Microsoft Shareholders Grill CEO On Apple, iPhone Success
11:21 am, November 20th, 2009, Ed Sutherland
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer fielded heated questions from the software giant’s shareholders Thursday concerned about losing younger consumers to Apple. Responding to a question on how best to market to the “next generation” of computer users, Ballmer remarked that there “is a group of people with whom our market share is less.”
Although Apple CEO Steve Jobs was recently voted the “most admired entrepreneur” among the 12 to 17 year-old age group, Ballmer told the audience “it is important to remember that 96 times out of 100 worldwide, people choose a PC with Windows – that’s a good thing,” according to Seattle, Wash.-based TechFlash.
Asked how Microsoft plans to compete against the iPhone and Google’s Android cell phone operating system, Ballmer said the Redmond, Wash.-based company intends to “focus on the software that goes into phones as opposed to building phones.”
In another exchange, Ballmer, who succeeded founder Bill Gates to lead the Windows maker, said Apple’s advances amounted to a “couple of tenths of a percent of market share.” The Microsoft CEO quickly added “every couple of tenths matter. They matter when we’re increasing our Bing market share, too.” Microsoft’s upstart search engine Bing is attempting to shave some market share from search leader Google.
The remarks resembled earlier comments Ballmer made on Apple’s increasing market share. In July Ballmer told financial analysts Apple’s upswing was a “a rounding error.”
Although Microsoft founder Bill Gates attended the annual shareholders’ meeting, he did not participate in the give-and-take with the audience, reports said Friday.
[Via TechFlash and AppleInsider]
Posted by Ed Sutherland in News | Comment on this article
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Quite interesting that Microsoft is still refusing to see the obvious.
Here in Germany many many people are moving away from Windows PCs towards Macs. Next big buy will not be a PC for many, but a Mac.
Reflektionen, on November 20th, 2009 at 11:29 am
“it is important to remember that 96 times out of 100 worldwide, people choose a PC with Windows…”
Is “choosing” the same as “taking whatever OS the PC comes with”? If Mac’s were cheap and commodity priced like PC’s, the playing field would likely be very, very different than what it is today.
Ken, on November 20th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Glad to hear what Reflektionen reports, and Ken is right.
Remember also that PCs are bought in large numbers by shortsighted corporations ~ and the people who go to work there… certainly don’t “choose” Windows.
I was disappointed that an artist friend of mine couldn’t stretch to the price of a 17″ MacBook: Instead, he was seduced by an Acer laptop, half the cost, further reduced in price with Vista preinstalled. The Acer laptop wasn’t too bad: the screen was surprisingly good for a PC laptop… but oh God: Microsoft Windows Vista ~
WHAT A MESS!
iFanboy, on November 20th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
MS survives through two types of consumer. The businesses, they have too much legacy software a lot of the time and it’s easier to buy something everyone knows, plus MS offer massive discounts to big corps in bulk license orders. Businesses have an easy time of hiring VB/.Net coders, they are two-a-penny, for the the XYZ dept’s latest web-based project. So MS pushes businesses hard with big discounts, to keep them locked into using MS. How may places don’t run Exchange, with Outlook on the desktops? Not many I’ll warrant.
The other type is average Joe on the street. The kids use Windows at school, parents use Windows at work, all the the local computer chain sells is Windows ( plus some of those funny expensive, fruity silver machines that don’t run proper Windows! ), so Joe Public buys Windows. It’s the cheapest, easiest to use, he can always find help, paid at a shop or unpaid off a mate of a mate, when something goes wrong. Plus he can rip games and copies of Office of his mate who works in IT!
Having said that, I now believe that with the iPhone and iPod becoming so ubiquitous, people visiting the various Apple outlets, both physical stores and online, they suddenly realise that Apple also offer an alternative computer to a Windows PC.
