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Steve Ballmer: We Won't Be Out-Innovated By Apple Anymore
An anonymous reader tips an article about comments from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer regarding Microsoft's attitude toward Apple. It seems Microsoft is tired of being behind the curve in most areas of the tech market, and will be trying very hard to prevent Apple and other companies from beating them to the punch in the future. From the article:
"In a recent interview, Ballmer explained that the company had ceded innovations in hardware and software to Apple, but that the-times-they-are-a-'changin. 'We are trying to make absolutely clear we are not going to leave any space uncovered to Apple,' Ballmer explained. '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.' ... An admirable goal, but it's fair to argue that attempting to innovate everywhere results in innovation nowhere. A big part of the reason Apple has been so successful is that they devote the bulk of their attention to only a few select market areas. By trying to innovate everywhere, so to speak, Microsoft runs the continued risk of spreading itself too thin and not really having a fundamental impact in any one market."
They've been innovating and not creating products. Microsoft has been very conservative. Go to http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/ and you'll be shocked how many cool ideas aren't seeing the light of day because they've been strategically focused and conservative. If Microsoft is willing to start taking risks again, and Windows 8 so far surely qualifies, I think it might get fun in tech again.
When you go back a while, when die Microsoft ever really "Invent" something?
DOS bought from Seattle Computer Products, idea for Windows in general nicked from Xerox, Browser taken over from NCSA Mosaic, PSTools acquired from Sysinternals, etc....
The only difference now seems to be that Apple isn't willing to be bought up and/or hoodwinked into giving up their innovation to MS.
Walk into any office. Count the number of Apple and Linux desktops. Blush and admit you're an idiot.
"then they laugh at you"
"then they fight you"
"and then you win."
And of course the "then they laugh at you" is very well documented.
I love the part where he says (of the Motorola Q), "it'll do music, it'll do... uh, internet...". Ah, Steve, you slay me.
Apple hasn't ploughed 24 Billion of shareholder money into dead-end R&D with no discernible return over the past 11 years.
One could argue that the competitive advantage of Microsoft labs comes from keeping good researchers funded, away from useful work elsewhere - the advancement of which would only make Micosoft look even worse in comparison!
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."