Microsoft's Steve Ballmer dismisses Apple as a 'low-volume player' - Page 3

Has anybody noticed the trend that Windows users tend to be afraid of upgrades, and Mac users tend to be excited about them? It's a pretty consistent trend I've notice in the non-techy people I know.

This is the same idiot who, the day after Apple released the first iPhone, scoffed and said that there's no way Apple could ever sell more than 500 of them.

I had my first exposure to Windows 8 over the weekend at Best Buy and a few other stores. I had to keep poking the screen to figure out wether the device I was using had a touch screen or not. What a stupid idea to make the OS look like it should work with touch when it doesn't. 

 

At the mall I was in there was a big kiosk with Surface tablets set up and an army of young geeks to demonstrate them. Unfortunately for Microsoft, while the nearby Apple store was packed, there were few people checking out their tablets. On an iOS device the OS is there, but you don't really think about it. It's the apps that run on the OS that are important, but with Windows 8 the OS overwhelms everything to the point of confusion.

 

I think Windows 8 is going to make Vista look like a huge success.

 

 

You might want to look at your "small player" companies. I know you just named  them because you thought they were “cool” cars

 

Ferrari (owned by Fiat) made 3.5 billion in revenue in 2011.  4% of Fiat’s revenue.

Bentley (owned by VW) made 1.7 billion in revenue.  1% of VW's revenue.

 

Yeah, great example of small players. So you are saying Apple is owned by HP and makes less than a tenth the revenue.

This guy is so utterly stupid I really hope MS keeps him in charge until 2030.

The problem with MS is if sb who is smart and capable gets in the chair.....then they could bloom up again. But with that screaming Texas Longhorn bull in charge...naaaah

Don't feed the troll.

 

Everything

When you can go out and get a coupon code to get Win8 for $14.99, no wonder it sold well.

 

Now, how many have actually be installed??  Will they hit over 100 million installs in 5 weeks or whatever it took for iOS to hit that mark??
 

 

That time was probably before he was ever given the job. Although, in fairness, Microsoft's current trajectory was set years before Ballmer took over, and Gates is as much to blame for the current state of the company as anyone. Ballmer's problem is that he can't think outside the parameters he was handed, and Microsoft is thus doomed to follow that trajectory until they can find someone with the vision to change it. In all probability, it probably doesn't really matter who is running Microsoft, the results would have been the same.

I do think 60% of 'unit sales'  is accurate.  Not 60% of hourly tablet use.

 

From above: Key words: travelling, hotels, airplanes.

   travellers require multifunction devices that are uber light and functional, and function/price has to be high.

 

 

It's because Kindles and nooks and nexi are in the bedside drawer, or stuffed in a purse.  Function to price can be low, as long as price is low low.  The typical techie techie who screams for a Android devices most likely has a MBA knock-off laptop as their primary 'out' device while travelling (if they travel);-)

 

I bet there were kindles by the pool;-)

I had the same experience but I do have Win8 on order.  I need another copy of windows and I can get Win8 for $10

Ballmer was named CEO January 2000.

I don't think too much ill of him, but he does have a big mouth and I don't think he was the right person for the job. There is a difference between damage control and putting his foot in his mouth.

The glowing Apple logo was an incredibly smart marketing move. When the camera would pan out over the crowd at the introduction of the Surface, the Apple logo was glowing everywhere. Balmer seeing that from the stage, has got to make him feel nutz!

 

I don't think it's an illusion but while Apple may have 14% of the computer market, they must have 80% of the portable computer market (not counting iPads).

So Ballmer is saying that Micro Soft has a bigger cock than Apple?

Apple is a "low-volume player" because there's no need to shout.

Apple products speak for themselves.

Ballmer is probably correct. As long as the majority of consumers want everything for nothing, the MSes, Walmarts of the world will sell the most.

The problem is capitalism is on its last legs in the US, because most consumers want to pay the least amount they can while using up the most resources they can. One of the biggest problems is corporate merges. The courts have allowed massive merges with the simple condition that the consumer will pay less or no more, believing that the only problem with monopolies is that monopolies will eventually force prices up.

This is short sighted and a major cause of our economic problems. That is, these merges create a monopoly on production. Prices forced low prevents competition.

