopoly.
Rather than being sub-titled “The Geek Who Changed The World”, maybe tonight’s programme could have been called
“The Geek Who Got Lucky and then Stole Nearly Every Idea From Smarter People Who Thought Of It First!”
Or how about…
“The Geek Who Developed A Shit Operating System That Frustrates The User Class and Exists To Keep IT Technicians In Employment Thus Distorting The Competitiveness Of Any Company Stupid Enough To Implement It!”
I’m normally really proud of the BBC: I think – at its best – it makes programmes that no other broadcaster has the vision or the courage to make and which can, in the case of Planet Earth and similar, genuinely fulfil what should be television’s “mission to explain” as opposed to the “mission to trivialise” which is more common.
But the Money Programme, which used to be a great programme with a genuine investigative bent, is more often than not a shallow programme which never really provides any realistic insight into any market or company!
The real reason Bill is leaving is because he wants to start investing in AAPL shares.
… says Melinda Gates, Bill’s wife. “You don’t walk away from your life’s work if it’s not going well. He just could never do that.”
I believe this is contrary to what we’re seeing unfold at Microsoft. Gate’s stated he relinquished his decision-making powers years ago and yet Vista is his swan song. While it may not have been his decision to yank all of the goodness out of Longhorn in order to ship it, he’ll carry this stank to the grave.
Embrace, Extend, and Extinguish should be <strike>chiseler</strike> chiseled on his headstone. Let us not forget, with Bill it was ALWAYS about the money. It still is.
Ballmer displays all the classic symptoms of the Peter Principle and under his watch we will continue to watch the company drift laterally, at least until his youngest son graduates from college anyway.
Ballmer’s carried Gates’ water for so long, the reservoir to hold it all could have spared the Mississippi River Valley.
@ R5D4,
Not sure how you’re vindicated – it still calls him a dork!
Are you sure you’re not smoking a little too much today?
Will you leave NOW?
R4D5,
Yeah sure, I’ll get right on that.
Again, what kind of compassionate human would feel compelled to work to get his earnings — yet, work HARDER to destroy yours?
FWIW, your controversy ‘ended’ 6 minutes before I posted. 8 posts before I posted. I have no control of time. I posted BEFORE the second page was created.
If it makes you feel any better — Apple’s hockey puck mouse sucked. So did taking off Firewire from the iPod, and not USB.
Smoking might do him some good.
Hey! Look what time it almost is.
Stir it up…
Little dah lane…
I have a drawer full of those hockey puck mice… which now fills with only slightly less unpleasant Mighty Mice.
This is the only hardware race that Microsoft wins, so I give it to ’em.
R5D4:First, I would like to thank MDN for altering their MDN take to read as it now does, whether or not I was the catalyst for the revision. I no longer consider you guys dorks, and you are responsive to your readers.
Translation: “Everyone’s laughing at me! How can I save face? Ooh, look! They changed a few words! I’ll claim credit, even though the meaning is almost exactly the same!” Thanks for the comedy gold, R5D4. It’s not every day that I witness a poster coming out of nowhere to demand changes, threatening to leave otherwise, which would place the board in the same state it was… yesterday.
The article: “Can the now $60 billion behemoth keep finding new ways to grow?”
What do they mean “keep”? Microsoft’s grotesquely enormous, but its growth has been stagnant for nearly a decade, if its stock price is any indication.
——RM
“I’ve spent more time with these two human beings than with anyone else in my life”
Oh the ideas that come to mind. Wonder if livestock was involved.
And which, unfortunately, is probably true.
If I had sacrificed myself for MICROSOFT of all fscking places I’d probably be in tears as well.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”raspberry” style=”border:0;” />
@RD54
i understand what you mean. i agree with you.
i think you yourself already understand this so this is for the other people who have commented and for MDN people:
its clear MDN is written by and mostly commented on by 14 year olds and/or people who were part of the “Great Transmigration” of people who came to the apple platform post 2005.
