ballmer on SWiK

Ballmer: Microsoft to Get More Narrow-minded

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:55:19 -0700

Steve Ballmer sent an email to Microsoft employees this week in which he acknowledged the success of Apple — and what the Redmond giant needs to do in order to better compete. “Today, we’re changing the way we work with hardware vendors to ensure that we can provide complete experiences with absolutely no compromises,” he wrote. “We’ll do the same with phones–providing choice as we work to create great end-to-end experiences.” For the full story, head over to jkOnTheRun.

Memo to Jerry, Steve and Carl: Just Do It!

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:56:46 -0700

Summer is generally a slower time for news and this summer is no exception. But the kind folks at Microsoft, Yahoo and Carl Icahn’s investment firm are charitably offering up a form of entertainment with their ongoing Let’s Make a Deal saga.

The latest installment is a letter to shareholders from Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang that accuses Microsoft of flip-flopping, creating confusion and generally not wanting to make a deal. The letter also also reiterates Yahoo’s desire to sell the entire company at $33 per share — or if that’s not interesting, just the search assets.

Let me tell you, Yahoo, playing hard to get is smart, but this letter is no way to get the guy of your dreams. In fact, rumor has it Microsoft is seeing AOL now, and everyone knows AOL hasn’t always made the best choice in relationships.

This stuff may play well in Silicon Valley, but outside of it the world is not watching. While Kara Swisher dutifully calls her sources and provides us with the ins and outs of the wheeling and dealing, the audience outside the tech world is yawning. This started back in February (2007 if you believe the original offer from Microsoft). Let’s finish this, so the world can really focus on the banking crisis or high gas prices.

Gossip Guys: The Microsoft-Yahoo Saga

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:56:44 -0700

Remember back in the Dark Ages before text messaging, when a teenager (let’s call him Jerry Yang) might get a best friend (maybe call him Carl Icahn) to call another friend (say, Steve Ballmer) using three-way calling? With Yang sitting silently on the line, the goal would be for Icahn to goad Ballmer into saying how he really felt about Yang. Well, now that we’re adults, and billions of dollars are on the line, all this is done via proxy battles as is the case with the aborted deal for Microsoft, headed by Ballmer, to buy Yahoo, which is headed by Yang.

The whole thing just gets more and more dramatic — the lack of teen girls notwithstanding. Today, Carl Icahn, who holds a large stake in Yahoo, released a letter to Yahoo shareholders where he says he has spent, like, HOURS on the phone with Ballmer, who was still totally interested in Yahoo. But Ballmer’s, like, so worried that Yang and current Yahoo management might “mismanage” the company during the time it takes to get a deal done (because The Federal Trade Commission can take FOREVER, ya know?)

And Ballmer is putting, like, a ton of dough on the line here, so he needs, like, some kind of assurance that Yang and Co. aren’t going to go screw things up. And in the last attempts, he just didn’t get that, ya know? So Ballmer just HAD to walk away, right? But with a different board, you know, like Icahn’s board? Then, maybe Microsoft could forget about the past and get a deal done. In his letter Icahn says:

I strongly believe that in very short order the new board would, subject to its fiduciary duties, be presenting to shareholders either a purchase offer for the whole company or a very attractive offer to purchase “Search” with large guarantees. I hope to continue to be speaking to Steve over the next few weeks; however, since I do not as yet represent the Yahoo! board, both Steve and I do not wish to get into details over price, or even which of these transactions makes the most sense.

So Icahn, who has, like totally, put up his own slate of directors who would work with Ballmer, could really make this deal happen if shareholders would just, you know, LISTEN to him and vote for his board. Totes!

BTW, the whole crew, including Google and AOL guys, will be in Sun Valley this week for the swanky Allen & Co. media conference. It’s like a high-power slumber party where deals get done and the press gets excluded. Maybe Yang will ditch Ballmer and Icahn for Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes who head AOL. Tune in next week for the latest on Gossip Guys.

Update: Microsoft issued its own statement backing Icahn. If Icahn gains control of the board at the Aug. 1 shareholder meeting, Ballmer would talk deals again, either buying just the search assets or possibly the whole company.

Update 2: Yahoo tells Ballmer, “If you want a deal, say that to my face.”

YouTube - Microsoft CEO Ballmer laughs at Apple iPhone

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:58:30 -0700

flashbacks from last year

D:Conference: Windows 7 First Look. Bill Gates Finally Funny

Tue, 27 May 2008 19:20:59 -0700

It didn’t quite have the sentimental feeling of the Steve Jobs & Bill Gates talk from last year, but it was interesting to see the dynamic of Steve Ballmer & Bill Gates. I think it was great to see Bill step back and let Steve enjoy the limelight, and not take himself too seriously. I think instead of writing about the whole conversation, I am going to share this tiny bit I captured on video that shows how relaxed Gates is feeling these days, now that he has shifted all responsibilities to Ballmer.

