Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, OS, Odds and ends
Ballmer admits a rip-off?
eWeek has a short but interesting interview with Steve Ballmer in which he's poorly hiding the fact that Vista just doesn't have a whole lot left to lure consumers or enterprise users into upgrading. At the end of this otherwise unrelated interview is the juicy part, where Ballmer basically flat-out says they've been watching - er excuse me: learning - from what others are doing, and emulating instead of innovating:"I don't hear [about other operating systems] from enterprise customers. They don't look at the Mac. They just don't. Some people will say some of the features are kissing cousins to features they've seen elsewhere, and that is true. I'm not apologetic about the fact that we should, in a way that doesn't offend anyone else's intellectual property, study and learn and benefit from the work others have done."
Thanks Ballmer, we appreciate your honesty.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
met said 5:06PM on 9-27-2005
This was only fun when the microsofties were denying everying :)
The *new* microsoft is 'transparent' - That makes such posts boring ;)
Reply
Daniel Gattermann said 5:14PM on 9-27-2005
You've got it all wrong! They learn from others by not making their mistakes... ;-)
Reply
Brett Berish said 5:25PM on 9-27-2005
Did it ever occur to him that people MIGHT not talk to him about Mac or Linux...since he JUST HAPPENS to be Mr. Microsoft? I mean, if I'm talking to Ballmer, I'm not gonna be like 'HAY MACS AND PENGUINS, WHUT.' It's called 'talking to people about stuff you know they like and are knowledgeable about' and it falls under the category of "politeness/schmoozing 101."
Reply
jimmie said 5:22PM on 9-27-2005
The first step is admitting:)
Reply
Sean Flanagan said 5:35PM on 9-27-2005
I can't wait for Step 8 when Microsoft has to make "a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all."
Reply
Wheels said 5:36PM on 9-27-2005
I like how the interviewer said nothing about OSX, using the generic term "other operating systems," but Balmer pounces, saying that "They {enterprise customers] don't look at the Mac." By him saying that, you can bet your sweet behind that Microsoft is sick of hearing from their enterprise customers about "the Mac."
Reply
Lucas said 5:52PM on 9-27-2005
"I don't hear [about other operating systems] from enterprise customers."
Perhaps it's because they are YOUR customers? Perhaps other company's customers don't speak to you?
Reply
Derek said 1:53PM on 9-30-2005
Doesn't mean they should be trying to get patents on things that they never designed in the first place. They've been trying to get a piece of the iPod/iTunes pie by looking for patent loopholes. They're still an immoral company for that. There is an offense.
Reply
Splashman said 6:24PM on 9-27-2005
I'm as rabid a Mac fanatic as anyone else, but this blog post is grasping at straws.
Is it any secret that MS is studying and learning and benefiting from Apple? Of course not. If I were running MS, I sure would. If Ballmer had said he couldn't care less about the Mac, and that MS relied solely on their own research, (a) he'd be lying, of course, but (b) all the Macheads would say he's an arrogant in-bred isolationist, unwilling to learn from the market.
This isn't news, or even interesting. Nothing to see here, folks. Move on.
And to those who triumphantly point out that Ballmer equated eWeek's generic "other operating systems" with the Mac, gimme a break. Who else could eWeek be talking about? Linux? Amiga? Ballmer ain't a moron, and the interviewer should have been brave enough to mention the "m" word.
Reply
Prof B said 6:35PM on 9-27-2005
Good thing he's pretty.
Reply
David Chartier said 3:15PM on 11-02-2005
Splashman.. he did mention the M word. If you didn't read over the interview, I highly recommend it.
Reply
Xenedar said 9:22PM on 9-27-2005
Prof B: You innovated the words right out of my mouth.
Reply
EvilMole said 5:37AM on 9-28-2005
It'd be nice now if Apple admitted the same thing: That it "learns" from third parties...
Reply
Jonas said 1:18PM on 9-28-2005
Is this really such a suprise? I bet ALL companies that in any way develop something that has a interface look to its competetitors. That's basic research.
Reply
Chris K said 1:20PM on 9-28-2005
Microsoft admits Apple had a good idea (probably not originally an Apple idea, I'm willing to bet). Sounds good.
Apple rips off Konfabulator. No credit or mention given.
Who's worse?
Reply
The Jeremy said 1:53PM on 9-28-2005
You know, if I had a few billion in the bank like Ballmer, I'd probably get a hair transplant. Come to think of it, that goes for Steve Jobs as well.
Reply
PeterO said 10:51PM on 9-28-2005
The only newsworthy deduction from this article is it's yet another instance of how poor a salesman Ballmer is for Microsoft. C'mon, you're the bloody CEO -- not just a bureaucrat. How about a little excitement for Vista -- it's only a core product?
MS acknowledges it's having trouble getting enterprise, medium, and small business customers to migrate to WinXP from Windows 2000 -- even outside of cyclical hardware procurement. That the head of the company continues to un-inspire the press, tells me he's most comfortable as an administrator, a 'keeper of the market share', if you will. Nevertheless, I think it's incumbent on a CEO to keep the buying public (Ballmer's customers) interested in the company he runs for its shareholders. A little excitement from Ballmer behind a product that's launched every half-decade seems like a no-brainer.
I'm not a MS shareholder (well, maybe via my mutual fund) but if I were, I'd be calling for a far more energetic and visionary leader for my company's top executive and public spokesperson. Maybe this time around MS's strategy for its OS launch is to lower expectations and over-deliver -- a switch from passed launches. Cynically (or not), I think the former is clear, but not the latter....
PS Oops, apologies for what turned out to be a blog
Reply
Splashman said 4:05AM on 9-29-2005
David, I read the article before I commented. Now how about you reading my comment before you comment on it?
I said THE INTERVIEWER didn't use the "M" word.
Reply