14 year olds and persons with cognitive reasoning ability of 14 year olds wont ever understand the word “objectivity”.
i almost never read the MDN inserted banal comments that could just as easily be inserted randomly using a computer generated fan-boy app:
replace ballmer with dork
replace windows with the enemy
replace gates with cheat
i also almost never read the comments inserted by these readers either for the same reason.
what MDN IS good for is a quick headline summary and then i just go directly to the “Full Story here” link so that i can read the ORIGINAL story to understand the writer’s intent. it is what i wish more of MDN’s commenters would do so they can actually learn about other opinions and how others’ divergent thoughts do matter.
the great loss is that these post-2005 platform joiners are like lemmings: these same people will desert the mac-ipod-iphone platform that apple has built when the next well-marketed “us vs. them” platform comes along.
these are the people who havent understood or benefitted from the meaning of apple’s greatest contribution which is getting people to “Think Different”.
that, is the greatest loss.
Apple is a company and Macs are tools. As much as I love my Mac I’d use something else if it was better for what i need my tool to do or what my tool can do for me.
@can we stop the bashing?:
Apple is not just another company. That’s the whole point of the Mac experience. How many companies can you name that are really more interested in outdoing themselves than they are in maximizing their profits? Apple is one of those rare companies, and this is why people love Apple and, by extension, their Macs.
And the Macintosh is not just another tool. Would you say that a BMW is “just another car,” fully interchangeable with, say, a Chevy Nova because both vehicles have an engine, four tires and a steering wheel?
Why should we stop bashing Microsoft? Steve Balmer is a clown and Microsoft’s historic success is based largely on predatory practices. A more fitting object of scorn would be hard to come by. It’s very cathartic, but feel free not to join the discussion.
“can we stop the bashing?”
have they stopped deserving it?
What are people so surprised about?
http://www.atpm.com/13.12/apple-talk.shtml
“With its big footprint on the computing industry, Microsoft simply cannot be seen in “collusion” with Apple to expand OS X market share. Forget antitrust regulations—the Microsoft shareholders would riot. No, no, no. The company is already doing everything possible to ensure that Apple continues to be a resounding success…”
“And it’s not just Microsoft that’s doing this. The PC vendors are also in on the game, everyone working extremely hard to increase Macintosh market share quarter after quarter. I have my hunches (e.g., all these CEOs have huge AAPL positions or something) but, really, I don’t know why they are doing it. It just boggles my mind. But whatever the reason is, “good on ’em!””
http://www.atpm.com/13.12/apple-talk.shtml
The truth is he was crying since they ran out of MEAT for him to chaw on.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
I really think Ballmer is realizing the “party’s over” and that in 20 years, he’ll be a senior citizen. Being about the same age as him, his tears were probably as much for himself as for Bill Gates upcoming departure.
Whoever replaces Ballmer will inherit the biggest mess in IT history.
And, for those who say that MS doesn’t pay attention to its customers, I believe you are 100% accurate.
What goes around comes around, and MS is about reap what they have sown all these years. Hopefully, Jobs and company are ready to push ahead and take some REALLY large market share.
As smart as Jobs and company are, I have to believe they are already 2/3rds of the way through a 10 year plan. I believe Jobs had this planned out in the mid nineties.
Time will tell, but Apple has performed extraordinarily over the past 7 years.
Balmer isn’t scared shitless because “shitless” means “without shit” and Balmer is certainly “full of shit.”
Ballmer balls his eyes out. Even Big Oil execs and cigarette company heads cry when they lose their true man-love friends. He needs help.
I was disappointed with MDN’s take as well. It seemed ‘unjustifiably’ harsh to me. I am no fan of Mr. Ballmer or Microsoft. I take time and care in making up my mind and I like to think I’m strong in my convictions. I have not bought any Microsoft product since 2002, even when I was using windows both at work and school (Fedora at home). With various product lines from cheaper mouse/keyboards/josticks to xboxes to MS Office, it was not easy to resist, but I’m proud that I did. I can’t use Apple’s Numbers, it’s not there yet, but I still refuse to load MS Office on my Macbook pro. The same way, I’m seriously considering boycotting everything Jim Cramer and TheSteet. We fans, aren’t always the ‘rational’ ones.
