No topics on Steve Ballmer's Retirement?

[Mystic]

I am not going to argue the whole thing again about tablet computers versus desktop computers. All I know is that when I come home and want to work on photographs I want my desktop computer with the large monitor and the photo printer and scanner already hooked up to it. I am not going to try to work on photographs using Lightroom 5, Photoshop CS6, Aperture 3.4.5, or Photoshop Elements 11 using a tablet computer. If somebody else wants to do that they can enjoy the eye strain. And it is kind of nice to have the desktop computer using Microsoft Office also. Fads come and go. For a long time everybody was talking about how they wanted a larger monitor. People wanted to go from small screen TVs to large screen TVs. Now everybody wants to stare into smaller and smaller monitors on tablet computers and cellphones. Pretty funny when you stop to think about it. I will continue to enjoy my larger monitors and not follow the herd.

Pretty funny all the Microsoft haters also. I use what equipment works for ME! If the equipment that works best is Windows and Microsoft software, that is what I will use. If the best equipment is Apple software, that is what I will use. No fads for me. I used both Windows and Apple Computers for a very long time. I have owned a lot of Mac Computers but not a single iPhone, iPod, or iPad. And not a single Windows tablet for that matter. I don't want to walk around with a cellphone continually glued to my ear. I don't need to talk on the telephone 24/7. And I sure am not going to try to work on photographs while I walk down the street carrying a tablet computer. You can keep all of that junk. I don't need it. I don't need an iPod to play my music. I can burn my music to a CD and listen to it on my perfectly functioning CD player in my car. The blank CD is nice and cheap.

Yes, there are a lot of Linux servers. But there are still only about 1% to 2% Linux desktop computers compared to Windows and Mac. There are reasons for that but it is a waste of time trying to explain it to the Linux promoters. I still remember when they predicted the death of Microsoft about 15 years ago however.

They should fire whoever at Microsoft dreamed up the UI for Windows 8 but once you install Start8 and a little other software you find out how terrific Windows 8 is. I would not want to go back to Windows 7 now.

Anyway, this post is about Steve Ballmer's retirement. I am glad he is leaving. I just hope they find somebody good to replace him.

Unlike the Microsoft haters here I don't worry too much about the future. Somebody has to met the needs of computer users and whoever meets my needs gets my business. I do a little more on a computer than the low information computer users who just use email, maybe play a few games, and use the internet and Facebook and Twitter. I work on photographs. Somebody will meet the needs of photographers. If it is Microsoft and Adobe they will get my business. If it is Apple they will get my business. I pretty much gave up on Linux a long time ago but you never can tell. Maybe they will surprise me. Not likely, but anything can happen.

 

[TrevorS]

Originally Posted By: jimbrewer
The market cap for Microsoft went up about $15 billion the minute the news was announced.

I was thinking: I'm a pretty bad employee. I talk too much and laugh too loud. I abuse the company vehicles and take long lunch hours.

I'm not so bad though, that the value of my company would go up 5% if I quit.


Great post!

Short too!

 

[demarpaint]

Wishful thinking, bring Bill Gates back.

 

[NJC]

Originally Posted By: ToyotaNSaturn
Word on the street is that he was forcefully being pushed out, perhaps a hush-hush firing?

http://blogs.computerworld.com/windows/22711/steve-ballmer-was-fired-so-what-now-itbwcw

I doubt many CEO's want to really retire ... the tell-tale sign is that "Bob / Sue wants to retire to spend more time with their family...." It's saving face, and it's often done professionally and behind closed doors.

He was canned IMO.

 

[NJC]

Back in Feb of 2005, Michael S Malone wrote a post titled Silicon Insider: R.I.P. Microsoft? for ABC news.
Quote:
Great, healthy companies not only dominate the market, but share of mind. Look at Apple these days. But when was the last time you thought about Microsoft, except in frustration or anger? The company just announced a powerful new search engine, designed to take on Google -- but did anybody notice? Meanwhile, open systems world -- created largely in response to Microsoft's heavy-handed hegemony -- is slowly carving away market share from Gates & Co.: Linux and Firefox hold the world's imagination these days, not Windows and Explorer. The only thing Microsoft seems busy at these days is patching and plugging holes.

