4 ms·

Ballmer can play as much musical chairs as he wants. The problem is him. Despite a massive Microsoft talent drain, there are still smart, capable people at Micr

Ballmer can play as much musical chairs as he wants. The problem is him. Despite a massive Microsoft talent drain, there are still smart, capable people at Microsoft. What Microsoft lacks is a cohesive vision about where they are headed. Bill Gates' vision was a PC running Windows on every desktop. Everything Microsoft did had to be reconciled against this. What is Ballmer's vision? That's his responsibility as CEO. In fact, it's pretty much his most critical one. At this point, he's too high level to do much else. All I see from him is somebody that installs a really smart person in some new vertical that Microsoft all of a sudden deems super important only to let this person take the flack for things not going properly a couple of years after they start.

freehunter 15y ago
>What is Ballmer's vision? Something about developers.
- outside1234 15y ago
  and "securing the app" to "secure the platform". seems to be working great.
- signa11 15y ago
  here is his vision from 2k6 on zune: Have you squirted a song yet? That’s the question Microsoft hopes your friends will ask you as you ponder which digital music player to acquire. Although you are more likely to buy an iPod this season — something even Microsoft admits — the software giant from Redmond is running a huge marketing campaign that it hopes will plant some seeds of doubt. After all, iPods don’t squirt songs. And Microsoft’s new player, Zune, does.
  - freehunter 15y ago
    I actually bought a Zune. I had an iPod before that, but iTunes on Windows was awful. I bought a WP7 phone for the same reason, I wanted a managed music experience but iTunes wasn't an option for me. Really, I think that could be a marketing campaign for Microsoft. "Our downsides average out to be slightly better for a small minority of the market! Spend weeks agonizing over the tough decision then settle for us!" I love my Windows Phone, but I'd likely be on iOS if Zune wasn't a better piece of software.
yequalsx 15y ago
Yes, the problem is Ballmer. He is extremely shortsighted. Witness his scoffing at the iPhone when it was introduced [1]. Then watch his claim that the iPad is just another PC form factor [2]. He also laughed about the Macbook Air [3]. Of course, now there is a push for ultrabooks from Intel. I saw a Microsoft commercial not too long ago and the lost shot showed a PC and it was a Samsung laptop that looked just like a Macbook Pro. It's a good thing that Metro is not just a copy of iOS. The sooner they fire Ballmer the better. [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eywi0h_Y5_U http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eywi0h_Y5_U [2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWkRgNTJZuM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWkRgNTJZuM [3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYcxvEfUikg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYcxvEfUikg

freehunter 15y ago

>What is Ballmer's vision? Something about developers.

outside1234 15y ago
and "securing the app" to "secure the platform". seems to be working great.
signa11 15y ago
here is his vision from 2k6 on zune: Have you squirted a song yet? That’s the question Microsoft hopes your friends will ask you as you ponder which digital music player to acquire. Although you are more likely to buy an iPod this season — something even Microsoft admits — the software giant from Redmond is running a huge marketing campaign that it hopes will plant some seeds of doubt. After all, iPods don’t squirt songs. And Microsoft’s new player, Zune, does.
- freehunter 15y ago
  I actually bought a Zune. I had an iPod before that, but iTunes on Windows was awful. I bought a WP7 phone for the same reason, I wanted a managed music experience but iTunes wasn't an option for me. Really, I think that could be a marketing campaign for Microsoft. "Our downsides average out to be slightly better for a small minority of the market! Spend weeks agonizing over the tough decision then settle for us!" I love my Windows Phone, but I'd likely be on iOS if Zune wasn't a better piece of software.

yequalsx 15y ago

Yes, the problem is Ballmer. He is extremely shortsighted. Witness his scoffing at the iPhone when it was introduced [1]. Then watch his claim that the iPad is just another PC form factor [2]. He also laughed about the Macbook Air [3]. Of course, now there is a push for ultrabooks from Intel. I saw a Microsoft commercial not too long ago and the lost shot showed a PC and it was a Samsung laptop that looked just like a Macbook Pro. It's a good thing that Metro is not just a copy of iOS. The sooner they fire Ballmer the better. [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eywi0h_Y5_U http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eywi0h_Y5_U [2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWkRgNTJZuM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWkRgNTJZuM [3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYcxvEfUikg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYcxvEfUikg