Posted 10/09/09 at 04:16:26 PM by Paul Lilly

We can't imagine anticipation running any higher for the imminent release of Windows 7 than it already is -- anyone hosting or attending a launch party? -- and rightfully so, given that the OS seemingly combines the best of XP and Vista while getting rid of most of the negatives. However, don't expect Windows 7 to save a struggling PC market from sluggish sales.

So says Steve Ballmer, who during a news conference in Munic, Germany, downplayed the role of Windows 7 in any PC sales increase that may follow.

"There will be a surge of PCs but it will probably not be huge," Ballmer told the audience, according to Reuters. Ballmer also went on to suggest that the ailing tech sector would take some time to rebound into old form.

Ballmer could be playing the karma card, as he seems intent on tempering expectations for Windows 7, while at the same time he and Microsoft's marketing gurus have entered a massive campaign to promote the upcoming OS. Amid all the hoopla, Microsoft even offered a 90-day trial of Windows 7 to enterprise users in an attempt to entice them into upgrading.

Then again, who knows what goes on in Ballmer's head - see here.

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Posted 10/09/09 at 09:26:39 AM by Paul Lilly

It's hard to argue with the success of Amazon's Kindle e-book reader, which has prompted competition running the gamut from Asus and MSI, to startups looking to cash in on the rapidly growing market. But one company Amazon apparently needn't worry about is Microsoft.

"We have a device for reading. It's the most popular device in the world. It's the PC," Microsoft's Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Thursday.

 Er, what? But Ballmer wasn't joking and went on to say that Microsoft would be willing to work with Amazon to port more books over to the PC.

"I would love to see companies like Amazon and others bring their books to the PC," Ballmer said. "Hopefully, we can get that to happen with Barnes & Noble or Amazon or somebody. But no, we are not interested in e-readers ourselves."

Microsoft might not be interested in e-readers, but consumers are. Portable readers are expected to do particularly well this holiday shopping season, and Industry research firm Forrester this week raised its forecast for e-reader sales by 50 percent to 3 million units.

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Posted 09/29/09 at 09:21:55 PM by Ryan Whitwam

Steve Ballmer recently sat down with Techcrunch to wax philosophical about browsers and their connection to the operating system. Ballmer was asked about the legal disputes over Internet Explorer bundling. Without missing a beat, he called the notion that operating systems can be independent of internet access “not a sensible concept”.

Ballmer went on to take a few swings at the upcoming Chrome OS, saying, “If you remember, [Marc Andreessen] said something like, Windows will just be a poorly debugged set of device drivers running Netscape… Now, that’s kind of basically the attitude expressed in Chrome Browser, Chrome OS.” He also called Chrome’s browser market share a “rounding error”, but noted that Firefox is having a real impact. Ouch for Chrome.

When asked about how Microsoft will fare against the continued onslaught of competitors, he answered like he’d been thinking about it a lot. Ballmer explained that Macs attack from the top of the market, and PC sales have gained a bit on Macs in the last year as people shied away from more expensive options. He went on to say that Netbooks were going to continue to be a big part of the Windows strategy.

Ballmer clearly lays out a world in which competitors are sometimes operating systems, sometimes browsers, and in the future may even be both. Even with all these new threats, he seems pretty sure Microsoft will stay on top. What do you think?

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Posted 09/28/09 at 07:07:40 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Microsoft had originally planned to release Windows Mobile 7 in 2009. But it then pushed the release to 2010. The cutthroat nature of the smartphone market offers very little leeway for such delays. Besides, WinMo 7 is supposed to be a product that will bring Windows phones up to speed with other contemporary smartphones.

The delay left Microsoft with no choice but to plug Windows 6.5, an interim release, in a manner only accorded to a major release. It is clearly a gambit to prevent WinMo loyalists from abandoning the terribly long road to WinMo 7.

Just days before the much hyped global launch of Windows Mobile 6.5, Steve Ballmer could be heard criticizing the company's mobile platform at the Microsoft Venture Capitalist Summit last week. No journalists had been invited to the event.
"Ballmer said they screwed up with Windows Mobile. Wishes they had already launched WM7. They completely revamped the team," tweeted Paul Jozefak, a venture capitalist, from the event floor.

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Posted 08/27/09 at 06:53:43 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Microsoft will release its latest operating system, Windows 7, to retail on October 22, 2009.  The retail launch will be accompanied by customary pomp and pageantry. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is his company’s pick for headlining the Windows 7 launch event to be held in New York, according to invitations Microsoft sent to journalists today. Ballmer has some relevant experience having kicked off the Windows Vista launch in NYC on Jan 30, 2007. The venue of the event is yet to be revealed. 

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Posted 04/14/09 at 07:16:33 PM by Pulkit Chandna

After Yahoo turned down Microsoft’s proposal to roll in the hay and have an offspring that could take on Google’s might in the online search market, it appeared the two would maintain a distance from each other. However, a luncheon meeting between Ballmer and Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock earlier this year again revived hopes of a deal.

The New York Times reports that the two companies have returned to the negotiation table, though for a slightly different purpose. A source close to the discussions told the NYT that the two companies are discussing an advertising deal. The source revealed that Microsoft could assume control of Yahoo’s search ads and leave Yahoo in control of display ads under one arrangement being deliberated. Steve Ballmer is also said to have met with Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz last week. There is no official word on the matter as yet.

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Posted 03/25/09 at 08:01:25 AM by Pulkit Chandna

The end may be nigh for the Zune. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer came up with a measured reply – equal parts of realism and escapism – when queried about the Zune’s future by BusinessWeek editor Stephen Adler at the McGraw-Hill media conference in New York. Though Ballmer reiterated Microsoft’s commitment to the platform, he admitted that the company will not be pouring a lot of money into it.

He said that Zune is both a device and a service. “And the future may be the software/ecosystem on other devices,” Ballmer went on to add. This is being read as a veiled hint at Zune’s impending demise as a hardware platform; Zune may be reduced to an iTunes-like service for other hardware platforms.

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Posted 01/07/09 at 08:30:00 PM by Will Smith

 Team Maximum PC is here at the Venetian hotel/casino in Las Vegas, attending the Microsoft CES keynote. This will be the first keynote since Bill Gate's retirement, and Steve "Developers! Developers! Developers!" Ballmer is filling in to kick off the conference. This is Microsoft's chance to wow techies after Apple dropped the ball yesterday with its decidedly unspectacular MacWorld keynote. Windows 7 will undoubtedly be the hot topic of tonight's presentation, but we're hoping for a few surprises as well. Ballmer has also historically been an energetic and entertaining speaker, so we know we're in for a good show, at least. Keep your eyes peeled on MaximumPC.com and this liveblog page for all the latest updates!

Read on to see what Microsoft has to announce at CES 2009!

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