Using my family as an example. My old man, got sick of Windows falling over, so he bought a Mac 3 years ago and refuses point blank to go back to Windows. He’s 71 years old! He has next to no IT knowledge, just enjoys collecting stats on his bird spotting, but even he has noticed how much more solid his user experience is. He doesn’t have to waste money on Norton or McAfee security suites, he can spend the money on other more useful bits of software like FileMaker.
My wife, worshipped Windows, swore she would never move, even when we bought her a Mac, she only used it once in a while. Eventually her trusty HP Windows box blew up, I lied and said it would take a week to fix the blown out power supply, so she grudingly used the Mac. When I finally fixed the HP, the first thing she did was ask about buying and looking for the Mac versions of her favourite software and what was the quickest way to get the files off the Windows box to the Mac! Two years later, she refuses to use Windows and never wants to go back, hates using Windows when she is forced to occasionally at work, instead insisting on taking her MacBook in to use, as she has proved time and again it’s simply far more efficient at getting things done.
People are not shown the alternatives, they are brainwashed into believing you have Hobson’s Choice with computers, more people are finding that the old adage holds true, “Once you go Mac, you never go back!’
Fuzzypig, on November 20th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
First off, I’m clueless as to just where Ballmer gets his stat of 96/100 in favor of PCs. That number might, MIGHT have been true 10 or so years ago, if ever. I don’t beleive it’s ever been that low.
Second, if that POS really beleives that, it’s a prime example of why we dispise MS. They hold on to yesteryear, not inovative in the least, boring, and dis-honest. That is a flat out FALSE stat and everyoneknows it.
Everytime I hear BS from this joke of a CEO, iwant to throw up. And by the way, I live in a Seattle suberb and really think that journalist who gave that stat in that Seattle paper should have to prove his BS stat.
Every day, it’s things like this that make me more and more a mac devotee. I flat out can’t stand Ballmer and MS, period. And I don’t say that about a lot of things.
Sorry if I mispelled any words as I’m writhing this on my iPhone in a hospital where I work. I had to respond to this.
Steven, on November 20th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
LOL
My sentiments EXACTLY Steven, although I have the added benefit of not having to sit on the same continent as that a$$hole. Total ass, he really is the cliché of a fat cat boss with my particular talent other than pushing lies out to the populous that unfortunately are so unaware of any alternatives they lap it up because they don’t know any different.
I agree with 110% of everything you say, I was a Mac convert in 2007 and since then I have 2 Mac minis, iMac, MacBook Air, iPods, iPhone, iEverything. Just stunning, they all blow my mind away with their amazing performance, look and feel, AND the fact that MicroShite have nothing to do with them.
I love your sense of humour too! Well said that man!
Steven (UK)
Steven (UK), on November 21st, 2009 at 10:31 am
Yes, for me the last straw with Windows was with XP, when using their Windows Update process, it infected and destroyed all of my work and their backup stuff sucks anyways. I switched to Mac getting the G5 PowerMac (IBM PowerPC processor) and I still use it today, it is my main desktop computer <– this was in 2006. Then I bought the wife a MacBook, she still loved it (Intel processor). Then I saved my money and bought the Mac Book Pro for my self and I LOVE IT. Using VirtualBox.org I installed Ubuntu Linux, Windows 7 and something else and was able to run 3 operating systems on top of OS X, flawlessly!
I love it. Of course, I also own an ipod and recently me and my wife both bough the iPhones. MS has been making phones for 15 years and it all sucks ass. I owned one, it was a nightmare. Also, from Seattle and MS sucks.
Windows 7 seems to be good so far, that I have to admit, but they copies Ubuntu and OS X a lot. Not much innovation there and their Mobile market dropped to 7% from like 15%, so take that to the bank.
Steve needs to go, and Bill Gates needs to come back ASAP.
Ray
Ray, on November 23rd, 2009 at 6:11 pm
In cities like Seattle, it’s more like 60/40 in favor of WinTel machines. The 96% stat is more likely out in the sticks, you know rednecks who don’t know any better. Educated city people increasingly choose a Mac over Virus-infested PCs.
ArrowSmith, on December 25th, 2009 at 7:04 pm