But for the heartless snide on Ballmer, I wished a justification was provided by MDN, maybe a trip down the memory lane for MDN and a refresher course for many of us. I like MDN and enjoy many of its sarcastic yet professional takes of recent times. This, I believe could have been done better. How about a take two? Not an ‘about face,’ but an update. That is my request.
MDN MW: ‘better’
@mark
Totally agree
@LordRobin
You should be thankful that whatever job you hold doesn’t require reading comprehension or analytical skills
@ChrissyOne
I do smoke, and it really does help me tolerate snarky little comments from folks like yourself. BTW, way to derive self-worth with your little “I know the name of the next Mac OS and you don’t” routine a while back. You’ll really enjoy the adult world once you get there.
That’s it! I demand that R4D5 answer my questions — or I’ll, I’ll, I’ll do something. Really awful, too! I mean it!
I’ll buy a Zune. I will!
LOL
Uh, ‘unjustifiably’ harsh? Really?
Bllamer’s competitive business ‘style’, might be considered ‘unjustifiably’ harsh.
Phew! I guess we’re even.
>Whatever his faults, the guy is a human being and deserves to be accorded a basic level of respect to which we are all entitled.
Judging from the above pictures either Darwin got it right about man finding its roots as an Ape, or the MS CEO is stuck in a very perverted ape reality.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />
Tehyr’e claeld tpoys. Ccehk itno it.
mwaasaa boo hoo Microsoft.
My heart bleeds for you (NOT)
@R5D4 We have disagreed before, but this time you are right on! We like apple. Cool. we like apple a lot. great. But the moment that MDN starts demonizing people the thin line between ideologically-driven jest and propoganda has been breached. Too far MDN.
@R5D4
…Its after 11 you little twat so live up to your simpering moralistic threat and leave.
Ballmer deserves no sympathy. He and his company have deliberately hurt people and their families by killing off start-ups through vaporware or takeovers. He has helped kill off innovation as well. He denigrates, mocks and acts like an idiot. He deserves sympathy? Save it for people who need it…like those that have been hurt by Microsoft innovation (/sarcasm).
Moreover, MDN is a Mac site which can write pretty hilarious stuff which makes me and many others a fan. In fact there are a lot of great commenters that frequent these pages…..too bad you and some other hypocrites here won’t be reading my comments anymore because of your childish threats….why don’t yo just hold your breath until you turn blue? (yeah right).
“Bill and Jeff have been my North Star and kept me going. Now I’m going to count on all of you to be there for me.”
Hardly the voice of confidence.
Imagine Steve Jobs blubbering, and asking rest of the company to “be there” for him. Wow indeed. This is supposed to be an adult running Microsoft, not a child babysitting himself for the first time.
‘Tis gonna be interesting with Ballmer alone at MS’ helm.
Glad Ballmer found a proper placement of his wife and children.
Um, Where do they fall on his list again?
The Emperor is officially naked.” And the court jester Jobs is seriously unfunny
Why no mentions of this here http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/mac/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208700965
Oh if you think this is all out there http://www.digitalmunition.com/dma.html
And here http://foro.elhacker.net/gnulinux-b9.0/
and here http://www.leetupload.com/dbindex2/index.php?dir=OSX/
They have you in their sights now…. You cant run…
@R5D4
I love the way MS get bashed, but I agree with you that there are times when the language is unnecessarily nasty and/or extreme.
Respect for people is an excellent quality however “bad” you might think those people are.
John
Does Ballmer have what it takes to keep MS going?
“MacDailyNews Take: No. No. And no.”
I want to believe.
