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

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  • Reply 21 of 156


    Besides looking like the monster in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein," Ballmer just continually amazes me with his corporate survival. Any other CEO with his track record would have been shown the door a long time ago.

  • Reply 22 of 156
    jetlawjetlaw Posts: 156member
    This is the same guy that chided the iPhone when it was released by condescendingly chuckling it off a phone that was too expensive for anyone to buy. Oops. I guess we are starting to understand why Ballmer has such a reputation for sweating profusely.
  • Reply 23 of 156

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by BrianCPA View Post


    Computers running Windows 7:          40%


    Computers running OS X:                   8.5%


     


    First 4 days:


    Upgrades to Windows 8:               4 million


    Upgrades to Mountain Lion:          3 million


     


    Had Ballmer had the success of Apple that he said he was content without, Microsoft would have sold around 14 million copies in the first four days.



     


    Actually isn't it worse than that? Shouldn't the top line be Computers running Windows (XP/Vista/7) 90%, so it should be more like 30 Million copies of Win8...

  • Reply 24 of 156

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by gfeier View Post



    Apple is bigger than Microsoft and Google combined. Neat trick for a "low-volume player."


     


    MSFT is chasing market share, not profits. And their market valuation reflects that.

  • Reply 25 of 156
    allenbfallenbf Posts: 993member


    He seriously looks a bit "off."  And his comments say it, too.  I despise the man

  • Reply 26 of 156
    kibitzerkibitzer Posts: 1,114member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by logandigges View Post


    He looks high.



    I wonder if he was wearing a set of Halloween season contacts. You know - the ones with the glow-in-the-dark irises.

  • Reply 27 of 156
    There's this river in Egypt..called Denial...
  • Reply 28 of 156
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,727member
    briancpa wrote: »
    Computers running Windows 7:          40%
    Computers running OS X:                   8.5%

    First 4 days:
    Upgrades to Windows 8:               4 million
    Upgrades to Mountain Lion:          3 million

    Had Ballmer had the success of Apple that he said he was content without, Microsoft would have sold around 14 million copies in the first four days.

    Excellent point!
  • Reply 29 of 156
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Well what did you expect the guy to say? "Apple is kicking our ass and we're desperate so please buy our stuff"?
  • Reply 30 of 156
    kavokkavok Posts: 51member
    I cannot believe that shareholders are keeping this insane person as CEO. Under his watch, the company hasn't done ANYTHING of note in the last two decades. It's almost like he's trying to create a reality distortion field like Steve Jobs did, but Ballmer is the only one in it.

    @theothergeoff: You nailed it.
  • Reply 31 of 156
    I swear he must have got a jump on the legalization of marijuana laws in Washington State
  • Reply 32 of 156

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post



    Well what did you expect the guy to say? "Apple is kicking our ass and we're desperate so please buy our stuff"?


     


    They will be saying exactly that once the Windows Phone 8, Windows 8 and Surface sales numbers come out...

  • Reply 33 of 156


    Tell that to iPods and iTunes. Apple is taking huge chunks of the market in both on top of tablets. Not to mention that the iPhone is not low volume at all and is highly profitable.

  • Reply 34 of 156


    Ballmer is certainly entitled to his opinion and everyone loves trash-talking Apple.  I suppose it doesn't mean very much, though.  All that matters is Apple needs to keep selling as much product as it can for as high a margin as it can.  Nothing talks louder than cash.  I still think if Microsoft was all that confident that Windows is all that powerful, they wouldn't have gotten into the tablet hardware business.  It seems as though Microsoft is changing its business model, one that has worked successfully for them a few decades.  Meanwhile, Apple's plodding along as a low-volume player has made it wealthier than Microsoft.  I'm anxious to see the total number of iPads to ZunePads sold to customers over the next few months.  We'll see if consumers open their wallets to the ZunePad RT.

  • Reply 35 of 156
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member


    I really hope Ballmer stays right where he is at MS. 


     


    Under Ballmer, MS has lost every key tech battle (outside of game consoles) and has been confined to Windows + Office. 


     


    The leaner, meaner and faster competition (along with Microsoft's epic laziness) has squeezed MS out of all the progressive tech markets. 


     


    Ballmer is saying all this crap in order to promote Win 8 and Surface, which at this point look like duds. 


     


    Meanwhile Apple has to date sold over 100 million iPads, owns over 30% of the smartphone market (all under one roof) in the US, and is the dominant player in mobile worldwide (iOS share in media players, smartphones, tablets, etc.)


     


    Whenever Ballmer opens his mouth, Apple ends up selling *more* of what they make. More power to Ballmer's mouth!

  • Reply 36 of 156

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Cpsro View Post


    Nice wooden desk and staircase. I can almost imagine the photo was taken in an Apple store! Was that Uncle Fester's great idea?



    More like a psychiatric clinic.

  • Reply 37 of 156
    dbtincdbtinc Posts: 134member
    Yep, just like Ferrari, Bentley and the like. They're small players too. Poor Steve - all that money has gone and ruined whatever is left of his brain.
  • Reply 38 of 156
    kpomkpom Posts: 660member


    If Apple is a "low volume" player in smartphones, what does that make Microsoft?

  • Reply 39 of 156
    Ballmer is desperately trying to make his company look relevant in light of Ballmer's failures to capitalize on the growing mobile and social media markets.
  • Reply 40 of 156
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,322moderator
    As Microsoft revealed that the company sold 4 million upgrades to its new Windows 8 operating system in its first four days, CEO Steve Ballmer dismissed Apple as a "low-volume player" in markets like PCs and smartphones.

    I wonder if anyone has told him how many Windows Phones have sold vs iPhones.
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