Speaking of Gates: if you remember, he was supposed to be going back into the lab to recreate the old MS alchemy. But lately it seems -- statesmanship being the final refuge of the successful entrepreneur -- that he's been devoting more time to philanthropy than capitalism. And though Steve Ballmer is legendary for his sound and fury, these days his leadership seems to be signifying nothing.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/SiliconInsider/print?id=508399

 

[Mystic]

February of 2005 is ancient history in computer terms. 15 years is ancient history also and it was about 15 years ago that the Linux fans said that Microsoft was going to be dead.

Currently Apple is not doing so well. Their computer, iPad, and iPod sales are down and they are selling iPhones for a lot less than they used to. They need dynamic new products. Only things I have seen so far are the new Mac Pro which does not impress me that much, and a new OS X-Mavericks, which seems like a fairly small upgrade.

Microsoft is simply not going to be dead in the next few years. There are already too many desktop computers in the world running Windows and there is a need for businesses to go from Windows XP to Windows 7 or 8. If Microsoft would correct the UI problem with Windows 8 they might have a lot of sales-Windows 8 is actually a good OS. But they might be too arrogant to listen to what people are saying. A lot of business hardware and software runs on Windows.

Google is doing great and their stock is up.

I don't see Linux amounting to much except for servers, various special applications, and some tablet and cellphone applications. 15 years is an eternity in computer years and that is about how long various so called 'experts' have been saying that Linux OSs were going to replace Windows on desktops.

I am actually more concerned about Apple than Microsoft. I hope they keep their computers viable because if they start losing big in the mobile computing field they are going to need their desktop computers to fall back on.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Mystic
I don't see Linux amounting to much except for servers, various special applications, and some tablet and cellphone applications. 15 years is an eternity in computer years and that is about how long various so called 'experts' have been saying that Linux OSs were going to replace Windows on desktops.

Remember, though, that the average Linux installation isn't a "product" per se, as is a Windows license. Hypothetically, of course, if it ever became mandatory that computers be sold without an OS (or no OS included as part of the price and must be purchased separately), and they were either add on options with a clear price listed, or simply had to be purchased or downloaded and installed by the end buyer, we'd see things differently. MS and Apple would have to re-examine their strategies very carefully.

MS and Apple have an incentive to ensure that Linux doesn't replace their operating systems on desktop. "Linux" has no such incentive. If someone wants to use it, great. If they don't want to, who cares? It's not forgone revenue for "Linux" like it is for Apple and MS.

As you and I have both mentioned in other threads, both companies had better pay attention to the desktop market. It's not going away. I refuse to type on a laptop, much less a tablet or a blasted telephone. And I hardly see an iPhone competing with an Alienware setup for gaming. Then again, with the attention spans of kids these days, anything is possible.

 

[itguy08]

Originally Posted By: Mystic

Currently Apple is not doing so well. Their computer, iPad, and iPod sales are down and they are selling iPhones for a lot less than they used to. They need dynamic new products. Only things I have seen so far are the new Mac Pro which does not impress me that much, and a new OS X-Mavericks, which seems like a fairly small upgrade.

I am actually more concerned about Apple than Microsoft. I hope they keep their computers viable because if they start losing big in the mobile computing field they are going to need their desktop computers to fall back on.


If you follow the desktop numbers, yes Apple declined. But they declined at a smaller pace than all the PC manufacturers except Lenovo who increased market share.

Yes, iPad sales were down last quarter. But iPhone had another blowout quarter:
http://bgr.com/2013/07/23/apple-earnings-q3-2013-financials/

It's stil the #1 smartphone in the US, and still accounts for around 1/2 of all smartphone sales at Verizon and AT&T. It's doing fine.

As far as their computers - they are still the best. Still the top performers in their class and still excellent machines. Picked up a 27" iMac last month and love it. Fast, great display, and a great all around machine. Overkill for many but coming from a 2008 MacBook Pro Unibody it's night and day faaster.

