Ballmer Announces Retirement From Microsoft

[onehandle]

Source: New York Times



Steve Ballmer, who succeeded Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates as chief executive of the company in 2000, will retire within the next 12 months, the software giant said Friday. “There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time,” Mr. Ballmer said in a statement on the company’s Web site.

Mr. Ballmer, 57, will stay on until a successor is chosen by a special committee of the board of directors that includes John W. Thompson, the board’s lead independent director, and Mr. Gates, chairman of the company. The committee will consider both internal and external candidates, the company said.

“My original thoughts on timing would have had my retirement happen in the middle of our company’s transformation to a devices and services company,” Mr. Ballmer said in the statement. “We need a C.E.O. who will be here longer term for this new direction.”

In early trading, Microsoft stock jumped more than 7 percent to $34.84 a share.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/technology/ballmer-announces-retirement-from-microsoft.html

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Finally! The one and only reason he was ever CEO was because he was Bill Gates' college roommate.

I have a number of friends at Microsoft that will be celebrating today.

Ballmer fired everyone around himself, when he was the problem.

The Surface Tablet was one of the biggest tech flops in history.

[BumRushDaShow]

1. Link

Ballmer Announces Retirement From Microsoft
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: August 23, 2013


Steve Ballmer, who succeeded Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates as chief executive of the company, will retire within the next 12 months, the software giant said Friday.

“There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time,” Mr. Ballmer said in a statement on the company’s Web site.

Mr. Ballmer will stay on until a successor is chosen by a special committee of the board of directors that includes John W. Thompson, the board’s lead independent director, and Mr. Gates, chairman of the company. The committee will consider both internal and external candidates, the company said.

“My original thoughts on timing would have had my retirement happen in the middle of our company’s transformation to a devices and services company,” Mr. Ballmer said in the statement. “We need a C.E.O. who will be here longer term for this new direction.”


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/technology/ballmer-announces-retirement-from-microsoft.html?ref=technology&_r=0

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

2. Heh!

[cprise]

3. Surface tablets will live on in infamy

...like some kind of toxic waste that can't be reclaimed (or the E.T. game cartridges that Atari had to dump in a landfill).

There is no way to undo Microsoft's software perfidy on that hardware... its absolute lock-in.

[DainBramaged]

4. Microsoft Bob and the Surface tablet

infamy

[jtuck004]

6. Chart of Ballmer's careeer...

Here.

Oh, I mean MIcro$oft's share of connected devices.

I remember when companies used to pay a person to learn their machines. Micro$oft found a way to get people who like to work on computers to subsidize their own training out of pocket with their seriously questionable public training material and adequate products. Perhaps the only good thing I have ever found about their materials is they don't teach on a gun range, else there would be dead bodies laying everywhere.

Linux, in all its flavors, has made AMAZING strides forward in the past few years. For the average person for whom the Internet is nothing but a big web site, there is little reason to use anything else. If they ever focus on a marketing strategy, give folks a bit more of a single place to call, a bit more handholding, and put in the management tools that M$ now has on the desktop, it will erode M$'s market share even more on the desktop in business.

[hughee99]

7. A true innovator. It's sad to lose the guy who brought us the Surface Tablet, the Zune and Vista.nt

[Yavin4]

14. You forgot Windows ME

It's very popular among the S&M crowd. Doms force their subs to use it for a critical project.

[daleo]

19. My wife's laptop has home vista

I am constantly amazed when I use it, just how bad it is.

[hughee99]

20. It's almost like they user-tested it,

and did the opposite of whatever was suggested.

[afertal]

8. Not about Surface or Windows 8

Whether you like Ballmer or not, this is not about Windows 8 or the Surface, both of which are years ahead of Apple iToys...

As of today, Windows 8 is way ahead of the competition in integrating a touch and a mouse interface and the Surface Pro is the only real PC available in a Tablet Form Factor that supports an Enterprise Grade OS. I've been using one since the day they were released and will never get sucked in by one of Apple's marketing campaigns masquerading as a High-Tech 'product'.

Those of you criticizing Microsoft's products are likely the same ones who feel that Steve Jobs was a technical genius.... Get a clue....he was nothing more than one of the great marketing hucksters of all time!

Ballmer got Microsoft thrugh a criitical transitional period and it is now time for him to move on. So be it. This is not, in my opinion, product related.

[onehandle]

9. It's amazing how many 'different' IDs here at DU bring up Apple or Steve Jobs...

...'out of the blue' when neither were in the OP.

[wilt the stilt]

11. I'm in high tech

and I think many people do not think Jobs was a technical genius but he was not a "marketing huckster" either. The bottom line is Jobs affected the consumer more that microsoft. If you want to look at the history. Bill gates came from Preston, Gates and Ellis(know them very well). He started with a lot of seed money and he bought DOS. He then made a genius business move and got it put on every IBM PC. He stole lotus 123 and made it excel same happened with word perfect, Basically his business model is to buy a competing ok product and then give it away for free and crush any competition. He is doing it right now in enterprise search and it is basically his same plan for sequel server.

Jobs on the other hand did impact everyone by working with Wozniak and making the first truly successful PC. he then changed music with the IPOD and totally changed the cell phone market with the iphone. Look around and everyone uses a smartphone. All samsung is a copy His impact is truly incredible. Only an idiot would call him a huckster.

[wilt the stilt]

13. my friend worked on the NT litigation

this is how bad it was . property of DEC was actually in the code. Microsoft was so lazy they didn't even take it out. they left it in and just payed it off. nice eh! Is this your idea of innovation? learn something about real high tech.

[Yavin4]

15. And folks complain about how rappers sample music

A lot of shit in IT is fucking stolen from someone.

[wilt the stilt]

16. ton's of stuff is stolen

but as blatant as not taking out "property of DEC" in the code. now that is balls. here is my argument with rap. if you are a musician you either have to play an instrument(most can play multiple instruments) or if you "sing" you have to carry a tune. My bet is most rappers can't do either play an instrument or carry a tune.

[Safetykitten]

10. Here we go....

Oh, and just so you know...Windows 8.1 does not work or play well with DU. For the record, I think Microsoft is FABULOUS! I love them.

[wilt the stilt]

12. read above post. the true story of microsoft

[fujiyama]

17. You know you've been a shitty CEO

when your company's shares shoot up dramatically right after you announce your retirement.

I get the impression Balmer was a loudmouth, bullying creep. A friend of mine that works at Microsoft said they had gone to some sort of work event at CenturyLink field and he said Balmer sounded and looked like he was nuts.

The ironic thing is, is that Microsoft's Windows 8 "flat" look is pretty clean and elegant compared to Apple's older "skeumorphic" design used for all earlier iOS versions. Ives is certainly not a fan of skeumorphism and the newer iOS reflects that. But I still understand most user's reluctance to change to Windows 8. Some tasks just strike me as unnecessarily more complex than need be, though my experience with Windows 8 has been minimal. Microsoft has also seemingly dropped the ball on the new gaming console, focusing more on social networking than the gaming experience - at least from what I've heard.

[Rain Mcloud]

18. I would have fired the moron

when he shut down TCP/IP(internet Protocols)for Win95.
He later changed his mind when he saw some of the developers watching and sharing Apple video clips.

Here is the Grand Pooba in a commercial from way back in 1986(except in Nebraska).
[link:

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