Bonum Certa Men Certa

Steve Ballmer Fails in Tablets; Among Microsoft Windows Proponents, Only 9% Want Ballmer to Stay

Steve Ballmer might be the best thing that ever happened to Linux (and worst for Microsoft)

HP Slate - Steve Balmer holds GNU/Linux
Original photo here, fair use for humour purposes



Summary: As Linux grows in portables/mobiles, pressure on Microsoft grows; Microsoft-oriented people begin to ask whether Microsoft should fire Steve Ballmer

THE PREVIOUS post talked about Microsoft's failure in mobile phones. It was only last month that John Dvorak published the article "Whither Microsoft and the Kin," which he summarised as follows:

Software giant is doomed in mobile market


The "mobile market" extends to devices that are somewhere between desktops and mobiles. Sub-notebooks and tablets are key areas and they are growth areas, too. Dvorak's colleague has just been referring to his article (which we missed at the time) and it connects Microsoft's failure in mobile to pressure for Steve Ballmer to leave (or be fired).

A firestorm is raging through the media and the blogosphere these days over Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer and whether or not it's time for him to go.

[...]

It remains to be seen whether Microsoft can catch up in the newest growth engines, smart phones and tablets, both huge rocket ships for rival Apple. Its Windows Phone 7 software is due later this year, but many are already skeptical of its chances for success. See John Dvorak column.

So for now, investors might as well heed Egbert's advice and "stop expecting from Microsoft innovation a la Apple and start expecting low-cost mass market adaptations of popular technologies, a la China."


The industry is moving to mobile devices (even PC/server giants like Dell make phones) and all Ballmer has done do far is the making of promises [1, 2] because of pressure from Apple [1, 2] (Ballmer chooses to ignore or dismiss Linux/Android in tablets as he only names Apple). Well, actually, Android (Linux powered) is the one to catch up with for the same reason that Android phones are overtaking hypePhone. Over at ECT Richard Adhikari acknowledges this and he currently writes about "Microsoft's Mobile Morass":

Microsoft rekindled its on-again, off-again love affair with tablet PCs late last month, as CEO Steve Ballmer told financial analysts that it's giving top priority to its tablet project.

However, he was vague about the details. The tablet would run on Intel's (Nasdaq: INTC) forthcoming Oak Trail processors, he said -- but these won't be available for about another year. At different times, he mentioned Windows 7 and Windows Phone, in a manner that hid more than it revealed about the operating system such a tablet would run.


Microsoft has already tried this with Slate and with Courier, but both are dead before arrival.

Business Insider says that "Steve Ballmer Has No Respect For An Android Tablet" (being blind at one's own peril) and the article begins with:

Steve Ballmer doesn't consider Google's Android a worthy competitor in the burgeoning tablet market. Speaking with analysts on Thursday about tablets, Ballmer said, "If with the application base, with the tools that we have, with the user understanding and momentum and everything going on, we can't compete with...whatever the weird collection of Android machines is going to look like, shame on us."


The interesting thing is that a clear defeat in the mobile space is part of the reason shareholders want Ballmer out (since years ago when they thought Microsoft would buy RIM). Mac-oriented sites are poking fun at Ballmer right now and even Microsoft boosters like Jason Hiner are fed up [1, 2]. Hiner's colleague at TechRepublic (whitepapers pusher filled with Microsoft boosters) weighs in; Inspired by Hiner, Mark Kaelin decides to create a poll: "Should Microsoft fire Steve Ballmer?"

The results at the time of writing are as follows:

# Yes, but take time to find a good replacement (50%) # Yes, ASAP (31%) # Doesn't matter, it's too late (10%) # No, he is doing a great job (9%)

So only less than 10% have confidence in Microsoft's CEO. This is a poll conducted in a Windows blog (it's called "Microsoft Windows"), i.e. it should be seen as tilted in Microsoft's favour. If this poll was conducted in a GNU/Linux-oriented blog, many would vote for Ballmer to stay because he is crushing Microsoft. Being a Linux-hostile bully has caused him great harm.

Recent Techrights' Posts

A Note on SimilarWeb
Or why SimilarWeb is meaningless for more than 99% of the sites on the Web
IBM Said to be Shutting Down Offices or Sites in the United States
the press can no longer avoid admitting that IBM moves many jobs to India
LLM Slop as Attack Vector on the Reputation of Linux
The attacks on Linux have escalated to information warfare
 
