Like most Mac fans, I enjoy a little bit of light-hearted teasing of Microsoft/PCs now and then. But sometimes Apple execs (Jobs, Serlet, even the teddy bear Phil Schiller) fall right into that stereotype of snooty self-seriousness. Both Ballmer and Gates, in general, are good sports and give credit to Apple for making good products. They are at times tasteless and obnoxious, but at the end of the day they act decently toward Apple. Apple never seems to say anything positive about Microsoft.
I guess it's leftover bad feelings from the 80's and 90's. Jobs, at his return to Apple, was very brave in saying something like, "we have to get beyond this idea that for us to succeed, Microsoft has to fail." Yet, he trashes XP/Vista/7 at every Keynote it seems. Time to move on, in my opinion. Let your products do the talking.
Apple made the strategic move to release BootCamp because they thought it would sell more Macs, and it did. Ballmer can't be happy that Windows runs natively on Macs. Maybe he secretly wishes he could block it from running -- sort of like the DR-DOS thing, I guess --because in the end, MS has to help their PC manufacturer customers sell hardware, same as Apple. Except that Apple is writing software to help Apple sell hardware.
I wouldn't have thought microsoft were against it. After all they origionally made a virtual pc app to run windows on a mac. It's more questionalbe if apple want it on there, they seemed to wait until someone else released a solution to do it before announcing bootcamp almost the next week.
I don't see why he shouldn't sign. Ms make apps for iPhones, software for osx and even recurve royalties for the exchange part in osx. Just because companies compete doesn't mean they don't work together as well. Plus he also signed it in a way that made it funny.
Judging from the millions of ad dollars MS directs against Apple (think laptop hunter ads) I would say Steve Ballmer disagrees with you. Also, 95% vs 5% .... that's about right for iPod vs Zune, isn't it? ... and the retail value for software and hardware is almost the same.
If he had any class, he would have refused to sign it. There's no way Steve Jobs would sign a PC, and make a joke of it.
It would have been very classy for him to have refused the request of a fan. Yes indeed. That's CLASS. Ballmer is just a gutter-snipe, putting on airs. He probably doesn't even own a yacht like Steve does! At a Microsoft banquet, he once used the wrong fork for his caviar! He didn't even know! He has no class at all!
Maybe instead of "no class", I should have said "unprofessional". Ask any business person, and they would not sign a competitors product. And they shouldn't.
I am a business person. I would sign a competitor's product.
Ummm......not even close. The product overlap is small, and Apple takes single-digit market share on the desktop. Apple is not a player in many of Microsoft's most profitable lines, like Office and server software.
The phone line is the only area in which Apple even registers a blip in a MS "rivalry".
I don't think he's being a good sport, it's his redneck way of being pseudo gallant. I even wonder is this was staged in some way. Who with an apple laptop in his right mind would ask Balmer to sign it.
Yep. Ballmer is a redneck. He's a multi-billionaire CEO of one of the biggest trans-national corporations in the world, but deep down, he's like guys who don't bathe and who drive rusty pick-em-up trucks and spit tobacco juice.
I was at the grand opening of the Fifth Avenue store and there were lots of reporters and cameras around. A teenager asked Steve to sign his BEIGE Apple mouse circa 1990. Steve replied "I wasn't even at Apple when they made that." No signature.
What a friggin douchebag! But some would say it shows he has "class".
I bet Jobs wouldn't even acknowledge someone asking for his signature. I recall a girl once asked to take a picture with him at MacWorld and he replied that she is rude and turned his back on her.
Judging from the millions of ad dollars MS directs against Apple (think laptop hunter ads) I would say Steve Ballmer disagrees with you. Also, 95% vs 5% .... that's about right for iPod vs Zune, isn't it? ... and the retail value for software and hardware is almost the same.
What about the trillions Apple directs at MS with their lame Justin Long ads NewBEE?
Comments
Like most Mac fans, I enjoy a little bit of light-hearted teasing of Microsoft/PCs now and then. But sometimes Apple execs (Jobs, Serlet, even the teddy bear Phil Schiller) fall right into that stereotype of snooty self-seriousness. Both Ballmer and Gates, in general, are good sports and give credit to Apple for making good products. They are at times tasteless and obnoxious, but at the end of the day they act decently toward Apple. Apple never seems to say anything positive about Microsoft.
I guess it's leftover bad feelings from the 80's and 90's. Jobs, at his return to Apple, was very brave in saying something like, "we have to get beyond this idea that for us to succeed, Microsoft has to fail." Yet, he trashes XP/Vista/7 at every Keynote it seems. Time to move on, in my opinion. Let your products do the talking.
Well said!!
What would make even bigger news is if a student went up to Steve Jobs and said " Mr Jobs would you sign my HP Envy, its running OSX, I promise.
