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- Alphadog7, on 07/24/2008, -25/+101Ballmer's statement is an oxymoron. If Microsoft wants to be more like Apple, they have to stop trying to 'be like Apple' and innovate for themselves (something they are not familiar with). I think Steve 'developers' Ballmer is the problem. He truly lacks any imagination whatsoever.
- f4nt0m4s, on 07/25/2008, -15/+76Here's the paragraph from the email on Apple:
" Apple: In the competition between PCs and Macs, we outsell Apple 30-to-1. But there is no doubt that Apple is thriving. Why? Because they are good at providing an experience that is narrow but complete, while our commitment to choice often comes with some compromises to the end-to-end experience. Today, we’re changing the way we work with hardware vendors to ensure that we can provide complete experiences with absolutely no compromises. We’ll do the same with phones—providing choice as we work to create great end-to-end experiences."
Of course, a site like APPLE INSIDER would paraphrase the part they want to write some ***** about how Microsoft wants to be "more like Apple." It sounds like Ballmer is saying "unlike Apple we give our customers tons of hardware choices, and sometimes this hurts us because the hardware vendors ***** things up, so we are going to work with them to improve the experience for everyone."
Buried as sensationalist *****.
(here's the full email):
From: Steve Ballmer
Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 4:30 PM
To: Microsoft–All Employees
Subject: FY09 Strategic Update
With FY08 complete, I want to discuss my priorities for the year ahead and share my thoughts about the key strategic topics that are on everybody’s mind, including Windows, competition with Apple and Google, our software plus services strategy, and Yahoo.
I also have news about an organizational change and a transition in our Senior Leadership Team.
First, I want to thank you for your hard work and the dedication you showed during the past 12 months. FY08 was a milestone year. Our revenue jumped $9.3 billion to more than $60 billion. Operating profit grew 21 percent to $22.5 billion.
These outstanding numbers are the direct result of your commitment to the priorities I outlined last July. A lot has happened since then, but our fundamental strengths, challenges, and strategic goals remain largely the same. Therefore, my priorities are consistent with last year. In FY09 we must continue to:
1. Invest in the right opportunities;
2. Expand our presence with Windows, Office, and developers;
3. Drive end user excitement for our products;
4. Embrace software plus services; and
5. Focus on employee excellence.
By focusing on these five areas, we can continue to grow revenue, increase profit, and expand our market share. These priorities are also critical as we work to address key issues surrounding our business in the coming year:
· Windows: The success of Windows is our number one job. With SP1 and the work we’ve done with PC manufacturers and our software ecosystem, we’ve addressed device and application compatibility issues in Windows Vista. Now it’s time to tell our story. In the weeks ahead, we’ll launch a campaign to address any lingering doubts our customers may have about Windows Vista. And later this year, you’ll see a more comprehensive effort to redefine the meaning and value of Windows for our customers.
We also have to drive developers to create rich applications for Windows. With Internet Explorer and Silverlight, we have great tools for creating applications that run everywhere. But we also need to make sure developers have the .NET skills to write unique Windows applications using Windows Presentation Foundation. To keep today’s Windows applications alive, vibrant, and exciting, we need both—applications that run everywhere and rich client applications.
· Apple: In the competition between PCs and Macs, we outsell Apple 30-to-1. But there is no doubt that Apple is thriving. Why? Because they are good at providing an experience that is narrow but complete, while our commitment to choice often comes with some compromises to the end-to-end experience. Today, we’re changing the way we work with hardware vendors to ensure that we can provide complete experiences with absolutely no compromises. We’ll do the same with phones—providing choice as we work to create great end-to-end experiences.
· Business and enterprise: Our enterprise and server business has never been stronger—today we are on the verge of becoming the number one enterprise software company. We need to continue to push on all fronts—mail with Exchange, business intelligence with PerformancePoint, virtualization with Hyper-V, and databases with SQL Server. We have to drive our enterprise search capabilities, our unified communications solutions, and our collaboration technologies. And we must continue to compete against Linux in key workloads such as Web servers and high performance computing.
· Software plus services: Some people think software plus services is all about search. But it’s really about changing the way software is written and deployed. The future is about having a platform in the cloud and delivering applications across PCs, phones, TVs, and other devices, at work and in the home. It’s also about driving change in business models through advertising, subscriptions, and online transactions. Software plus services is a huge opportunity for us to deliver new value on the desktop and the server to all of our customers. This year at PDC, you’ll hear more about our cloud platform initiatives and the next versions of our Live and Online technologies.