Click To Play

Bill was very candid about Vista and its problems. “We never ship a product that I am satisfied with 100 percent” he said. “There is always improvement. Vista gave us lot of opportunities for improvement.” Funny… anyway

What I did find strangely amusing: the Microsoft duo has a tough time using the phrase “Google” and constantly referred to them as the other guys. I really wish I could ask the duo about why they are so obsessed with Online Advertising? Are they acknowledging that all innovation and growth opportunities in applications and operating systems are done? Why not obsess about being the world’s best on-demand software company? Anyway that’s for another day. I picked up some great notes for my post about Search and the competitive landscape.

Now moving on to Windows 7. The company showed off a nice demo of the multi touch features of Windows 7 and how you could paint with your fingers, or open applications and use maps in the new version of Microsoft’s operating system that comes to market sometime in 2009. (More details and videos here.)

I think if you have used iPod Touch, iPhone and Coverflow, you are not going to be as wow-ed by multi-touch, but I have to admit, that even in its rudimentary form, it looked pretty darn good. I have a feeling Apple is going to bring this to market much before Microsoft. Stacey joked about the new features pointing out that the smudging caused by multi-touch would surely make money for companies like 3M.

Anyway more on the conference tomorrow!

Original Post

I have just arrived at the D6 Conference organized by Kara Swisher & Walt Mossberg. I will have an update in an hour or so. Our good friends at D tell us that Bill Gates is going to show off an early version of Windows 7. Now that is something to look forward to and dig into. I have my trusted Sanyo Xaacti in the tow and I will be doing some video updates from here. Given the noise at the conferences, don’t expect stellar quality but hey, it sure beats nothing.

Today’s News from Debbie Downer

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:26:44 -0700

I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, but everything in the news seems a little depressing, today from Motorola, which saw its handset sales drop by 39 percent in the first quarter and is not expecting to split its businesses until 2009, to news that formal hearings are expected in July for the four music labels suing Irish ISP Eircom. I’m sad over Moto losing its design edge (and not putting touch in its phones until 2009!) and more than a little frustrated at the music labels for pursuing such a case.

Even Steve Ballmer suggesting that Microsoft might keep XP on the shelves with enough “customer feedback” doesn’t inspire me to make any jokes about clapping your hands and saying, “I believe in XP.” I’m hoping a second cup of coffee and a meeting with a bunch of college students to talk about blogging will make life seem a bit more fun.

Ballmer: compreremo chi si occupa di Open Source

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 01:38:42 -0800

Mandriva Blog " An open letter to Steve Ballmer

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 05:24:11 -0700

Steve Ballmer: "I would love to see all open source innovation happen on top of Windows" | The Open Road - The Business and Politics of Open Source by Matt Asay - CNET Blogs

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 09:53:13 -0700

" Microsoft's Ballmer calls out Red Hat with more patent threats | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 10:04:30 -0700

PC World - Novell's Linux business spikes since Microsoft deal

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 07:04:55 -0700

EduBlog " Blog Archive " Initiative IT Fitness gestartet – leider selktiv - Hampi Füllemann - 04.10.2005

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 15:03:42 -0700

Wer es bevorzugt, mit Firefox zu surfen, wird bestraft. Schon die Übersicht (siehe Screenshot) lässt<sep/>

5 reasons not to trust Microsoft near Firefox

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 00:48:14 -0700

Show Us The Code

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 07:14:01 -0800

Linux users tell Ballmer to put his code where his mouth is..

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:13:54 -0800

Show Us The Code: Contribute

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 19:30:33 -0800

Microsoft vs Linux. Where's the proof of IP infringement Mr. Ballmer?

Mini-Microsoft: Stop Him Before He Speaks Again!

Sun, 18 Feb 2007 18:30:36 -0800

the share price is not the only place where Ballmer's hurting Microsoft; he's not doing wonders for their open source or standards efforts either

Ballmer: Linux viola la proprietà intellettuale di Microsoft

Fri, 17 Nov 2006 08:25:33 -0800

Computerworld - Ballmer: Linux users owe Microsoft

Fri, 17 Nov 2006 08:25:32 -0800

Computerworld - Ballmer: Linux users owe Microsoft

Fri, 17 Nov 2006 02:23:59 -0800

Ballmer makes a clear threat. It's FUD about Linux but real about Mono. Presumably that's what he means.

All about Linux: Is Free Software the future of India? Steve Ballmer CEO of Microsoft answers...

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 14:22:57 -0800

O'Reilly Radar > Ballmer on the Web

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 07:28:39 -0700

Open source never goes away as a business model or competitor. We have learned how to compete with open source, and we will compete with it for the rest of time. But competing with open source will have to be something that's burned bright on the forehead

InformationWeek | Microsoft | Ballmer: Microsoft To Focus On Linux Competition, Software-As-A-Service, Internet Advertising | May 11, 2006

Sat, 13 May 2006 09:34:14 -0700