“Kevin Johnson, the president of [Microsoft’s online] division, suddenly and surprisingly resigned late Wednesday, taking over Juniper Networks, and leaving Microsoft’s online business in more disarray than it was already in,” Jim Goldman reports or CNBC.
In a memo to Microsoft employees addressing Johnson’s departure and competition with Google, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer also mentions Apple, pointing out that “Microsoft outsells Apple 30 to 1, but elevates the competition to a new level,” Goldman reports. “He writes: ‘In the competition between PCs and Macs, we outsell Apple 30-to-1. But there is no doubt that Apple is thriving. Why? Because they are good at providing an experience that is narrow but complete, while our commitment to choice often comes with some compromises to the end-to-end experience. Today, we’re changing the way we work with hardware vendors to ensure that we can provide complete experiences with absolutely no compromises. We’ll do the same with phones—providing choice as we work to create great end-to-end experiences.'”
Goldman writes, “It’s an interesting take on Microsoft’s position in the marketplace as it relates to Apple. Microsoft is indeed losing marketshare to Apple (2.5 million Macs a quarter start to add up!) because of all the well-documented problems and challenges with Windows Vista. But rather than focus on Vista’s shortcomings, Ballmer spotlights the strengths of the Mac.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “JES42” for the heads up.]
How “narrow” is a platform that is a much better choice for the vast majority of personal computer users who are not short-sightedly shackled to some Windows-only app? That is really the only reason to run Windows and, if that’s the only reason why people run your OS, then you’d better keep developers from writing native versions of their apps for Mac (which, as market share increases have a funny way of promoting, they are doing in droves) or you’ve got absolutely nothing. For example, if Autodesk came out with a good, sound working Mac version of AutoCAD today, Apple would own the architecture market by next week. Architecture firms don’t pick Windows because it’s better, they’re stuck with it for now. The same for the real estate industry, etc.
Furthermore, there is no way that Microsoft “can provide complete experiences with absolutely no compromises.” Not unless they dump the HPs and Dells of the world and adopt Apple’s vertical integration model (control of the whole widget) and begin producing their own PC hardware. Too many cooks in the kitchen otherwise. Even if Microsoft did that, they’d still be stuck with a bloated, legacy-ridden, mess of an OS. And industrial designers the caliber of Jonathan Ive do not grow on trees. If Microsoft made Windows PCs, they’d end up with another Zune. There really is no good news for Microsoft. They don’t have the leadership, they don’t have a culture of innovation, and they don’t have the winning model. All they have are the vestiges of an illegally-constructed monopoly that they can no longer leverage indiscriminately to run roughshod over the tech industry.
The exact same points above work for iPhone vs. a fleet of clunky, junky Windows Mobile devices from every Tom, Dick, and Harry hardware maker. Just like they worked for iPod vs. Apple’s roadkill who all used to use the now-defunct PlaysForSure for their clunky, junky now-defunct MP3 players. Vertical integration trumps horizontal when it comes the end user experience and, drumroll please… end user experience is all that really matters.
Someday the world will look back on the period where Microsoft dominated personal computing as an unfortunate, wasteful mistake. The Dark Ages of Personal Computing is finally drawing to a close. The Apple renaissance is at hand!
Ballmer’s full memo is here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Rainy Day” for the heads up.]
What MDN said.
The Apple method of closing the system and issuing Developer Guidelines is vindicated. Ballmer is admitting that the Microsoft way cannot be sustained. Yes, it puts harnesses on developers, but places the end user experience in the primary spotlight, where it should be.
The Microsoft Myth of Choice (MMC™)
You can buy whatever junky PC box you can find, but you experience will be the same crappy bloated mess, because no matter your hardware choice, it still runs Windows.
At least it makes people FEEL like they have a choice, when they really don’t, and that’s all that matters.
“”Microsoft outsells Apple 30 to 1”
MS sells computers?
yes, i know it has been said before, but come on! you want to compare OS to OS? fine, drop the OEM sales and how do they compare?
you wanna compare hardware? fine, show me the MS brand computer.
Apple is thriving because they sell quality stuff. MS hawks crap. end of story.
The other myth is that Apple is proprietary and Windows is not.
Windows is ALSO proprietary. Microsoft owns and controls Windows. It is not Open Source.
He’s starting to feel the heat……starting.
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I think that after the comments made by uncle Steve during his 4Q results and all the speculation after about more affordable Macs and as a result greater market-share, it’s no surprise to see a reaction come from ballmer.