I think the Mac Pro is cool but I hope they don't price it out of the park - they should have it in around iMac prices - I think they would sell lots at that price point,

I think Apple will be fine. We're seeing a shift in the industry which happens every 10-20 years and they are leading the charge. Yes, MS isn't going anywhere but lots of stuff ran on IBM mainframes back in the day and lots of companies ran NetWare and look where we are now... Change doesn't happen overnight but slowly. Smart companies stay away from Microsoft as often as possible because it allows for better data portability in the future should needs, business trends, or software requirements change.

 

[apwillard1986]

I think some of our perception is colored by the fact that the computer industry itself is far more dynamic than it has been in the past three decades. It used to be you had one dreadnaught of a company controlling a huge percentage of the market simply because that market was more concise and their offering the most popular. Now, the computer market is exceptionally diverse and I think we are seeing these companies start to carve out more specialized market share. They may never be as powerful as they where a decade or two ago but I doubt they will go anywhere…

 

[Mystic]

I am glad that Linux does provide competition to MS and Apple for desktop computers. And maybe Google will be able to make that competition better. I think more competition when it comes to available OSs for desktop computers would be a very good thing. Because without that competition you eventually have some powerful people who do not seem to listen to the consumers making decisions. For example, that UI for Windows 8 in my opinion was a very bad decision but underneath that nonsense is actually a pretty good OS. If Windows 8 had been done right MS actually would have had an OS that could be setup fro any device, from a touch screen tablet to a desktop computer. And MS actually would have leaped past Apple.

Although big wheels at MS and Apple do not know this, and probably never will, the consumer ultimately has the power. If their needs are not being met they will go elsewhere. It seems to me that whenever some corporation gets rich and powerful enough, there is always some out of touch big wheels making the wrong decisions.

 

[Mystic]

I like OS X and in many ways it is superior to Windows. And I own an iMac. What worries me about Apple is how serious they actually are in producing and supporting professional quality software for the Mac. As a photographer I need software for working on photos. If Apple drops Aperture or makes it just a consumer application I am going to be very disappointed. Of course, I can still run Lightroom 5 on my Mac. But people worry that Adobe will eventually be completely subscription based.

With Apple Mac sales making up only about 15% of Apple revenue I think the desktop Mac has become an afterthought for Apple. It has already taken Apple so long to come out with a new version of Aperture that many Aperture certified trainers have even switched to Lightroom 5. The one good thing is there is some other competition such as Corel After Effect and ACDsee. If both Apple with Aperture and Adobe with Lightroom get too goofy I might wind up switching to Corel products.

 

[javacontour]

Holding imagination and making money are two different things.

Sun, before it became Oracle had lots of imagination. However, we didn't make so much money once the Dot.COM thing petered out.


Oracle, makes money, but I wouldn't say it has as much imagination.

It takes a balance to remain profitable in the marketplace.

Imagination <> Profitable

Originally Posted By: NJC
Back in Feb of 2005, Michael S Malone wrote a post titled Silicon Insider: R.I.P. Microsoft? for ABC news.
Quote:
Great, healthy companies not only dominate the market, but share of mind. Look at Apple these days. But when was the last time you thought about Microsoft, except in frustration or anger? The company just announced a powerful new search engine, designed to take on Google -- but did anybody notice? Meanwhile, open systems world -- created largely in response to Microsoft's heavy-handed hegemony -- is slowly carving away market share from Gates & Co.: Linux and Firefox hold the world's imagination these days, not Windows and Explorer. The only thing Microsoft seems busy at these days is patching and plugging holes.

Speaking of Gates: if you remember, he was supposed to be going back into the lab to recreate the old MS alchemy. But lately it seems -- statesmanship being the final refuge of the successful entrepreneur -- that he's been devoting more time to philanthropy than capitalism. And though Steve Ballmer is legendary for his sound and fury, these days his leadership seems to be signifying nothing.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/SiliconInsider/print?id=508399