On Jul 28, 3:20 pm, Roy Schestowitz <newsgro...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> Johnson's departure from Microsoft probably abrupt
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | Remarks from Chief Executive Steve Ballmer at that meeting certainly indicate
> | the move was a surprise.
> `----
> http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoft/2008076703_btdownload...
I snipped the other references, because I just wanted to respond to
the general thread.
It does look like Microsoft is losing a lot of it's top executives,
much like rats deserting a sinking ship.
Bill Gates had a certain leadership style, and he know how to use
Ballmer's "Bull-dog" persona in "good cop/bad cop" scenarios.
Now that Bill is gone, some of Ballmer's uglier habits are going
unchecked.
Ballmer has a nasty temper, he also tends to get fixated and doesn't
get distracted.
That's great when you are trying to get the next version of Windows
rolled out, or you're trying to get OEMs and ISVs to honor their
minimum commitments, but it's not a good idea if you are focused on
something that may not be in the best interests of the general
investment community as a whole.
Ballmer seems obsessed with destroying Google. I suppose this is
because Google is the shining example of the success of Linux. It
might also have something to do with the fact that Google has a
clearer picture of the whole industry than anybody, including
Microsoft, and will make that information available (for a price).
Google also leads the market in advertizing revenue, but they also
direct several times their own revenue to other content providers who
can profit from Google's referrals.
Ballmer's obsession with getting Yahoo, almost no matter what the
price, and his hopes of somehow turning Yahoo into a showcase for
Microsoft technology, seems to be totally ignorant of the fact that
Yahoo, almost since it's founding was based on OSS, including BSD
Unix, and other GPL and OSS services and applications.
When the numbers came out the way they did in the last quarterly
report, I was quite surprised, but also alarmed. Microsoft seems to
be pressing their own pants while they are wearing them. Their
revenues were up, but so were their costs. They still don't
acknowledge the rejection of Vista, claiming that all of the Vista
licenses sold were actually used for Vista.
These upper level executives may also be aware of other "shake-downs"
at Microsoft, such as hard-line quotas based on fantasy numbers that
would require corporate customers to fully embrace not only Vista,
Office 2007, and Windows 2008 server, but also would require that they
purchase new licenses and premium support for all of this new
software, at a time when fuel prices and the housing collapse are
hitting everything from the cost of an airplane ticket to the price of
a hamburger.
Credit is tight. The economy is slowing down. U.S. Car Makers and
Dealers are going through upheaval as SUVs fall out of favor.
Many companies are cutting staff.
IT budgets are being scrutinized by the CFO, COO, and CEO.
and Microsoft is telling their sales force that their quotas are
supposed to increase to cover the slow uptake of Vista and Office
2007.
In effect, Microsoft, under Steve Ballmer is in the same dilusional
state that IBM was under John Akers back in 1991.
Some of these people may also be getting wind of more illegal
activities, including securities violations, criminal activities, and
other hard-core tactics, without that velvet glove finesse of Bill
Gates II and Bill Gates III.
Bill used to get away with amazing stunts, because it was carefully
scripted and orchestrated by his father, an outstanding corporate
lawyer with a real talent for writting creative contracts and
settlements that let businesses continue "business as usual" even
after losing in the court-room.
Bill was appearantly a great poker player because he could make you
think he had nothing as he gradually raised the stakes until you were
in too deep. By the time you realized that he actually did have a
"hot hand" he'd already cleaned you out. Or he might be bluffing all
the way to the point where you are too scared to call. At that point,
you're both trying to "out-bluff" each other, and Bill doesn't back
down.
When Ballmer is telling a tall tale, you can tell. Just like the
"crazy stevie" Windows 1.0 commercials. When you see that ad, and you
see the reality of Windows 1.0, you realize that Steve Ballmer was "in
sane" (as the crazy eddie commercials would end).
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