Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months • Hacker News Board

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#181

Post by xradionut » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 2:19 PM UTC

bornhuetter wrote: post #125

devx wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Marketing and PR can only do so much to improve the image of a company or product. That company or product actually has to have great core values or qualities. Microsoft is forcing OEM's to pay licenses for using open sources operating systems, they're throwing mud against competitors in the media and in social media, and there's still this very real feeling that Microsoft hasn't shaken off the "evil" attitude and cu…

I really don't think Microsoft's main product offerings are that bad. The biggest issue with Metro and Windows Phone is a lack of developer support - and I think a significant part of that is caused by a lot of the best developers being either Apple or Google "fanboys". Office remains excellent, Windows 8 is excellent at what it intended for - office productivity, games, VS development etc. But the media hates them,…

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 Redmond is Yet Another NSA Bitch.

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#182

Post by weland » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 2:20 PM UTC

1337biz wrote: post #138

kabdib wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank God. (Speaking as an ex-Microsoftie). Hopefully MS will lose the "we need to put Windows on everything, including embedded systems" attitude. Windows is a horrible bloated mess barely capable of successfully running on a tablet PC, much less smaller things. (And if you've ever had to /build/ Windows . . . OMG. OMFG). There are core bits of Windows that are great; the I/O system is incredibly well done. Then the…

But what could be the future of MS look like a strategic perspective? I am pondering a bit about that. They are somewhat squeezed in between closed system and open source. How can they position themselves for a solid path for the future in that middle-ground.

I'd second rdl's enterprise mobile option. MS have the right foothold there, and neither iOS nor Android are what big, slow business users expect.

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#183

Post by mikeash » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 2:21 PM UTC

teamonkey wrote: post #174

mikeash wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't look like it: http://www.microsoft.com/investor/EarningsAndFinancials/Fina... The "Entertainment and Devices Division" is profitable, but contributes a negligible quantity to the overall profits. And either way, the home game console is also a declining market.

> the home game console is also a declining market. Source?

It's mostly my opinion, based on the rise of mobile. I don't think they're going to go away, but it does seem like they're already becoming more specialized. Hardcore gamers will always be with us, but the much larger casual market is moving away.

I think the numbers back it up to an extent, though:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_game_conso...

None of the latest generation of consoles are near the top, despite the fact that populations are larger, and the population of people able to afford video game electronics is much larger. That the PS3 and Xbox 360 barely outsold the original NES, despite having access to a billion or two more potential customers, says to me that the market is declining relative to the overall computing world.

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#184

Post by canistr » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 2:21 PM UTC

jusben1369 wrote: post #169

I'm most interested with the "type" of CEO they replace him with. Broad categories: - Within Tech: They hire an Apple type key executive whose background is all around getting hardware/software/direct sales to work together. They want to move to be a super tight, integrated brand. - Outside of Tech: They hire from a GE type of company. This acknowledges that they're a sprawling behemoth and will stay that way. They n…

Well the general strategy that SteveB has been preaching the past year is the "devices and services" strategy as well as consolidating Microsoft into functional units. And given Microsoft's push towards services to meet their bottom-line, cloud/services is likely their target.

I think the best way to look at it is to start off by looking at Microsoft's acquisitions in the psat 10-15 (20?) years and see which former CEOs have integrated well within Microsoft. Consider that Microsoft doesn't even have a current Chief Software Architect anymore. I'm not particularly familiar with Microsoft's portfolio of companies, but perhaps someone like the former President of Skype (Tony Bates) would be someone they would put into the CEO position.

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#185

Post by weland » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 2:22 PM UTC

rrrrtttt wrote: post #178

mathattack wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes - Lou Gerstner was a very rare bird as a CEO. He was a consultant who became a great executive, then a CEO, then led a transformation the likes of which he'd advised on as a consultant. What's needed is of that order of magnitude. How do you find folks like that?

As a side note, I really have a hard time figuring out what was it that Gerstner did at IBM. When he started, IBM was the mainframe company. What is it doing today? They say it's services, but what are services? When I did an internship there, everyone I asked just shrugged their shoulders.

IIRC, IBM are still reasonably big on R&D, aren't they?

Also, investor-wise people were happy with what he did. A thriving company doing i-have-no-idea-what is a better investment than a sinking mainframe company.

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#186

Post by jemeshsu » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 2:22 PM UTC

sgt wrote: post #71

jetpackparakeet wrote: post #12

Scott Forstall is available last I heard.

People may scoff at this - but why not? His experience from Apple and NeXT should transcend into an organization like Microsoft. He will be an extremely useful asset, although perhaps a bit dictatorial from what I've heard.

and bring skeuomorphic user interface to Windows 9? That will totally brainfuck the whole UX industry.

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#187

Post by meerita » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 2:23 PM UTC

$500 for a phone????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eywi0h_Y5_U

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#188

Post by baggachipz » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 2:23 PM UTC

anuragramdasan wrote: post #58

My biggest hope from all of this would be for Microsoft to enhance its current products. They have been trying to get into too many fields while at the same time forgetting to make their main priority products perfect. Considering the rising impact Linux has been having over the past few years, I'd only be glad to see Microsoft try to come up with a superior operating system.

> They have been trying to get into too many fields while at the same time forgetting to make their main priority products perfect.

And when, pray tell, did they do that?

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#189

Post by JonnieCache » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 2:24 PM UTC

terhechte wrote: post #18

Now the question is, whoever will be next at the helm, will he / she be able to reverse directions and steer Microsoft into more relevant and fruitful territories. Ballmer's Microsoft was always late to the party, overseeing important technology trends and society transformations out of, I'd call it a mix of ignorance and arrogance; maybe they were also too blended by their previous successes. The way he dismissed iP…

>overseeing

The word you want is "overlooking." To oversee is to supervise. That was more what apple did.

(Also BTW overseer has historical connotations of slavery, so it's generally a word best avoided.)

Sorry if this is pedantic, just trying to help non-native speakers.

Re: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months

#190

Post by bojan » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 2:24 PM UTC

kjhughes wrote: post #61

What were the key Ballmer era highlights? == Negatives == * Clashes with Gates during CEO transition of power: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121261241035146237.html * Developer relations / motivational speaking (thanks mathattack): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvsboPUjrGc * Employee retention (thanks JonnieCache, Ziomislaw): http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/microsoft-ceo-im-going... * Windows Phone: http://…

I question the relevancy of that article from Forbes regarding Windows Phone. It is written by a Contributor, so it is basically an editorial piece. The sentence "Nokia becomes a low-end smartphone-maker" strikes me as particularly weird, as Nokia was always a low-end phone maker.

While their sales are down in the US, they are on a (very slow) rise almost everywhere else. In Latin America, WP is now ranked 2nd (http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/22/windows-phone-snags-second-...).

WP is definitely not a widely successful platform, but it is not yet a total failure, and given some more attention from Microsoft, it may yet succeed in being relevant.

edited for typos.