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Former Microsoft executive says Ballmer culls internal rivals to retain power

uk.reuters.com

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Re: Former Microsoft executive says Ballmer culls internal rivals to retain power

#91

Post by bad_user »

technoslut wrote: post #77
nanook wrote: post #67

In a parallel universe: Gates returns, fires Ballmer and turns MS around. Reality: He's probably happier solving much bigger problems in the world. But still, it sucks to see someone drive his company to the ground. Has Ballmer ever done anything right for Microsoft? I can't think of anything.

He's kept the ship afloat and is good at maximizing profits from MS's traditional businesses. The problem is that Ballmer isn't the person you need in a transitional phase for a company.

Gates was that guy.

Remember when they haven't shipped a web browser in Windows 95 and then they turned around and produced a kickass browser that killed Netscape Navigator? Or how MS Word took marketshare from WordPerfect like taking candy from a baby? Or how Win 95 won against IBM's OS/2, even though OS/2 was also binary compatible with DOS and Win3.11?

Re: Former Microsoft executive says Ballmer culls internal rivals to retain power

#92

Post by rlu »

stormen wrote: post #87
jmspring wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Web strategy? Like media? Does a technology company need to have a content/media component -- which Yahoo basically is. Azure is a decent extension to the MS development ecosystem. Xbox and Xbox Live seem to be doing well -- I don't use either. Bing, while not Google, has it's fans. Where MSFT was late to the game is in their approach to the post-PC era. WinCE/WinMo were "ok" at the time, then the iPhone came along.…

Microsoft has lost; there's no getting back the head start they once had. It's not like Windows 8 is going to set the record straight and grow Microsoft to 10x the size of Apple and Google combined, like it once was. In part, this is because of their utterly flawed understanding of internet and the way humans (not businesses) work. Steve Ballmer is a joke of a CEO; a loud, screaming monkey that thought the iPhone was…

Your comment seems pretty short sighted though, don't you think?

Re: Former Microsoft executive says Ballmer culls internal rivals to retain power

#93

Post by technoslut »

bad_user wrote: post #91
technoslut wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's kept the ship afloat and is good at maximizing profits from MS's traditional businesses. The problem is that Ballmer isn't the person you need in a transitional phase for a company.

Gates was that guy. Remember when they haven't shipped a web browser in Windows 95 and then they turned around and produced a kickass browser that killed Netscape Navigator? Or how MS Word took marketshare from WordPerfect like taking candy from a baby? Or how Win 95 won against IBM's OS/2, even though OS/2 was also binary compatible with DOS and Win3.11?

Gates used to be that guy. He doesn't care anymore. He's involved in something greater than even what MS was. Under current conditions, I'm not even sure that Gates could even do what he once did but he would drive a shot into the company and the perception of it.

There's no question Gates was as much of a skilled tactician more than a coder (which he was great at when he did it) but, while I'm sure he still loves MS, he is a man in the real world looking for a cause to drive him. MS is in the past.

I can't blame him. A good woman changes you and that's what Melinda did.

Re: Former Microsoft executive says Ballmer culls internal rivals to retain power

#94

Post by yuhong »

bad_user wrote: post #91
technoslut wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's kept the ship afloat and is good at maximizing profits from MS's traditional businesses. The problem is that Ballmer isn't the person you need in a transitional phase for a company.

Gates was that guy. Remember when they haven't shipped a web browser in Windows 95 and then they turned around and produced a kickass browser that killed Netscape Navigator? Or how MS Word took marketshare from WordPerfect like taking candy from a baby? Or how Win 95 won against IBM's OS/2, even though OS/2 was also binary compatible with DOS and Win3.11?

Ah, the MS OS/2 2.0 fiasco: http://yuhongbao.blogspot.ca/2012/12/about-ms-os2-20-fiasco-...

Re: Former Microsoft executive says Ballmer culls internal rivals to retain power

#96

Post by chongli »

gawker wrote: post #65
rbanffy wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, but it's Ballmer's job to prove himself competent for the job he occupies. I'd be disappointed if he did that by voting for himself.

The company is still afloat and still profitable - he's doing a much better job than quite a few CEOs out there.

Microsoft is losing the new operating system war in a big, BIG way. Just because the boat is still afloat doesn't mean it's not rotting below the water line.

Re: Former Microsoft executive says Ballmer culls internal rivals to retain power

#97

Post by moheeb »

nanook wrote: post #67

In a parallel universe: Gates returns, fires Ballmer and turns MS around. Reality: He's probably happier solving much bigger problems in the world. But still, it sucks to see someone drive his company to the ground. Has Ballmer ever done anything right for Microsoft? I can't think of anything.

"Turns MS around" into what? Failure?

Microsoft seems like a successful company to me. I don't get it.

Re: Former Microsoft executive says Ballmer culls internal rivals to retain power

#98

Post by hkmurakami »

stormen wrote: post #87
jmspring wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Web strategy? Like media? Does a technology company need to have a content/media component -- which Yahoo basically is. Azure is a decent extension to the MS development ecosystem. Xbox and Xbox Live seem to be doing well -- I don't use either. Bing, while not Google, has it's fans. Where MSFT was late to the game is in their approach to the post-PC era. WinCE/WinMo were "ok" at the time, then the iPhone came along.…

Microsoft has lost; there's no getting back the head start they once had. It's not like Windows 8 is going to set the record straight and grow Microsoft to 10x the size of Apple and Google combined, like it once was. In part, this is because of their utterly flawed understanding of internet and the way humans (not businesses) work. Steve Ballmer is a joke of a CEO; a loud, screaming monkey that thought the iPhone was…

>Microsoft has lost; there's no getting back the head start they once had.

Couldn't we have said the same thing when Apple lost to the IBM PC when they didn't "get" business computing? (the debacle that was the Apple III - a supposed "business" machine)

Re: Former Microsoft executive says Ballmer culls internal rivals to retain power

#99

Post by InclinedPlane »

codingthebeach wrote: post #74

MS revenues have grown by 45 billion dollars under Ballmer ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Ballmer ). Without Ballmer .NET would not have existed and the XBox would not exist as it exists today. I have no great love for the guy but I've yet to read a convincing argument for his ouster. Just priggish former executives badmouthing the company that lifted them into the 1%.

Up until 2008 Bill Gates was running MS. From 2008 to today, the period of time when Ballmer was in charge and on his own, MS's revenue has grown by only 17%, adjusted for inflation. That's only 4% a year.

Re: Former Microsoft executive says Ballmer culls internal rivals to retain power

#100

Post by SkyMarshal »

jmspring wrote: post #78
gdilla wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

imho, the biggest reason for his ouster was that he had no internet strategy - his plan A was buying Yahoo. No innovation, no imagination, no results.

Web strategy? Like media? Does a technology company need to have a content/media component -- which Yahoo basically is. Azure is a decent extension to the MS development ecosystem. Xbox and Xbox Live seem to be doing well -- I don't use either. Bing, while not Google, has it's fans. Where MSFT was late to the game is in their approach to the post-PC era. WinCE/WinMo were "ok" at the time, then the iPhone came along.…

I've been thinking for a while that Microsoft may have carved out a niche of letting others do the innovation, and then copying them and improving on it, not unlike Japanese companies.

Windows Phone/Mobile, Surface, Xbox, Search Engine, and Azure are all effectively this model. Hackers place a high value on innovation, but continuously increasing revenues with this 'embrace and extend' + kaizen model seems to work for them so far.

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