Keith Fitz-Gerald, writing for Money Morning, offers “8 Reasons Why Steve Ballmer Must Go:”
• Ballmer took over Microsoft 12 years ago when the stock was about $60. Now it struggles to maintain $30
• Office and Windows are dying
• The company isn’t innovating fast enough or aggressively enough
• Microsoft’s Internet offerings remain wannabes
• Windows 8 is a wreck; so unintuitive as to defy belief
• Ballmer can’t do a product launch without jumping around the stage like a Planet of the Apes extra
• If you want to see the future, look at what teens are using and [coding for]… Apple [products]
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Blasphemy! Nevaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!
Hoist! May Steve Ballmer remain Microsoft CEO for as long as it takes!
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Son of Squidward” for the heads up.]
Monkeyboy! Developers developers developers!
lol, beat me to it, talk about yer disco Neanderthal … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tX4N2oUa2Q
The problem here is that Ballmer is partly right. Developers **are** key to any computing platform growing or even maintaining its market share.
Apple finally got that a few years ago with the iPhone (though not initially) and even more so with the iPad — hence the App store.
What Ballmer and Microsoft in general do not get is that it takes more than just a big brand to lure developers. You need two things 1) a good development environment and 2) a compelling platform.
Apple has both. (While Apple also has a good distribution model, but I don’t believe a good distribution model is necessary. There will always be ways to get great software sold.)
Microsoft has a decent development environment. Microsoft no longer has a compelling platform in any market! Zero. None. And I’ve seen nothing — literally nothing — from Microsoft in the last year or more that is even an OK platform let alone a compelling platform.
But didn’t you see the Microsoft Surface?!! It has a keyboard!
Perhaps Microsoft should have called it Keyboard.
If you think for a second that Apple _didn’t_ plan on having developers create software for the iPhone before it was released to the public, you’re crazy. Of course they wanted that, but it took them extra time to get the APIs ready for that. It’s not like they caved into demand and decided to open the platform up to developers.
Actually…Steve originally WAS opposed to allowing developers make actual apps, though it sounds primarily like it was due to resource constraints: http://www.cultofmac.com/125180/steve-jobs-was-originally-dead-set-against-third-party-apps-for-the-iphone/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3qGX3PNphw Yet another good one. A contrast of two of our favorite Steves (though one more for poking fun at).
Ballmer ends up looking like a dorky frat boy who’s trying to become cool by enthusiasm. We’re your frat brothers and you look like an ass clown, Monkey Boy. Just saying.
• If you want to see the future, look at what teens are using and [coding for]… Apple [products]
But…but… MS built “the social” into its products. Isn’t that what teens are doing?
It was sickeningly obvious that the Surface pre-launch keynote was painfully Apple-esque. They finally figured out the popularity of Apple devices is dependent on their keynotes.
“We knew that if we didn’t get the keynote right, the device would not work.”
Well, even though the device froze during the presentation, I thought the 60 second commercial was rather nice. I mean, thats something, right?
What Microsoft fails to realize is that the “Microsoft” name itself, as well as “Windows,” is marketing poison. No one really wants to buy a “Microsoft” tablet, or a mobile phone with “Windows.” Ford may have lost significant car sales, because their cars use Ford Sync (“Powered by Microsoft”).
Xbox is somewhat popular (I think), because it is not immediately obvious to the typical consumer that Xbox = Microsoft.
As they repeatedly said in their Surface keynote, they have “re-imagined” everything!
NO! We like Col. Klink running Stalag 13. He’s doing a spendid job. Leave him alone.
Ballmer’s more closely resembles the corpulent and clueless Sgt. Schultz (“I hear nothing, I see nothing, I know nothing!”)
Stalag 13…now there’s a real walled garden.
Yea, no one’s ever escaped . . . er . . . I mean got fired for choosing Microsoft!
Eight reasons for MS to keep Steve Balmer:
1. Windows
2. Windows everywhere
3. Longhorn
4. Kin
5. Cause he’ll rat on his college roommie if they Scheiße-can him
6. MS Stores
7. Windows 7 and its upgrade path
8. Surface vaporware
I love Steve Ballmer, almost enough to buy Microsoft stock, but I’m not stupid. Still he has my full support.