Okay, I know you didn’t ask, but here’s my take – and it does assume that Bill Gates has had, or at least, has recently gotten a conscience: BG is perfectly at ease with MS going down the tubes, if for no other reason because his huge ego (yes SJ has one of those too), does not want to see MS succeed without him. But more altruistically, I think BG wants to die in peace, which has a lot to do with his new career, and also explains why he’s allowing such an incredible bafoon to become the new leader of MS. In a way he’ll get his cake and eat it too, (and history has certainly proven his proficiency at doing that), MS will go down in his absence thus proving that its success was all about him; the giant succubus we know as MS will finally get what it deserves after all of the lying cheating and stealing, thus absolving BG prior to his final breath; and finally, he’s set about to give away (actually, to give back), large amounts of the money that was essentially misaquired in the first place. Even in the end, the legacy of BG is icky and dark.
I think MDN, there is sometimes a case to be made for a little more subtlety…
And isn’t it great that it took Apple’s ads to tell the world that the emporor WASN’T wearing any clothes.
And let me tell you, here in the UK most people still mindlessly admire and advocate Microsoft. It’s incredible but true. They should run the US versions of the Mac ads all over the world…
Have you seen the recent MS Live Search ads? In two that I saw, money gets plucked off of people who don’t notice. Good grief.
1-800-WAAA! [removed]void(0);
I love Ballmer taking full charge of Micro$oft. They couldn’t have chosen a better pilot to fly their plane into the ground.
@R5D4
Perhaps you should find a “kinder gentler forum.” Those of us who are regulars here happen to like MDN just the way it is.
It’s all fun and games ’till a flying chair comes your way. Then things get ugly at M$. Ballmer is just an evil nasty fellow.
@can we stop the bashing?
Who said: “As much as I love my Mac I’d use something else if it was better for what i need my tool to do or what my tool can do for me.”
Uh….that’s the whole point…you CAN’T find anything better, can you?
@alansky
A high five to you. Nice comeback with lots of truth.
@mark
Who said: “its clear MDN is written by and mostly commented on by 14 year olds and/or people who were part of the “Great Transmigration” of people who came to the apple platform post 2005. “
From what I’ve gathered having visited MDN for a long time is the opposite of your 14 year old statements. There are many of us middle agers who began with Apple in the 1980’s, stuck with Apple in the 1990’s. We have been dragged through the mud, targets of jokes, sarcasm, and endured stories of Apple’s impending doom and failure by Micro$oft, Dell and other PC weenies. All I can say is, it’s our turn now. How do they like it?
“We have been dragged through the mud, targets of jokes, sarcasm, and endured stories of Apple’s impending doom and failure by Micro$oft, Dell and other PC weenies. All I can say is, it’s our turn now. How do they like it?”
Amen.
All I can say is, it’s our turn now. How do they like it?
Two cliche’s come to mind:
Karma is a bitch, and revenge is best served cold.
Although Apple needs to be careful not to gloat, arrogance is as deadly as incompetence. Not to mention the outside risk of MS getting their shit together in the future.
MS may be all fsked up, but that’s no reason to screw ourselves as well….
@MacRaven & Ampar
Sooooo turnabout is fair play in your minds????? Keep that in mind for the next couple of years.
They are always looking….probing…..finding that little crack……
“They are always looking….probing…..finding that little crack……”
Check on your obsession with butt sex.
You are not sane enough to be offering advice.
FFS, for 24 years we’ve listened to this shite.
Then, as soon as one of us lob out a softball crack about your hero, it’s time for you to gnash teeth and chastise ‘us’? This is ‘our’ home. Moralize in your own home. Go to your WinForums and proselytize there. ‘Force’ the mean Mac Haters to behave respectfully, there.
Another cliché comes to mind: They can dish it, but they can’t take it.
Anyway, I don’t know ‘if it’s our turn’. Maybe. Let Karma work it out.
But just for once, WinDroid — take the punch. And STFU.