Last year a guy with a Dell Hackintosh netbook asked Woz this. Wozniak signed it with a grin and even called it "cool".
But Jobs would be a different story...
Apple made the strategic move to release BootCamp because they thought it would sell more Macs, and it did. Ballmer can't be happy that Windows runs natively on Macs. Maybe he secretly wishes he could block it from running -- sort of like the DR-DOS thing, I guess --because in the end, MS has to help their PC manufacturer customers sell hardware, same as Apple. Except that Apple is writing software to help Apple sell hardware.
I wouldn't have thought microsoft were against it. After all they origionally made a virtual pc app to run windows on a mac. It's more questionalbe if apple want it on there, they seemed to wait until someone else released a solution to do it before announcing bootcamp almost the next week.
I don't see why he shouldn't sign. Ms make apps for iPhones, software for osx and even recurve royalties for the exchange part in osx. Just because companies compete doesn't mean they don't work together as well. Plus he also signed it in a way that made it funny.
If he had any class, he would have refused to sign it. There's no way Steve Jobs would sign a PC, and make a joke of it.
he defaced a mac
Judging from the millions of ad dollars MS directs against Apple (think laptop hunter ads) I would say Steve Ballmer disagrees with you. Also, 95% vs 5% .... that's about right for iPod vs Zune, isn't it? ... and the retail value for software and hardware is almost the same.
balmer makes millions off of mac clients
he makes money what ever device is sold
he is laffing in our faces on the way to the bank
which he owns by the way
hrrumpfy
There's no way I'd have my Mac defaced like that.
A bit of ethanol and the thing looks as new in a few seconds!
Heh, yeah, you don't see Jobs signing Dells any time soon!
Yeah! He'd spit on it!
to patch Apple/Microsoft relations to get Bing to be the default search tool on the iPhone instead of Google?
If MS ditches the Zune, Zune Phone and Windows Mobile, then maybe there can be a deal.
I think I speak for everyone when I say how happy we are that you are not an executive at Apple.
If he had any class, he would have refused to sign it. There's no way Steve Jobs would sign a PC, and make a joke of it.
It would have been very classy for him to have refused the request of a fan. Yes indeed. That's CLASS. Ballmer is just a gutter-snipe, putting on airs. He probably doesn't even own a yacht like Steve does! At a Microsoft banquet, he once used the wrong fork for his caviar! He didn't even know! He has no class at all!
Maybe instead of "no class", I should have said "unprofessional". Ask any business person, and they would not sign a competitors product. And they shouldn't.
I am a business person. I would sign a competitor's product.
Apple is still Microstiff's biggest rival,
Ummm......not even close. The product overlap is small, and Apple takes single-digit market share on the desktop. Apple is not a player in many of Microsoft's most profitable lines, like Office and server software.
The phone line is the only area in which Apple even registers a blip in a MS "rivalry".
I don't think he's being a good sport, it's his redneck way of being pseudo gallant. I even wonder is this was staged in some way. Who with an apple laptop in his right mind would ask Balmer to sign it.
Yep. Ballmer is a redneck. He's a multi-billionaire CEO of one of the biggest trans-national corporations in the world, but deep down, he's like guys who don't bathe and who drive rusty pick-em-up trucks and spit tobacco juice.
Does he mean a new laptop? Does he think Microsoft MAKES computers?
Yeah! He doesn't even know what products his company makes!! HAHA!
So another copy of Windows 7 could be sold with the new computer! Gotta drive up those numbers somehow...
Yeah. Windows never sells much. They need every last sale they can get. Microsoft is in desperate shape.
I was at the grand opening of the Fifth Avenue store and there were lots of reporters and cameras around. A teenager asked Steve to sign his BEIGE Apple mouse circa 1990. Steve replied "I wasn't even at Apple when they made that." No signature.
What a friggin douchebag! But some would say it shows he has "class".
I bet Jobs wouldn't even acknowledge someone asking for his signature. I recall a girl once asked to take a picture with him at MacWorld and he replied that she is rude and turned his back on her.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9852738-52.html
If Balmer had any "class", he'd have done the same thing!
90% versus 5%
Apple aren't competition for MS....
Certainly not in the Premium segment.
The phone line is the only area in which Apple even registers a blip in a MS "rivalry".
LOL. I guess the Zune must have a market share well into the 70s.....
Judging from the millions of ad dollars MS directs against Apple (think laptop hunter ads) I would say Steve Ballmer disagrees with you. Also, 95% vs 5% .... that's about right for iPod vs Zune, isn't it? ... and the retail value for software and hardware is almost the same.
What about the trillions Apple directs at MS with their lame Justin Long ads NewBEE?