· Google: We continue to compete with Google on two fronts—in the enterprise, where we lead; and in search, where we trail. In search, our technology has come a long way in a very short time and it’s an area where we’ll continue to invest to be a market leader. Why? Because search is the key to unlocking the enormous market opportunities in advertising, and it is an area that is ripe for innovation. In the coming years, we’ll make progress against Google in search first by upping the ante in R&D through organic innovation and strategic acquisitions. Second, we will out-innovate Google in key areas—we’re already seeing this in our maps and news search. Third, we are going to reinvent the search category through user experience and business model innovation. We’ll introduce new approaches that move beyond a white page with 10 blue links to provide customers with a customized view of their world. This is a long-term battle for our company—and it’s one we’ll continue to fight with persistence and tenacity.
· Yahoo: Related to Google and our search strategy are the discussions we had with Yahoo. I want to emphasize the point I’ve been making all along—Yahoo was a tactic, not a strategy. We want to accelerate our share of search queries and create a bigger pool of advertisers, and Yahoo would have helped us get there faster. But we will get there with or without Yahoo. We have the right people, we’ve made incredible progress in our technology, and we’ll continue to make smart investments that will enable us to build an industry-leading business.
As I mentioned earlier, I have important organizational news. Today we are announcing that the Platforms and Services Division will be split into two businesses: Windows/Windows Live and Online Services. We are also announcing that Kevin Johnson will leave the company. He will work to ensure a smooth transition.
Since 1992, Kevin has been a key contributor to many of this company’s most important achievements. As president of the Platforms and Services Division, Kevin has built an incredibly talented organization and laid the foundation for the future success of Windows and our Online Services Business. Over the last 16 years, through everything from his work as head of the company’s worldwide sales, marketing, and services efforts, to his leadership in transforming our field operations and repositioning the company to focus on opportunities in emerging markets, Kevin has played a vital role in this company’s success. There is no doubt that his passion and dedication will be missed.
Effective immediately, Steven Sinofsky, Jon DeVaan, and Bill Veghte will report directly to me to lead Windows/Windows Live. In the Online Services Business, we will create a new senior leadership position and conduct a search that will span internal and external candidates. In the meantime, Satya Nadella will continue to lead Microsoft’s search, ad platform, and MSN engineering efforts, and Brian McAndrews will continue to lead the Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group. Both Windows/Windows Live and the Online Services Business are led by a strong group of executives on the technical and business side who have the talent and experience to address the challenges we face and drive the next generation of growth and success.
Looking ahead, I see an incredibly bright future for our company. As I said at the June 27th Town Hall for Bill, we are the best in the world at doing software and nobody should be confused about this. It doesn’t mean that we can’t improve, but nobody is better than we are. Nobody works harder than we do. Nobody is more tenacious than we are. We’re investing more broadly and more seriously than anybody else. Our opportunities to change the world have never been greater.
I look forward to working with all of you as we focus on our five priorities in FY09.
Steve - SwedishNinja, on 07/25/2008, -7/+66Apple-like experience?
I for one, would NOT like to see Steve Ballmer in a tight turtleneck o_O
At least the pit stains wouldn't be as noticeable. - sathias, on 07/25/2008, -33/+81Hey... my right mouse button stopped working?!
- stillasleep00, on 07/25/2008, -13/+58Blown out of proportion. Ballmer took the high road here, acknowledging Apple's successes and admonishing Microsoft to follow their example in innovations. He never said they were going to emulate Apple, fanboys.
- asho88, on 07/25/2008, -2/+45Zune?
- Bob042, on 07/25/2008, -10/+49That's funny, mine still works on Leopard.
- inactive, on 07/24/2008, -33/+68Everything else that MS has stolen has been successful, why not this?
- Mithivh, on 07/24/2008, -1/+32Anyone know how this e-mail was obtained by the Wall Street Journal? Just curious
- jasonh1234, on 07/25/2008, -8/+34My 7 button mouse works fine on my Mac too.
- digitalpencil, on 07/25/2008, -3/+29as a mac user allow me to say, STFU you stupid fanboy!
