Steve Ballmer to leave Microsoft CEO post in a year

Pill Monster

2013-08-24 01:44

r. Also, I know how Pill is on a roll with showing how Windows 8 is more of a failure, but going by adoption rate isn't really a fair comparison given PC sales are down overall. Tablets and smartphones are king now.

Ballmer thought the same way. The thing is, desktop sales may have slowed but that doesn't mean there are less of them. Every person who has a smartphone also has a PC/Laptop.....and that's not including the commercial sector. 🤓 One reason (just one) for example that XP users didn't flock to Vista was because a 64bit OS was unnecessary at that time. Things were different by the time W7 came around, 4GB ram was min. For those with W7 right now there really isn't the same incentive or necessity to upgrade.

#4642885

Loophole35

2013-08-24 02:03

Clunky no, "needless and horrid to look at" quite subjective. Once you understand that metro is simply a different start menu, you start to understand that Windows 8 is a logical next step. People literally just can't comprehend when something they use often is changed. Change = automatically worse in the world of computing, probably because people have a hard enough time as it is using them (somehow). With that said, I don't know who your customers are, but I'm around college students all the time, and I've rarely found people that didn't think Windows 8 was better. Also, I know how Pill is on a roll with showing how Windows 8 is more of a failure, but going by adoption rate isn't really a fair comparison given PC sales are down overall. Tablets and smartphones are king now.

Had to "fix" a W8 laptop the other day for a co-worker (his son installed a bunch of crapware that slowed an already slow laptop down to a crawl) and there are actually a few features that I do like on it but still seems a bit half-assed at times.

#4642938

sykozis

2013-08-24 03:21

Did he have a hand in windows me? If so let him burn in hell

He was the in-coming CEO at WinME's launch but wasn't responsible for it. Prior to becoming CEO, he had no hand in any products.

Wow Zednet's credibility just took a severe beating. They really need to hire some proper journo's instead of bloggers. First we have an article by "freelance blogger" Mary Joe Foley. According to her profile: According to Mary Jo, W8 sales are booming... Wow 100 MILLION? (sure sounds like a lot....a lot like a spin) 🤓 Followed by a 15min interview where the most glaringly obvious question was never asked: WHY are you retiring? And......

Sorry Pill, had to remove the images....lol The reason he's retiring? I doubt he'd even actually admit to. With Shareholders suing MS for misrepresenting financial data and the possibility of an S.E.C. investigation....I'm sure the board did the responsible thing and offered Ballmer the option of "retirement" or replacement....

#4642997

k1net1cs

2013-08-24 07:04

Pill never ceases to amaze me for taking things out of context due to (probably) not understanding the context at all, especially with that Mary Jo bit. =b As per your own screenshot, Pill, it read:

Microsoft officials said on May 6 that ...

Microsoft officials said that, not Mary Jo. So whatever her conclusion was in that article was solely based on the numbers the Microsofties gave her at that time. Also, that article was published around 2 months later after the article that slagged Win8 sales was published. Hardly 'damage control', much less of it being 'major'. And 'backtracking' just because of something Ballmer said publicly on 2008? Wut?

#4643001

Pill Monster

2013-08-24 07:39

Pill never ceases to amaze me for taking things out of context due to (probably) not understanding the context at all, especially with that Mary Jo bit. =b As per your own screenshot, Pill, it read: Microsoft officials said that, not Mary Jo. So whatever her conclusion was in that article was solely based on the numbers the Microsofties gave her at that time. Also, that article was published around 2 months later after the article that slagged Win8 sales was published. Hardly 'damage control', much less of it being 'major'. And 'backtracking' just because of something Ballmer said publicly on 2008? Wut?

^Lol oh the irony. :3eyes: Apparently everything in my post (and poss. most of this thread) has flown straight over your head. You're def not seeing the big picture. *I never said the 100M figures were wrong. I did not say her conclusions were wrong, and my "backtracking" comment had nothing to do with any specifics in the article. And yes, the article was published *just"* 2mths later. Which would be TODAY. What's your point? Are u suggesting that; a) The first article (published 5 mths ago) was somehow "slagging" W8 sales unfairly? b) in a 5mth period W8 sales went from ~50M to 100M? c) That 100M nearly 1 yr after release is a good thing? Her blog was misleading and clearly it's purpose was to put MS in a good light. It was contradictory to other articles published on the same site and around the web. That's my point. I thought I was pretty clear but maybe not....does anyone else besides Kinetics not get what my post was about?

#4643103

alanm

2013-08-24 12:48

I think the 100m licences sold was mainly MS 'dumping' windows 8 at rock bottom prices to OEMs to help create momentum for the new OS. They knew 8 was not being received well in many quarters and they needed to do something like this.

#4643113

NAMEk

2013-08-24 13:24

Yep, Finally.

#4643148

Loobyluggs

2013-08-24 15:00

I think the 100m licences sold was mainly MS 'dumping' windows 8 at rock bottom prices to OEMs to help create momentum for the new OS. They knew 8 was not being received well in many quarters and they needed to do something like this.

I think that was always the plan, nothing to do wih negative press.

