Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

microsoft.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

771–780 of 784 posts

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#771

Post by scholia »

vl wrote: post #767
scholia wrote: post #762

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks, fascinating story. Presumably all that happened under Allchin after bradsi left....

Yes, it was under Allchin, but I suspect that "integrated innovation" couldn't happen without Gates' approval and stewardship. There is another twist - after XP Windows was split into two branches (since they didn't want to delay client to wait for server): Server and Longhorn. Brian Valentine managed Server (shipped as Server 2003), at same time different war room, different managers managed Longhorn ship. So essent…

OK, thanks. I didn't realize Server 2003 was Valentine. It was excellent. I think I remember him from Windows Me, which was never as bad as it was painted. (A clean install worked well.)

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#772

Post by scholia »

warmfuzzykitten wrote: post #656
toblender wrote: post #537

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What? I guess people don't like my prediction. Mad down votes.

I don't understand. Marissa Mayer would be a great choice for this job. I doubt she would take it, because Microsoft is totally invested in the dying PC business and she'd have to put up with whiny old Bill, but, hey, Yahoo didn't look very good until she got there.

Apple bought Next and (accidentally) re-hired Jobs. Microsoft could, finally, buy Yahoo and get Marissa Mayer. But I don't think it's going to happen ;-)

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#773

Post by vetinari »

parasubvert wrote: post #739
corresation wrote: post #569

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Content with lower resolution" screens, when almost all of them dramatically led Apple at the time of their retina unveiling. Add that companies like LG, Sony, and Samsung actually make the screen (and rest assured, Apple is not stopping any of those companies from doing what they want with their own lines). This is the mythology of Apple that is so bizarre. Apple overshot competitors not because Apple has such a de…

> "Content with lower resolution" screens, when almost all of them dramatically led Apple at the time of their retina unveiling I call bullshit, that's not how I remember it at all. The iPhone 4 was released in June 2010 at 960x640. The Samsung Galaxy S2 wasn't available until 11 months later - May 2011, at 800x480. The Motorola Droid X was also available May 2011, at 960x540, along with the HTC Sensation, with the s…

The original Galaxy S had the same resolution as S2 - 800x480. It was available in June 2010.

But it was also not the first. The Nexus One/HTC Desire had also 800x480 resolution - 6 months before iPhone 4. Also, the original Motorola Droid - available since November 2009 - had 854x480 resolution.

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#774

Post by astrodust »

ignostic wrote: post #491
astrodust wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Windows 7 is not a success. It's just a non-failure. The only reason people use it at all isn't because it's fantastic, but because it's incrementally better than Windows XP without all the garbage Vista foisted on the user. After having used it for an extended period of time, the only real improvements I've seen are in the explorer shell, which are minor at best, and the theme.

> "Windows 7 is not a success. It's just a non-failure." So last I heard there were 630 million licenses of Windows 7 sold. Even at OEM prices, that's 63 billion dollars of revenue. If that's not success, you're probably setting the bar too high. > "The only reason people use it at all isn't because it's fantastic, but because it's incrementally better than Windows XP without all the garbage Vista foisted on the user…

Success would've been an uptick in PC sales, but this is not happening. Instead Microsoft is king of a shrinking market.

A failure would've been a steep decline in Windows license sales. That they managed to not screw this up is not something they should be bragging about. With Windows 8 being very poorly received, this might happen yet. When people go out of their way to get an older version of your software, you know you've done something wrong.

Look at the sales curve (http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2013/05/07/six-months-in-win...) and you'll see that Microsoft has a near literal cash cow. That curve tracks very closely with PC sales in general, following the usual upgrade cycles.

The iPhone, and the software behind it, have been improving significantly with each annual iteration. In 2007 the iPhone did not exist. Now it's iOS7, Apple's "Windows 8" moment, which so far looks to be a hit.

Microsoft should make a version of Windows specifically for enterprise on a slow release, long support cycle, and branch off a consumer one that's on a much more aggressive schedule.

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#775

Post by astrodust »

mkautzm wrote: post #463
astrodust wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Windows 7 is not a success. It's just a non-failure. The only reason people use it at all isn't because it's fantastic, but because it's incrementally better than Windows XP without all the garbage Vista foisted on the user. After having used it for an extended period of time, the only real improvements I've seen are in the explorer shell, which are minor at best, and the theme.

Windows 7 is orders of magnitude easier to manage. A lot of the improvements under the hood the consumer didn't see or notice. One that they might have noticed is the ability for the OS to find proper drivers for pretty much any consumer device from a major manufacturer. Other than that, there are other features that put W7 was ahead of XP in terms of management ease.

I've found it just as obnoxiously difficult to find and install drivers in Windows 7. They all seem to have their own proprietary installer, their own crappy control panel, their own quirky bugs and insane workarounds.

The registry is still there and even more crammed with crap than ever. Uninstaller applications are still a necessity.

Finding things in the control panel is both easier (search) and way harder than before (more tabs, more drop-downs, more everything). The simple mode is almost useless, which leaves you with the ridiculous "Advanced" mode.