It pains Ballmer? Make some decent f$%#@ng products! Mac OS 10 almost any iteration makes Vista look like the sad ‘me too’ piece of overpriced crap everyone knows it is. Microsoft’s reference designs disappear into the sea of failure with clock like regularity. Their pricing models are painfully obvious attempts to rape consumers. And they singlehandedly created the tools that allowed criminals to make the average Windows PC users existence a morass of spyware, malware viruses and spam.
No quarter! None given! They only thin Microsoft is good at is making shitloads of money by abusing iot’s monopoly and consumers.
And let’s not forget Microsoft got their start by being handed a monopoly thru IBM. Microsoft has NEVER competed on merit. And when they try? Spot watches, BOB and the Zune.
I am amazed about how many people feel sorry for Ballmer. What a crock of shite.
Bunch of bleeding hearts….
Ballmer crying….what a man. Poopsy….are l you leaving? Sob…….
@Ampar
“”They are always looking….probing…..finding that little crack……”
Check on your obsession with butt sex.
You are not sane enough to be offering advice.”
Never ever said I was sane…. Come to think of it, never have been called sane. Your insanity is my home……And I do love home….
Now go along and pronounce your bleeding hearts out….”we endured years of this Shite!!! we aint taking any more” We deserve better……
Make it better then….. dont expect Apple to do this for you though…. Apple is just a company. And we are human. Companies will eventually fall away… people will be here to the end.
But of course you know this dont you Ampar….Chrissyone…..
Then why are you acting like me? A crazed pissed off windows fanboi???? You folks deserve this, and I am here to make sure you get a whole shitpot full.
2 maybe 3 years you will see. Then amybe you will really see….
THINK DIFFERENT!!!!
Oh by the way I think Ballmer is nuts…Reminds me soo much of a used car salesman.
You gotta love his enthusiasm! Man setting in a room of jazzed folks with this guy ramping it up…. What A Rush!!!!!
THINK DIFFERENT!!!!!
….Make it better then…..
Any suggestions?
….You folks deserve this….
Why?
@ R5D4
“I do smoke, and it really does help me tolerate snarky little comments from folks like yourself. BTW, way to derive self-worth with your little “I know the name of the next Mac OS and you don’t” routine a while back. You’ll really enjoy the adult world once you get there.”
Okay, what the fsck is this all about? When did I ever lash out at you? If I’m going to insult you, you’ll know it, you rotten psycho fsck hole.
I think you might have a bit of a Projection problem, you 2nd rate garbage droid. I think it says something about a person when they have to bring up a topic from weeks ago and gloat about how superior they think they are, never mind the ‘routine’.
If something crawled into your pussy and died, please don’t blame me for it. It sounds like you’re doing a pretty good job of making a complete ass of yourself on your own in this thread. Sorry if you can’t handle other people in the world that know things and think about stuff. I understand you might be feeling left out. Just don’t think you bring us all down to your level by saying so.
Good day to you.
” Microsot’s plans to make Windows “cool” with a new marketing campaign,”
If they believe it can be done with a marketing campaign, they have already failed.
-jcr
@R4D4:
“In sum, I am vindicated, and will continue to visit and post on this board.”
Bull Hockey.
The MDN statement is essentially unchanged.
And now you’re grasping at straws in your attempt to backpedal on your threat to leave.
You threatened to leave, and MSN’s minor editorial changes didn’t retract one iota from “dork” Ballmer.
YMMV, but IMO, Ballmer revealed his degree of faithfulness to his Microsoft “family” when he made that “last kid out … I’m gone” (sic) statement.
Even that is a bogus spin-doctoring to make him appear like a normal guy, because what kind of Billionaire is so utterly incompetent in being able to afford college for his kids?
The reason why Ballmer is IMO all distraught is because the iceberg that MS Titanic is heading for is well within sight, but the steering controls on the ship don’t allow them to dodge this one … and with Bill and Jeff leaving, Steve knows that he’s been left as the Captain of ship. He’s clearly upset and scared as all “heck”.
