Microsoft chief dreams of "world of no reboots"
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has admitted the company intentionally accepted some early compatibility problems to make sure Vista was as secure as possible. But he claims customer complaint figures show Vista is better than previous editions of Windows.
Ballmer spoke at an event hosted by the Churchill Club, which bills itself as “Silicon Valley’s premier business and technology forum”. Asked by a “long-time Windows user” why a firm the size of Microsoft can’t make its system more reliable, Ballmer fortunately avoided the crazed outburst of a recent instalment of the ‘I’m a PC’ commercials.
Instead he explained that the early compatibility problems with Vista were a necessary trade-off to maximise security. He also pointed to the difficulties of producing a system such as Windows designed for multiple uses rather than a single-function device. And he laid out Microsoft’s goal as “a world of no reboots and user happiness.”
Among the other topics Ballmer discussed was the ongoing credit crunch; he acknowledged the IT industry isn’t immune to economic problems, but pointed out Microsoft’s business is spread worldwide, which helps smooth out the effects of national booms and busts.
He said Microsoft is still aiming to compete with Google in the search market, but that his previous prediction of being a credible challenger inside five years was partly based on buying out Yahoo. However, he insisted Microsoft is likely the only company which will ever stand a chance of giving Google a run for its money. And he acknowledged the firm is prepared to take a five to ten percent dip in income to work towards that goal.
Ballmer also discussed the challenges of Apple in the smartphone market. His take is that Apple’s insistence of tying hardware and the Apple software will limit its success. Instead he argues that the open source Symbian system and Linux-based systems such as Google’s Android are a bigger challenge to Windows Mobile.
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September 26th, 2008
If Steve Ballmer were honest, he would recommend that Windows users migrate to Linux, because it is not uncommon for Linux systems to go for years between reboots. In fact, I have a colleague at work who set up Linux on a PC for a bank, and it ran continuously for *SIX YEARS* (and the only reason that it didn’t run for even longer is that it was shut down in order to move it to new premises!).
As for Mr Ballmer’s claim that “customer complaint figures show Vista is better than previous editions of Windows”, I would be interested to know how he explains the following:
a) Microsoft was forced by its vendors to allow “downgrades” from Vista to XP.
b) Many corporations continue to shun Vista (including Intel, no less!)
c) PC vendors are now looking increasingly to Linux as a replacement for Vista.
d) Apple’s market share in the U.S. has doubled since Vista was released.
e) Many users are moving to Linux, in particular Ubuntu (for example, Micheal Dell, president and CEO of Dell, uses Ubuntu).
f) Microsoft employees don’t like Vista (Mike Nash, a senior manager at Microsoft, described his brand-new laptop with Vista as “a $2,100 email machine”).
g) Microsoft used the ridiculous “Mojave” experiment to try and bolster Vista (the truth is that this charade was the technical equivalent of letting a prospective car buyer sit in a vehicle, but not drive it).
h) Microsoft felt compelled to launch an advertising campaign touting Vista (well, two campaigns really – if the two Seinfeld ads actually qualify as a “campaign”).
i) Vista has attracted neither critical nor popular acclaim, and has been the subject of an avalanche of complaints from frustrated and angry users. It remains an object of scorn and derision, and has attracted perhaps more opprobrium than any other Microsoft product.
j) Microsoft are desperately talking up Windows 7.
Perhaps Mr Ballmer has forgotten that he himself once described Vista as a “work in progress”, a none-too-tacit admission that Microsoft (who were severely embarrassed by all the missed shipment dates) knowingly foisted an incomplete and bodgy product on their hapless customers.
Finally, I love this gem: “He [Mr Ballmer] also pointed to the difficulties of producing a system such as Windows designed for multiple uses rather than a single-function device”. Perhaps Mr Ballmer should acquaint himself with the plethora of devices using Linux, from mobile phones to supercomputers. Either he is a monumentally ignorant individual, or one for whom disingenousness is simply second nature.
September 27th, 2008
Ballmer has to lie, that is is job. He doesn’t have to believe that his product is any good and maybe privately he may prefer to use something else.
Just like a car salesman selling a piece of crap car, his job is to sell and promote. The only thing that matters are sales. And a salesman can fudge all the books he wants….but in the end the truth matters.
However…..
On Ballmer’s and Vista’s watch, Apple now commands 10.6 % and at this rate it could be 15% or higher by next year.
Linux has made some huge in roads in the last two years. Linux is at 4 % according to Gartner.
The E.U. with the open source mandates for its member states does not bode well for MSFT. meanwhile the latest convert to open source is the military.
Congress Endorses Open Source for Military
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/26/1453218
September 27th, 2008
Now that the folks with Microsoft Derangement Syndrome have checked in, some reality:
Apple has 10% of the desktop market. Hardly commanding, and the main share for Linux is in the servers room. If Microsoft closed it’s doors today, there is no way things wouldn’t implode.
I’m typing this using Mint Linux. And I still have my full reasoning capacity. All software is a work in progress. The customers aren’t hapless, there is a lack of real alternatives currently. If anything is going to change the status quo, it will be a blast from the past with thin clients accessing hosted applications. Google is a much greater danger to Microsoft than Linux or OSX.
September 27th, 2008
Hello Ken,
Here is an interesting quote by Jim Allchin, former Windows Development Chief:
“I would buy a Mac if I didn’t work for Microsoft”.
This is very telling, and is in fact a classic example of someone who is suffering from MDS (”Microsoft Disconnect Syndrome”
Best Regards,
Hugh