Back in the late 1990s I suggested to colleagues I might buy one share of Microsoft – while hoping to lose money on it. Well, I never bought that share, but Microsoft went down anyway.
We like Mr. Ballmer’s strategy. We like it a lot!
(snicker..)
Long may his reign (of terror) continue.
reign of error…
“Rayne of Terror” (from psycho Charles Rayne in the movie Passenger 57).
I believe that should read … Reign of ERROR
If Microsoft dumps Ballmer, where will I live? I’ll have no home to go to, and be another homeless OWS hobo.
Now now, don’t go insulting hobos. I prefer to shorten it to “…another homeless OWS ho…” so he might camp out with Roz Ho.
For another take, watch Ken Jennings pwn Alex Trebek: http://youtu.be/_5H5r4_CoJo
Having Steve Ballmer as your CEO is a license to lose (or burn) money. There’s no way this college dorm room dork would have lasted this long if not for being Bill’s bedroom buddy.
Maybe John Scully could come in and make a turn around? Gil Amelio? Michael Dell? These are all quality CEOs! (sarcasm implied)
what I love is how you mentioned mr.dell. He said many years ago “that apple should just quit now and return everything. It won’t go anywhere. ” apple is now worth over 20 times that of dell. I just love it.
You ever start to feel that ‘this’ really could be as long as it takes, now? I’m starting to believe!
One reason why Microsoft can’t dump Steve Ballmer: he owns too much Microsoft stock.
So Kieth what’s your point?
Yeah, I don’t quite get what he’s driving at
Millions of reasons to keep Monkey-Boy Ballmer: Apple’s many shareholders.
(Typed with my iPhone; I don’t “do” Zune.)
NOOOOO don’t dump him.. I like his strategy, I like it a lot…
Blasphemy! Nevaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!
Hoist! May Steve Ballmer remain Microsoft CEO for as long as it takes!
Hoist! May Willard RawMoney remain Rethugnican aspirant for as long as it takes!
2 clueless guys with tin ears and a lot of money.
I agree with Mac daily news, Steve Ballmer is doing a great job for apple
Maybe he was hired by Steve Jobs!
What me worry?
Microsoft will be just fine…
“• The company isn’t innovating fast enough or aggressively enough”
Hunh?
“• The company isn’t innovating at all, just rehashing old ideas they stole a decade ago”
There, fixed it for ya.
Thank you :•)
MSFT is the American equivalent of Samsung [fast copiers], just not as good at it.
I completely disagree.
First of all, Microsoft has licensed lots of stuff from Apple (Samsung has not).
Second, Microsoft has attempted to innovate in areas (such as tiling); it might not be a UI you like, but at least they didn’t completely copy the look and feel of iOS.
People laugh at things like the kickstand and cover/keyboard, but these *are* different from what Apple has done. Whether or not these features are effective, esthetic, whatever, you must give credit to MS for trying something different.
He will be studied in the future by students looking for the perfect example of how ineptitude of leadership can bring down a mighty corporation that even has a government sanctioned monopoly. At the same time Jobs’s Apple created new markets through innovation and stellar management. We’ve lived through epic times. But everything’s cyclical, so if Microsoft dumps Ballmer in time maybe they could do something worthwhile someday…
As Mr. Bill said a long time ago,
“Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.”
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! They can’t take Uncle Fester away!! SOB, SNIFFLE!
Wow… Must have been a challenge to edit this list down to JUST 8 reasons… 😉
Everyone is forgetting that unlike Apple, MSFT is a dividend paying company. Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t it continue to increase revenue YOY? (I’m not defending them, I’ve been using a Mac since 1984!) Corporate America is firmly attached to the MSFT tit and MSFT is doing everything it can to keep them there! I say this as I have patients that work for MSFT and they are all about delivering service. Paying the MSFT “tax” is built into corporate budgets, as are all the other fees MSFT collects. Not to mention that the IT department personnel of these big business are practically in bed with MSFT. Until Apple (or someone else) invades this territory, MSFT will continue to make profits YOY, pay dividends YOY and basically be like IBM is today — big, not that creative, but “printing money”.