Ballmer admits a rip-off?

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.

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

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.

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?

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.

It'd be nice now if Apple admitted the same thing: That it "learns" from third parties...

Prof B: You innovated the words right out of my mouth.

Splashman.. he did mention the M word. If you didn't read over the interview, I highly recommend it.

Good thing he's pretty.

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.