Traf-O-Data, the Company That Jeffrey Epstein's BFF (Bill Gates) (Co)Founded 53 Years and Went Out of Business Due to Heavy Losses
Who will die first, Bill or Microsoft?
Why Microsoft's Shares Sank Almost 20% in Recent Months (the Bubble is Imploding)
verified press reports from the past 24 hours
GNU/Linux Rises to Almost 5% in Algeria While Windows Sinks to All-Time Low
GNU/Linux grew tenfold
Where to Get More Gags
A valued reader recommended that to us
Links 04/04/2025: Tech Stock (Inc. GAFAM) Fall, Google Pretends to Do End-to-End Encrypted Emails (With Google in Control)
Links for the day
To Participate in Fedora Diversity You Must Use Proprietary Software
Not for the first time either
Yandex About to Be Three Times Bigger Than Microsoft (Bing) in Asia
That's about 60% of the world's population
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Decoupling Updates, Elaho as Gemini Client
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 03, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 03, 2025
Microsoft's Trouble in Africa and Asia
A new all-time high for GNU/Linux
Brett Wilson LLP Reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
The saddest thing in all this is that law firms can maintain high standards shall they wish to
Links 03/04/2025: Tariff Pains and C.D.C. Cuts
Links for the day
StatCounter: Microsoft is Masking a Disaster, It's Way Behind DeepSeek Already and Interest in LLMs Has Waned
it turns out the money "raised" for "Open" "AI" may not even exist at all
Links 03/04/2025: SoftBank Money for Microsoft "Open" "AI" Probably Doesn't Even Exist, Wikimedia Foundation Blasts LLM Nuisance While Microsoft Admits Demand Has Shrunk
Links for the day
Gemini Links 03/04/2025: Patch Panel and Pictures
Links for the day
Islamic Republic of Iran: GNU/Linux at All-time High This Month, Windows Falls to 12%
Vista 10 is up this month despite being "end of life" (EoL) soon
Indonesia: All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux
What's noteworthy right now is the growth of GNU/Linux
statCounter Says GNU/Linux Usage is Up Again (Internationally)
some preliminary April data
Only on April 1st Can the Free Software Foundation Associate With Microsoft's Open Source Initiative (OSI)
We saw some pranks that day linking the FSF to Microsoft (e.g. "endorsing" Windows)
Confirmed in the Mainstream Media: A Lot of Microsoft "Workloads" Were Just LLM Slop (Helping to Fake Growth for Years, as Microsoft Had Paid "Open" "AI" to Become a "Client") and Demand is Rapidly Waning, Datacentres Canceled and/or Shut Down
Anything to facilitate further accounting fraud
Taiwan's Media Covers Closure of Microsoft's "AI" Lab, It's Time to Talk About the Gradual Death of Windows and Implosion of the "AI" Bubble
Earlier this week we showed that mostly Asian media had the 'nerve' to mention Microsoft silently shutting down its 'AI' lab
IBM Gets Rid of Kelly Chambliss as Mass Layoffs Reported in IBM Consulting, IBM Loses Key Contracts/Graft
IBM Consulting has been in disarray lately
More Gains for GNU/Linux, Based on Web Surveys
the Steam site shows rapid growth for "Linux" this month
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux Articles, Not Even Written by Humans
Why aren't Web sites more vocal about this problem?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 02, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 02, 2025
Links 03/04/2025: Apple Fined Over Secret Surveillance, "Elegant Writer For A More Civilized Age"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: Books and Cold Tea
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: More Layoffs, Nokia Again Takes Advantage of Illegal and Unconstitutional Patent Court With Nokia Staff as 'Judges'
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: Seizures and Returns to Windows of 24 Years Ago
Links for the day
LLM Slop Helps Obscure and Distort News About Layoffs (IBM, GAFAM)
It's hard to find accurate information
Links 02/04/2025: Microsoft Developers Are Threatening to Go on Strike, World Backup Day Noted
Links for the day
Gemini Protocol Has Growing Appeal (the Web Got Too Bloated and Full of LLM Slop)
For any "data plan" with bandwidth limits or "tiers" it would be cheaper to use/browse Geminispace
The Web Can Survive LLM Slop, But Only If We Collectively Shun and Discourage Serial Sloppers
Doing nothing ought not be a possibility
Amid Secret Shut-downs and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (4 Waves of Layoffs in 3 Months of 2025) Some Microsoft Staff Expected to Go On Strike
workers going on strike
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: No more on Mastodon and Gemini Mention Script in Go
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 01, 2025
My Motion Disbarring or “Striking Off” Brett Wilson LLP for Enabling Violent Americans Who Try to Crush Microsoft Critics in the United Kingdom by Multiple SLAPPs
"Guns for hire" (for Microsoft people who received Microsoft salaries)
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Hijacked Again by Patent Litigation Industry, as President Cheeto Prioritises Aggressors
The "mafia" has taken over the "industry" and the Federal system (justice and constitutions trampled upon)
Ubuntu Slop and FUD Manufactured With LLMs and Funded (by Oneself) 'Studies'
Slop and FUD are ruining the Web