The most recent example, which almost all consumers agreed to, including Apple fanboys, is the DOJ suits against Apple and the publishers pricing based on the agency model. Not only will Amazon be allowed to control the book market, but publishers themselves. The agency model would and does price books as high as the publishers want to charge; this is good, because higher prices by the small oligarchy of publishers will allow nimble and smaller publishers to be created and to offer competition. This means more jobs and more choice in the market, and more authors.

Will consumers have to pay more? Yes, most certainly. Is this good? Absolutely, yes!

There is no better way to destroy jobs and competition than driving prices low. Apple is the only game in town that prices their products high and people continue to buy. Many consumers, not most, are willing to pay for quality and innovation. Those who don't buy Androids and Dells.

I wonder how many of that 4million was pre-installed at the factory by the likes of HP, Dell, Gateway, blah-blah? I seem to recall that when Windows7 came out, all the PC manufacturers were told they could not pre-install WindowsXP at the risk of losing their licences to Windows. My Boot Camp partition had WinXP on it until I did a clean install of Mountain Lion.

What?? Are you insane??

 

One more year of Bill Gates as CEO and Microsoft would be destroyed by governments and other entities, but that's not the important thing to remember.

 

The important thing to remember is that win7 is a great OS, win8 is a fresh idea (the "previous" Microsoft never made something new), windows RT and phone are nice alternatives.

Then you have xBox, kinnect...

 

Microsoft is better with him than it was in Bill Gates last years. 

The mac plataform has less than 10% market share, and it sold 3million ML copies.

now THAT my friends is a reality distortion field. His reality is clearly distorted.

 

Ha! Which one?

Some people really need to work on their blood pressure.
What's the stress?

 

Oh, you know…

 

 

Developers.

No. He needs to keep talking. The more he says, the dumber and the more out of touch he appears. Then perhaps, people will just stop listening.

 

That time came years ago.

This would have been the right thing to do 5 years ago.

Now ...... I don't know what to say.

May be it's better now to keep him. The downfall will be shorter and thus maybe hurts less.

Bye bye M$!

Has anyone ever actually paid for a copy of Windows? Windows 8 will be no different, wait for a "free" version to become available if you want to run. With that being said, I swear there won't be any Windows of any flavor at our house, we've migrated fully to MacOS and Linux. It's nice to free of WinJunk.

I would love to know what Balmer's IQ is.

 

I wonder too what the very smart programmers who work at Microsoft think of him now. I remember reading a blog post by one a few years back with literally thousands of replies, employees complaining about the drift downwards of the company as they annually "churn" — i.e. fire — ten percent of their workforce and replace them, but exempt from this process the company executives who are responsible for the mess that Microsoft is in.

 

Microsoft is a textbook case of how not to run a company.

Let's be clear. Ballmer is not stupid. He just promotes stupid things, says stupid things and and acts stupidly.

What.... ever.....

 

Actually Macs are over 14% of the market in North America and they take a larger slice in other places.  That's for overall numbers too.  If you leave out the corporate purchases it's closer to 25%.  

 

Mountain Lion also sold 3 million copies in the first few hours, not overall. 

This dude reminds me of a Boglin.

Seriously...if I owned significant Microsoft stock, I'd be clamoring for this guys head...ugly as it is! ;-)

It's called Ballmer propaganda. He get excited with his little OS upgrade? So what. Microsoft had to violate Anti-Trust laws to get where they are. It's REAL easy to gain market share when you are violating Anti Trust laws for years.

now the tides are shifting and Apple's earning their business.

Ballmer is such a back stabber.

Hey Ballmer, so how come you only have 50% of Windows users running one version of the OS? Can't you get 80% market penetration of any release of OS? Is it possible?

In the Smartphone market, Microsoft Dinky. In the tablet market, Microsoft is dinky. so what's up Ballmer? Getting a little nervous that your tablets may end up like Zune.

Looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, walks like a duck....

Ummm, Deja-F**ing-Vu!

yea, sure, Ballmer.

Cocaine's a powerful drug...

Never been keen on this guy, he comes across as an angry arrogant dick. And ever since he took over the reigns at Microsoft, Apple has been walking all over them.

I really miss those daily briefings from the Iraqi Information Minister. Luckily, SB fills the void every now and again.