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

XBox is Rapidly Turned Into a Slopfarm by Microsoft
Slop isn't about efficiency and saving money
Reboots Should Never be Necessary
"BUT WHAT ABOUT SECURITY!!"
Microsoft's Halloween Documents and systemd, Wayland, Etc.
Maybe one day Wayland will be widespread. Or maybe not.
 
Gemini Links 15/07/2025: Smolweb and Alhena 5.1.7
Links for the day
The Danes Want GNU/Linux
David Heinemeier Hansson recently moved to GNU/Linux
Cory Doctorow Explains Why Software Freedom Matters, Whereas "Open Source" Misses the Point and Helps Monopolies
It's a very long article
BillPR (EpsteinGate-Bribed NPR) is Turning Into a Partial Slopfarm that Promotes Slop
"I went on a date with a chatbot!"
Two Weeks Passed Since Latest Large Wave of Microsoft Layoffs, More Expected Next Month
Blaming the debt on "AI" is just self-serving storytelling
There's Still Hope for the World Wide Web
Let's hope that the trajectory of the Web won't be leading us to over-reliance on Google, nor will it reward worthless slopfarms
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 14, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, July 14, 2025
Gemini Links 15/07/2025: Gemini "Style Sheets" and Switching From Microsoft GitHub to Codeberg
Links for the day
Coming Soon: Another OSI Scandal, This One Implicating Molly de Blanc
OSI has been fairly quiet lately
Outreachy & Debian pregnancy cluster, Meike Reichle evidence
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Again, "Lunduke is Actually Sending His Audience to Attack People"
Microsoft Lunduke is not trying to "protect" Linux
One of the Most Hilarious Things About the Microsoft SLAPPs
It's so ridiculous
Financial Support for the Free Software Foundation or the GNU Project
The FSF has extended until Friday its fund-raising campaign
Illegally Hiding (or Demanding Secrecy Around) Illegal Requests or Attempts at Extortion
unlawful communications like threats
Gemini Links 14/07/2025: BOFH Archive, Updating Old Palm PDAS, and Nginx vs Slop Bots
Links for the day
Ubuntu is Becoming GAFAM-Like
What does that say about Canonical and Ubuntu?
Slopfarms Which Take Real Articles About GNU/Linux and Turn Them Into Copycats Which Are False
Even before the LLM hype those were quite common
The Firm That Picks on Techrights is Accustomed to Working With Criminals
Techrights never did anything illegal. So why is it being picked on by people who work with criminals?
Microsoft Said the Mass Layoffs Were for "Investment" in "AI", But It's Also Laying Off the "AI" and "Copilot" Staff
Months ago we showed many so-called "AI" people were getting the boot and this time it's the same
DryDeadFish is Dead, Long Live DryDeadFish
We kept checking, hoping it can recover from some temporary technical issue
For Quite Some Time Already Microsoft Attracts Crackpots, Scams, and More
Occasionally we talk about the situation at IBM as there are many parallels
Links 14/07/2025: Chatbots Broken Again, McHire LLM Shows Limits of the Hype
Links for the day
Changing One's Name Won't Change One's Past
People who have earned a bad reputation are not magically "entitled" to reset
People Who Assault Women Are Not Victims of "Distress"
It seems like an American tradition. In a country with almost 50 presidents, not even one was a female.
Slashdot Media Turned Linux Journal Into a Slopfarm and Now Slashdot Actively Promotes Anti-Linux Slopfarms
Yes, "no-nonsense" apparently means actual nonsense
Adoption of Gemini Protocol Still Growing
Gemini Protocol is being obscured by the media - it doesn't help that Google 'hijacked' the word "Gemini" - but people still manage to find out about it, download a client, and use it
Links 14/07/2025: Arresting Photographers, Threats to Revoke US Citizenship Over Criticism
Links for the day
More EPO Leaks on the Way
We hope that Mr. Rowan will actually try to refute what we say and show, not merely point the finger at the messengers
Decommodification is a Corporate Strategy Against Communities
systemd is led by Microsoft and hosted by Microsoft
copyleft.org 'Hijacked' by the People Who Attack the Person Who Created Copyleft
So far there's nothing "tasteless" in copyleft.org, but that can change at any time in the future
Asking People to Take Down Articles and Videos Only Makes These More Popular and "Viral"
If you do something bad, one of the worst things you can possibly do it try to silence those who speak about it
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 13, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 13, 2025
Two-Thirds Towards FSF Goal, Richard Stallman to Give Talks in Europe
There are 67 left before reaching the target
Brett Wilson LLP "Takes it Personal" (Character Assassination, Not Professionalism). Everybody Can See That.
On behalf of violent men
Gemini Links 14/07/2025: Politicised Tech and "Leaving GitHub"
Links for the day
Pissing Contests and Pissing Off Everyone
people who came from Microsoft are trying to vex and divide the community
Microsoft Repeats the Mistakes Made by the EPO After We Exposed a Major Microsoft/EPO Scandal 10 Years Ago
That scandal was all over the media, not just in English
The Demise of LLMs
We've just checked BetaNews again. They've dropped all the slop and went back to human authors.
Gemini Links 13/07/2025: Sonpo Museum of Art and FCEUX
Links for the day
Links 13/07/2025: UnitedHealth's Censorship Campaign, Australia Wary of China
Links for the day
Firing Away With Nonsense
Or fighting fire with fire
Links 13/07/2025: Climate Crisis, GAFAM Poisoning the Water
Links for the day
Turns Out LLMs for Code Don't Save Time and Don't Improve Quality
Neither legal nor useful
The Microsofters Will Have an Obligation to Compensate Us
This story isn't just about Microsoft. It's also about corruption, there are many women victims, there is abject "abuse of process", and many more scandals to be illuminated in years to come.
Reproducing at the EPO Instead of Producing Monopolies for Foreign Monopolies With Their Price-Fixing Cartels
Does the EPO recognise the need of well-educated Europeans to bear kids?
Valnet Inc. Dominates Real (Not LLM Slop) GNU/Linux Coverage in 2025
And likely in prior years, too
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Fund Raiser Goes on
Later this month we'll expose another OSI scandal
EPO Staff Representatives Issue a Warning About Staff's Health and Inadequate Care
Even the EPO's own stakeholders (money sources) are openly protesting against what the EPO became
Links 13/07/2025: Partly Assorted News From Deutsche Welle and CBC
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/07/2025: Board Games and Battle Styles
Gemini Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 12, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 12, 2025