- danz32, on 07/25/2008, -2/+27Ballmer's point is that Microsoft only controls the OS, Apple controls the purchasing experience, the box, the hardware, the software, etc. His point is that Microsoft wants to make sure that customer's experiences aren't poor because of the vendor, who might cause problems which get pinned on MS, or just make it a bad experience in general when buying a PC.
And, with the ads, they aren't going to be childish banter/white lies like the Mac vs. PC; I would expect them more to be saying "You heard this, this, and this about Vista, but here's why your wrong and heres why Vista kicks ass," as opposed to directly ripping on Apple. - jasonhdavis, on 07/25/2008, -0/+24I'm going to guess Ballmer sent it to them.
- Commodus, on 07/24/2008, -5/+29Really? Never?
Look, I'm a Mac user, but I don't pretend that one company always does everything right while the other does everything wrong. Come back in 5 years when you've refined your viewpoint a bit. - r3zonance, on 07/25/2008, -3/+25The 90s called, it wants its bigoted opinion back.
- Galaxylander, on 07/25/2008, -11/+29Well, that's weird, the right mouse button on my standard issue Apple Mighty Mouse is working fine!
- DraxusD, on 07/25/2008, -2/+19What? Where are these Microsoft ads? All I see are Apple's MAC vs PC ads.
- FoxOrian, on 07/25/2008, -4/+20I never understand how fanboys can just lump an entire populous of users based on what they use. Alot of people use Mac OS to get real stuff done, contrary to your belief. Also contrary, alot of people also use Windows to get nothing [work-related] done, [games.] So according to you, I'm an OSX user so I must blog about my cat? You're a windows user so that means you're working double time to pick up the slack left by all the OSX users? Seriously dude, people need to think more rationally before opening their mouths.
To be honest, I'd completely expect you [as a windows user] to be doing really any of the usual things that I do as an OSX user. Games are probably the only dividing factor, but since I'm not biased, I use Windows for that. - dickeytk, on 07/25/2008, -4/+18sarcasm?
- asho88, on 07/25/2008, -2/+16indeed :)
- chaosblade77, on 07/25/2008, -7/+21You know, you can use other mice with Macs. Mighty Mouse sucks though, I don't see how people can stand it.
- SwedishNinja, on 07/25/2008, -5/+17Yeah, like getting 90% of the market share.
Oh wait... - Atomic1fire, on 07/25/2008, -2/+14DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS, is not a keynote
- fas2, on 07/25/2008, -0/+12Blog about your cat, lol!
- DraxusD, on 07/25/2008, -3/+13Much better
- scy1192, on 07/25/2008, -0/+9Microsoft is getting ads to counter Apple's Anti-Vista ads, effectively being Anti-Anti-Vista, not Anti-Mac.
- VinnieDaMac, on 07/25/2008, -10/+19But bashing MS is sooooooo cool. Ooops, I forgot to use the dollar sign for the S.
- InitialDMP5, on 07/25/2008, -3/+11I laughed even though I am a Mac user. I use a logitech laser mouse. I never took the might mouse of its mighty packaging...
- MacParrot, on 07/25/2008, -0/+8Balmer's MobileMe account accidently "Pushed" it there?
- directive0, on 07/25/2008, -0/+8Can I buy pot from you?
- dfsjdkflasjk, on 07/25/2008, -10/+18I could take an hour writing all of the things that Apple stole from numerous companies, so please do not act as if MS is the only company that does this.
- Dracusis, on 07/25/2008, -3/+11Bill Gates paid a college friend pocket change for his D.O.S software and then sold it to IBM on contract for about 5000% profit.
Apple / Steve Jobs saw Xerox's graphical OS idea and loved it so they made their own, Xerox never managed to sell their idea to anyone.
The initially announced version of Windows had features so much resembling Macintosh interface that Microsoft had to change many of them: overlapping windows, although supported by the GUI engine, weren't allowed for exactly this purpose.
Windows 2.03 (release date January 1988) had changed the OS from tiled windows to overlapping windows. The result of this change led to Apple Computer filing a suit against Microsoft alleging infringement on Apple's copyrights.
Internet Explorer 1.0, released in August 1995 was a modified version of Spyglass Mosaic.
Not to say that Apple and other companies haven't done the same, they all do it. - jazzbeaux, on 07/25/2008, -1/+8Same with Apple, eh? They stole the GUI concept from others....
