11 October 2008 @ 16:02Steve Ballmer is full of himself

I stumbled across this PC Magazine interview with Steve Balmer via The Mac Observer. Ballmer uses the interview to talk about Microsoft, himself, and Apple.

The interview is quite long, especially when you consider how it is lacking in any information of value. In the end, Ballmer has a difficult time hiding his ignorance.

Steve Ballmer talking about the marketshare dominance of Windows PCs:

You know, there are so many—you know, can you find Macs in—I’m very sensitive to exactly what mouse I have on my laptop. Can you find a range of choices? Of course you can’t find a range of choices. You know, anyway—can you find the applications you want on the Mac? Well, you don’t really get full Microsoft Office. Everything from Apple is available, there are still tons of business applications and there’s games—anytime somebody does client software—over time they’ll do a Mac client. Maybe nowadays people do the Mac clients mostly to save time, but that’s only on the high-volume applications. So 32 out of 33 times people chose PCs, there must be something better about the PC, and that’s a story that deserves to be told. I think it’s a story of choice.

Much of that paragraph doesn’t make sense, other than that he is pointing out that there are more devices to choose from when it comes to buying a PC with Windows installed. I won’t disagree with that, but I will say that his claim that “32 out of 33 times people chose PCs” (if that figure is even correct) is not evidence that Windows is better, but is mostly due to people simply buying what they “know” — buying a Windows PC, because that’s what they were taught on in school, or because that is what they use at their job. And then there’s the “mouse” comment which is simply more evidence that Ballmer doesn’t know what he is talking about. Steve, any USB mouse will work, with a Mac.

Then there’s this quote from Ballmer:

Apple started doing stores because nobody wanted to sell their PCs. Okay?

Excuse me, Steve, but I believe that Apple opened retail stores because they were tired of their products being presented in a bad light by the likes of Best Buy and CompUSA. Now Apple can present their products in a clean, well-lit environment staffed by knowledgeable salespeople.

If you want to know just how out-of-touch with reality Steve Ballmer (and Microsoft to some extent) is, read the full interview.

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by | 3 comments | Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in apple, microsoft | Link to this

Comments:

  1. jeremy | 13 Oct 2008 @ 15:41 #

    “This is your brain… This is your brain on Windows… any questions?”

  2. jeremy | 13 Oct 2008 @ 15:42 #

    you had to post his sexy picture, didn’t you?

  3. Jon | 13 Oct 2008 @ 15:43 #

    @jeremy

    Yeah, I wouldn’t want to portray him in a bad light.

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