Finally, if he gets so unhinged when a supposed **friend** retires, what kind of bender is he go on when Bill or Jeff dies (from old age, cancer or a bus)? Either the guy’s a superb actor, or he’s as mentally as stable as a bowl of prune flavored Jello on a hot day in a 6.5 Earthquake.
Pity for the Mighty doesn’t start until after the Mighty have fallen. Its still not quite time yet to pity Microsoft.
-hh
There you go again: spewing byzantine analyses of Ballmer’s proprioceptive , phasic, and probably soon stercoral condition. Let the guy wriggle and contort all he wants. Waste of time and futile endeavour. If you want to effectively destroy the guy–I as wish you would!–why not advise Apple to lower their prices, ever so little so that more PCs owner cross over? And stop spreading rumors about Jobs’ career. What a way to win over prospective Mac buyers! And do not bash this messenger who has been using Macs for longer than most of you. Applequest.
@C1….yeaow….don’t lighten up on him now…give him BOTH barrels.
R2D2 (deliberately misspelled) is a sorry git who makes idle threats and puffs himself up under the safety of anonymity. …like the coward he/she is. Not worth getting your dander up C1 but rather as a target to sharpen your usual rapier wit…..in other words bitch-slap him with words.
Linus Ball$mer has lost his Gateian security blanket.
“Let us mourn the loss together, fellow Windows!“, he quips.
Much grieving amongst the followers ensues.
Ball$mer exits with the older partner, patting Gates on the back, friendship neverending.
Ball$mer laughs, inner talk; “I have won! I am the all powerful genie! The Gatetime has ended, I am the supreme being!”
As the older Gate leaves the edifice for good, he in turn smiles. He knows that the empire is failing, he leaves as a rat from a sinking ship.
Such friends.
They only thin Microsoft is good at is making shitloads of money by abusing iot’s monopoly and consumers.
MS is the ultimate parasite, with their legacy CRAP deeply embedded into the jugulars of so much of the PC industry.
Need more revenue? Sip a little harder. A host doesn’t wanna pay up? Call in the BSA.
The good news is the parasite’s fangs have been very poorly engineered, and MS can no longer maintain them. A major legacy break WILL have to come if MS wants remain even laughably relevant.
Mac: Simple, like it’s users
Apple needs to grow up and face the facts that insulting MS at every turn isn’t going to help. The 5% of people using macs are decreasing even more. I love the ipod and iphone but when you can’t build your own computer that is just sad. Mac fans are so defensive if you ever talk bad about their macs. Whoever says macs never crash are smoking dope. I have a few macs and I like them, but Windows will always win.
@T34m1nat0r
Soooo……why are you here?
“Whoever says macs never crash are smoking dope. I have a few macs and I like them, but Windows will always win.”
Thanks for playing, fake Mac user. NEXT!!!
@ T34m1nat0r
“Apple needs to grow up and face the facts that insulting MS at every turn isn’t going to help.”
Apple only insults MS when they deserve it. Don’t blame Apple if they deserve it so often.
“The 5% of people using macs are decreasing even more.”
I know! Recently that number has decreased to 7.4%.
“I love the ipod and iphone but when you can’t build your own computer that is just sad.”
I doubt you could build a salad at TGIFridays. Let’s not aim too high.
“Mac fans are so defensive if you ever talk bad about their macs.”
You should talk to a few Moto-Guzzi owners.
“Whoever says macs never crash are smoking dope.”
Whoever said Macs never crash?
“I have a few macs and I like them”
Liar.
“but Windows will always win.”
Fool.
@T34m1nat0r
“I love the ipod and iphone but when you can’t build your own computer that is just sad.”
You may not understand this so I will say it in small words…so what!
Very few people WANT to build one and amusingly enough, when I hear some PC dorks say they like to BUILD one, they say…oh, I increased the RAM…I changed the hard disk, I put in a new video card…
THAT is not building your own PC and when I say I do that on the Mac they look at me as if I am a liar.
Ignorance is bliss and I know a lot of Blissful people.
I just shake my head….