- BossKey, on 07/25/2008, -2/+9The one thing you definitely get with Macs is you don't have to reinstall the OS periodically just to get it moving again, like my Windows friends insist is necessary.
- superkendall, on 07/25/2008, -1/+7It's a mighty stupid fellow who sees the headlights coming down the tunnel but doesn't get off the tracks.
It was 5%, then 10%, then as you said closer to 20%. And you say this trend should not alarm Microsoft in any way? When should it, when Apple is selling 90% of all laptops? - Jareth86, on 07/25/2008, -7/+13Its all about customer support. When you call apple, you're on hold ten minutes maximum, and get an English speaking guy who knows what the hell he's talking about. When you call MS, you're on hold for a few hours, before getting some guy in Bangalore who's reading off a script.
"Okay sir, Is the computer plugged in?"
Are you ***** kidding me?! Hire up the guys that Dell had in the good old 90s, back when you were connected to MIT students who knew your PC down to the smallest screw.
Good customer support shows that you give a ***** about the customer, even after they've bought your product. - ypSami, on 07/25/2008, -6/+12I work in the largest company in the world for our type of web development and product development, and nearly every single one of our employees use Apple computers. The small percentage of employees that are not on mac are on linux.
We get LOTS done.
In fact, we get more done than any of our competitors that are on Microsoft technologies. Don't take that statement as Microsoft bashing. I think they are very valid, and very important in the tech industry.
Please take my statement as a retort to your misguided statement that OSX is for blogging. That is short sighted, ignorant, and arrogant. - megaton, on 07/25/2008, -1/+7Er, I'm an Apple guy, but *****, you're about as anti-Microsoft as they come. You're making up quotes (like, "be like Apple") to support a point that wasn't even made? (Unless we're assuming that the headline/description are now always accurate, even when they're not reflected in the article?)
Since you obviously didn't read it, summary: users want simplicity; Balmer recognizes that users want simplicity; ergo, users want Microsoft to be simpler.
While Apple may be simple, I'm fairly certain they didn't invent that... - sonicbliss, on 07/25/2008, -1/+7Well if it was stolen form early windows betas wouldnt Mr. Steve Ballmer be stating that they are committing to delivering an experience as outlined bazillion years ago as you put it, as opposed to creating an 'apple-like' experience. Face it Apple is ahead of the game, regardless of who they took inspiration from the end to end user expereince is far removed, and miles better than both vista and ubuntu, hence you have Mark shuttleworth outlining goals for matching/exceeding OSX, and now Steve Ballmer. Apple have set the benchmark its pointless denying it..
Also regards 'blogging about your cat', I think the lmillions of professional and aspiring musicians who use OSX/9 as their operating system of choice might disagree, not to mention all the media/advertising agencies Packed with Macs. - allnone, on 07/25/2008, -0/+6You're an idiot. He made his point in the beginning and then posted the full email. Don't blame someone else, because you can't read two paragraphs.
- mrblue182, on 07/25/2008, -4/+10Stolen? Explain.
- qwertydvorak, on 07/25/2008, -0/+5you are ASTONISHED ?!?! if you don't know your os history at all, you wouldn't know that windows 1.0 was using apple as a benchmark for the user experience. somehow using apple as a template, ms took over the computer world.
- WileEPeyote, on 07/25/2008, -0/+5"Ballmer's statement is an oxymoron."
Are you saying his entire 2 page email was an oxymoron or is there a specific statement? - whatwhatwhoa, on 07/25/2008, -3/+8These comments suck.
- AshamedAmerican, on 07/25/2008, -2/+7***** censorship.
- inactive, on 07/25/2008, -1/+6Well done Apple Insider is to Apple as Fox news is to the GOP
- smashingmonkey, on 07/25/2008, -0/+5OK, let's say Apple has a measly 5%. That would mean that MS had twenty times the user base that Apple has. Yet MS takes in barely twice the revenue. Call me crazy, but I don't think market share tells the whole story. In the least, Apple has impressively higher profit margins and an impressively loyal - if occasionally loony - fan base.
- username7410, on 07/25/2008, -3/+8You already are an asshat.
- Murdats, on 07/25/2008, -0/+5you fail at replying
- naberator, on 07/25/2008, -1/+6or you could press the little blue reply button
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