Drive letters? Still there. Task manager? Still essential. Programs menu? Still filled with nonsense injected there by the vendors.

This doesn't even touch on the fact that the Windows software ecosystem is full of literal junk, programs that either overtly or covertly install adware, malware, or sneaky debris on your machine, and this includes major vendors like Oracle (Java) and Adobe (Flash). It takes discipline to keep your machine clean, everyone wants to set up shop.

The only thing I'm happy about is that Windows 7 does have much better resilience against virus type programs and application level exploits than Windows XP ever did.

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#776

Post by JabavuAdams »

300bps wrote: post #446
corresation wrote: post #433

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My most recent purchase was a Dell laptop with a 3rd gen i7, 16GB RAM, eMMC accelerated TB magnetic disc, IPS 1080p screen, fingerprint reader, backlit keyboard, blah blah. Weight and battery life fit my usage. I believe it was somewhere around $800, and is a perfect device for my needs. Spent a few minutes after booting removing the various trials of junk on it. Colour me clueless, I guess.

For me, i7 2650QM, 8 GB of RAM, 500 GB hard drive, 17.3" monitor, fingerprint reader, 9 cell battery. $550. People who buy Macs can't even conceive that you can buy 4 PC notebooks for the price they are buying 1 Mac notebook. They can't conceive that the typical person doesn't buy overpriced Ultrabooks that are different only in marketing name. All they will say is that their computer "holds its resale value" or that…

Why do you care what other people use, if it's not preventing you access to your preferred tools?

We're not talking about a 100x price multiplier here, where clearly one's into the land of diminishing returns.

This kind of self-righteousness is just as faddish / cliquish as excessive fan-boy-ism.

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#777

Post by xradionut »

microtonal wrote: post #276
xradionut wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bullshit. Microsoft crapped on it's developers, IT and users when it released Windows 8. How are you supposed to develop for a system when the frameworks change every couple of years? Not to mention pissing off independents, dropping TechNet and raising license costs across the board. Price out a decent MS server solution and 60 to 80 percent of the cost is Microsoft licenses. Azure isn't a solution either since Redm…

You are quite a drama queen :). Windows 8 applications can still be programmed in .NET languages. Given that probably 80% of the application is not 'front-end' code, it can be compiled without changes. On the front-end you can still use whatever was used before, since the desktop still exists. And if you want to go all-'Metro': there is a learning curve, but it is not that steep, since Windows 8 applications are also…

Disclaimer: As a developer and admin primarily on Windows for the last 18 years, I know more than I want to know about Windows. BTDT, got the t-shirts...

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#778

Post by tomkarlo »

lttlrck wrote: post #593
tomkarlo wrote: post #559

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ten years ago, were you saying the same about laptops? Given that there are already enterprise users out there today on Android and iOS devices, this is a pretty bold claim. (And you can, in fact, plug things into tablets with both operating systems - they have USB support.)

Its just as bold to say you can run enterprise on a tablet. Are there any enterprise running soley on laptops? No servers?

It's not bold at all, since there are lots of enterprise tablet deployments today and products in the market specifically to serve such uses: http://www.samsung.com/us/business/samsung-for-enterprise/in...

These are not all being deployed as "secondary devices" - in many cases companies deploy them because they're cheaper to deploy and maintain than a laptop, which only makes sense if you're not also providing a laptop to the user.

Having companies run solely on laptops or tablets has nothing to do with whether or not there are enterprise tablet deployments. Your logic is flawed.

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#779

Post by WayneDB »

jabr wrote: post #765
WayneDB wrote: post #737

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Congratulations? Are you aware that like 90% of corporations run Windows? No other operating system can claim anything even close to that.

My point is that operating systems are largely commodified now, and that Windows' strategic value (for both Microsoft and the corporations using it) only holds in very homogenous environments. That is the state of most corporations today, but at best, I would consider Windows a rapidly depreciating asset (in a strategic sense -- I'm sure it will continue to be a major source of cash for a while).

The person that I originally responded to, whose statement you're apparently defending said:

"Microsoft used to control the future of computing. Now they are yet another enterprise software company with no apparent mission except to make money.

...

Meanwhile Apple/Google/Amazon/Facebook/etc look toward the future"

I disagreed with the part where they said "just another enterprise software company". I also happen to disagree that they have no apparent mission, but that's another story; please forget that I said it :)

So, would you argue my point for a second? Why is Microsoft NOT just another enterprise software company now or in the next decade? I think I can come up with more, "bigger" and more provable reasons that they are NOT than that they are, but could be wrong. And who knows the future? Right now, they're surely not just another enterprise company and the future is not static, it's based on the now.

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#780

Post by CmonDev »

claudius wrote: post #386
CmonDev wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't stop a train immediately. At least Symbian/MeeGo/Android chasm has been avoided.

Apologies, but Harmattan (aka Maemo 6 aka ‘MeeGo Instance’) is still my favourite mobile OS, and even though it was released in 2010 it still easily keeps up with the standard stuff on Android, iOS and Windows Phone (no voice recognition à la Siri, though).

That was too late for a new OS. Their effort alone wouldn't have been enough to fill their app store.
Post reply on HN