Things are going to start heating up real quick!
Emergency board meeting at Apple…soon to reinvent and base their strategy on what Steve Ballmer thinks. Buy stock in Krispy Kreme!
….and the lord looked down and saw it was good….
Please oh please let there be a Mac version of AutoCAD somewhere in the future.
I would have to check my facts a little but it seems the Baldmer is living in the past.
At 30 to 1 Apple’s share would be just over 3%. A couple of years ago that was true.
Now try 15 to 1and Apple’s share becomes almost 7%. That is a lot closer to reality Mr. Baldmer.
Welcome to your nightmare.
Cheers
Shadow
At what point do you think MS will drop office support for apple. I think apple decided to go into creating an office suite because they knew once they started taking market share that is the first thing MS will pull.
Well, the Microsoft Way is the lowest common denominator experience. Everyone’s experience sucks. Trying to satisfy everybody, you only satisfy nobody.
You’re accurate.
Maybe MS will use Apple’s missteps in the Mobile Me rollout as a template for the “experience” – oh, wait, they do that already
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Just for fun: Steve Ballmer cannot name is son Colin Michael, because then he’d be Colin M. Ballmer.
Which might be a good thing to do.
Ballmer’s on to something: Imitate Apple more. Great innovation! I bet someone will say no one has ever done this before.
@Shadow
That’s what I’m saying. Where the hell does he get 30 to 1 from? It looks to me like we’re closing in on just 10 to 1. Keep Ballmer in and we’ll get to 50% sometime in the next decade.
Macromancer
At least it makes people FEEL like they have a choice, when they really don’t, and that’s all that matters.
That’s funny, because that’s exactly what’s wrong with the politics in the USA right now. You have two rightwing viewpoints arguing intensely within a narrow range of opinions and everyone sees this and thinks that issues are being “debated”, when in fact it’s just the status quo with fireworks. People think there is lively discussion, when it is in fact narrowly controlled noisy obfuscation.
@ Mike
… and a Mac version of ArcView too!!
With iWork, Apple has slowly been preparing itself for the day when there is no more feminist software for the Mac. (By feminist software, I mean Ms Word, Ms Excel, Ms PowerPoint, and so on.)
I think Microsoft needs to learn the difference between “choice” and “confusion.”
Either it’s an end-to-end experience or there is choice.
Unless MSFT develops mandatory reference platforms and endows them with software that works in a uniform way across those platforms, Ballmer’s Johnny Come Lately half-assed commitment to end-to-end user experience is a waste of the electrons that were used to transmit around Microsoft’s Empire of Mediocrity.
If you go to glassdoor.com and look at the posts by MSFT personnel, you get a flavour for what it’s like to work for Microsoft – yet another management re-org and yet re-visioning of MSFT’s role in the world developed by a man who isn’t smart enough to use anti-perspirant is hardly likely to do anything to improve Ballmer’s rating amongst his troops which is about as average as it can get.
The problem for Microsoft is that it can’t work out what it wants to be: software behemoth? online services giant? advertising leviathan? Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?
Even worse, it can’t work out how to get to where it wants to go: complete end-to-end experience? So-called partnerships? Internal creativity? Acquisition of second-string players? Commitment to open standards? Extinguishing competition and denigrating the open source movement?.
I do hope that someone ultimately puts Ballmer out of Microsoft’s misery, but not for four or five years or so.
@Harvey
I agree – I think though MS is between a rock and a hard place. If they don’t support apple with their office suite then it would be viewed as predatory action by a monopoly. It they do support it then they are just feeding apple’s growth.
Ballmer is just making an excuse for their continuing failure.
XBox and Zune are in the Apple model and they haven’t made a blue bean of profit for Microsoft…
Down the toilet it goes methinks.
Between things like Google Apps, iWork, and Open Office, MS pulling support from other platforms won’t be a problem.
I don’t agree with MDN that if Microsoft adopted a vertically integrated model like Apple and produced Microsoft-branded computers we’d suddenly see Apple quality coming out of Redmond. Remember Microsoft is responsible for the vertically-integrated, Microsoft-branded X-Box, and those things have an absolutely astounding failure rate (red ring of death anyone?) and sound like a running hairdryer (and throw off about as much heat).
As Steve Jobs said in that famous mid-1990s interview, the real problem with Microsoft is that they have absolutely no taste.