ballmer

Microsoft is going to turn up the heat on Apple, with a more aggressive focus on hardware, CEO Steve Ballmer said in an interview with Computer Reseller News.

After making predictable declarations about advantages in the corporate "enterprise" software market, he said that "we are not going to let any piece of this [go uncontested to Apple]...Not the consumer cloud. Not hardware software innovation. We are not leaving any of that to Apple by itself. Not going to happen. Not on our watch," according to CRN.

"Hardware-software innovation" is the operative phrase here, … Read more

Since Microsoft unveiled its first Microsoft-branded PCs, the Surfaces, in late June, I've been wondering how ambitious the company's scale-up plans were.

Today at the Worldwide Partner Conference opening keynote, I got an answer. CEO Steve Ballmer told attendees Microsoft's goal is to sell "a few million Surface PCs" in the coming year. (I actually thought I heard Ballmer say "a few millions," with an "s.") Ballmer also said that according to estimates, there will be 375 million Windows PCs sold in the next 12 months. His implication was there would … Read more

It's almost time for those of us in the U.S. to disappear for a holiday and indulge in some tofu pups. Or other Fourth of Julyish foods of one's choosing.

In that spirit, I'm going to do you a favor. Don't waste a lot of time on the "Microsoft Downfall" story in the August issue of Vanity Fair. I don't say this because I am critical of negative Microsoft stories. I've written a few of those myself over the years, weeks, and months.

But if you follow Microsoft, you've read … Read more

A year ago, the influential hedge fund manager David Einhorn was calling for Steve Ballmer's head.

It was time to give someone else a chance, Einhorn, the president of Greenlight Capital, told an investor conference. "His [Ballmer's] continued presence is the biggest overhang on Microsoft's stock."

Microsoft had long been milking its installed base and enterprise business for profits -- Windows still accounts for more than 90 percent of the desktop market -- while rivals swept into tech's hot growth areas. The stock was going nowhere, at the time trading just above $24 per … Read more

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer didn't actually say that there will a half-billion Windows 8 users next year, despite earlier reports.

Earlier this week, AFP reported that Ballmer told attendees at the Seoul Digital Forum in Korea that there could be 500 million Windows 8 users worldwide next year. As one might expect, the online world was set ablaze by the news, since it took Windows 7 some 18 months to hit only 350 million licenses.

However, soon after the report was published, Microsoft issued a statement to Computerworld saying that Ballmer's comments were taken out of context, and … Read more

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer predicts that more than 500 million people will be using Windows 8 by the end of next year, AFP reports.

Ballmer, who was speaking at a forum in Seoul, South Korea, also expects Windows 7 to hit the 350 million device milestone later this year.

Windows 8 was described by Ballmer as the "deepest, broadest, and most impactful" operating system the company has made to date. He promised the "best economic opportunity" for hardware makers and Metro application developers who opt to support the upcoming operating system.

Corporate and enterprise demand have … Read more

Windows 8 will hit the market in the fourth quarter, according to a Fujitsu product road map.

Touting its upcoming notebooks and tablets in a press conference yesterday, the company displayed one slide that showed a Win8 launch destined for "Q4 2012." Revealed by Italian blogging site NetbookItalia (English translation), the slide also showed a tablet with a Metro user interface, suggesting that Fujitsu is prepping a Windows 8 tablet for the same time frame.

In fact, as some reports have pointed out, the slide may actually be referring specifically to the debut of the Fujitsu tablet, meaning … Read more

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who is worth about $14 billion, has gone paperless, and truly believes that the only difference between Microsoft and Apple in the mobile market is that the iPhone maker made one right decision--choosing ARM chips for its smartphone, rather than Intel's battery-hogging alternatives.

That's about all you're going to learn about the man in a sprawling seven-page profile from Businessweek. True to his desire to control how Microsoft is perceived by consumers, Ballmer let little go in the profile, and instead tried to keep positive about his company's prospects in 2012, saying … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Microsoft had one last shot to go out with a bang at the Consumer Electronics Show today but instead opted to take a victory lap or two.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer did a lot of shouting and talking, but didn't say anything too substantive in his final keynote address at CES. Instead, the company chose to run through a number of its upcoming--but previously announced--projects, from Windows Phone to Windows 8.

The company, however, did say it would bring the Xbox 360 peripheral Kinect to Windows on February 1, and Ballmer said the motion-sensor device has sold 18 … Read more