#4643216

alanm

2013-08-24 17:03

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9241867/Ballmer_forced_out_after_900M_Surface_RT_debacle

Computerworld - Steve Ballmer was forced out of his CEO chair by Microsoft's board of directors, who hit the roof when the company took a $900 million write-off to account for an oversupply of the firm's struggling Surface RT tablet, an analyst argued today. "He was definitely pushed out by the board," said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy, in an interview Friday. "They either drove him out, or put him in a situation where he felt he had to leave to save face." The biggest clue that Ballmer was pushed and didn't leave of his own free will was the 12-month timetable Microsoft said it would use to find a CEO successor. "Typically, a board will be working behind the scenes for a replacement, but they've given themselves 12 months," said Moorhead. "I think this went down very quickly."

#4643260

Alexraptor

2013-08-24 18:42

Having established a UI standard that has lasted for nearly two decades, and then suddenly creating an entirely new unrecognizable UI and then FORCING people to use it, was the most boneheaded thing Microsoft has ever done. Honestly, nothing good could ever have come from it. If you want to make a transition and freshen things up then you do it slowly and give customers a choice when choice is possible. You don't just make people quit the old UI cold turkey and make them forget everything they have learned and grown accumstomed to. And choice was possible, there were no technical restrictions to prevent it, M$ simply just did not want to give people the choice.

#4643275

sykozis

2013-08-24 19:03

Having established a UI standard that has lasted for nearly two decades, and then suddenly creating an entirely new unrecognizable UI and then FORCING people to use it, was the most boneheaded thing Microsoft has ever done. Honestly, nothing good could ever have come from it. If you want to make a transition and freshen things up then you do it slowly and give customers a choice when choice is possible. You don't just make people quit the old UI cold turkey and make them forget everything they have learned and grown accumstomed to. And choice was possible, there were no technical restrictions to prevent it, M$ simply just did not want to give people the choice.

"Force" implies no choice. You actually have a choice. You either use Win7 or Win8. Where is the "force" here?

#4643277

Loobyluggs

2013-08-24 19:08

Having established a UI standard that has lasted for nearly two decades, and then suddenly creating an entirely new unrecognizable UI and then FORCING people to use it, was the most boneheaded thing Microsoft has ever done. Honestly, nothing good could ever have come from it. If you want to make a transition and freshen things up then you do it slowly and give customers a choice when choice is possible. You don't just make people quit the old UI cold turkey and make them forget everything they have learned and grown accumstomed to. And choice was possible, there were no technical restrictions to prevent it, M$ simply just did not want to give people the choice.

Steve had nothing to do with windows anymore than he had anything to do with the cleaning of his office windows. Point your finger elsewhere, and make sure they are clean before you do.

#4643288

Pill Monster

2013-08-24 19:19

Steve had nothing to do with windows anymore than he had anything to do with the cleaning of his office windows. Point your finger elsewhere, and make sure they are clean before you do.

He had everything to do with it.

#4643291

sykozis

2013-08-24 19:24

Ballmer had final say in product approval as well as having input into design and user experience. He had nothing to do with the underlying code, but his position gave him just as much impact as he would have had if he was writing code himself. So, technically, Loobyluggs is right. Ballmer had final say in the approval of his office window cleanings....and final say in the approval of products.

#4643292

Pill Monster

2013-08-24 19:25

Steve had nothing to do with windows anymore than he had anything to do with the cleaning of his office windows. Point your finger elsewhere, and make sure they are clean before you do.

Some light reading to get you started...(USA Today is the biggest national Newspaper in the United States) Ballmer bets the company on Windows 8 http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2012/10/21/ballmer-microsoft-windows-8-release/1636767/ Ballmer defends Microsoft's latest big bet http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/personal/2012/10/21/ballmer-qa-ceo-defends-big-windows-8-bet/1643649/

USA Today Q: What makes you optimistic that the new Windows 8 interface and Surface tablet are destined to win over the hearts and minds of consumers wowed by the iPad? Ballmer A: More than 16 million people put Windows 8 preview through its paces during our development process. It is the most tested, reviewed and ready operating system in Microsoft's history. So we feel great about that. Surface with Windows RT comes with Microsoft Office, a huge value for people who want to work or create. So Windows 8 gives people the power and mobility to effortlessly move between what you want to do and what you need to do – all from one device.

Ballmer was an avid supporter of Windows 8 and RT.

#4643317

Alexraptor

2013-08-24 20:05

"Force" implies no choice. You actually have a choice. You either use Win7 or Win8. Where is the "force" here?

Oh so all the performance improvements and DirectX 11.2 is coming in Service Pack 2 for Windows 7? Cool, didn't know that! 🙄

#4643319

Pill Monster

2013-08-24 20:07

Oh so all the performance improvements and DirectX 11.2 is coming in Service Pack 2 for Windows 7? Cool, didn't know that! 🙄

Lol, was thinking the same thing. They're all bastards; MS, AMD, Nvidia, Intel, EA, Google, FB. I hate them all.

#4643323

sykozis

2013-08-24 20:14

Oh so all the performance improvements and DirectX 11.2 is coming in Service Pack 2 for Windows 7? Cool, didn't know that! 🙄

You're still not proving that anyone is "forced" to use Windows8. Developers aren't going to just abandon DX11 for DX11.2 just because it's being released just like they didn't abandon DX9 when DX10 was released.

#4643332

AlexKidd5000

2013-08-24 20:27

Wonder what MS's future will be. I have no real interest in MS product anymore. I've fallen in love with Linux lol.

#4643342

IcE

2013-08-24 20:34

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9241867/Ballmer_forced_out_after_900M_Surface_RT_debacle

That's unfortunate and unfair considering Surface RT is an amazing product. It just doesn't have the app selection that its competitors enjoy because it isn't as established yet.