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posted by n1 on Wednesday August 20 2014, @08:11AM   Printer-friendly
from the and-nothing-of-value-was-lost dept.

A letter from Steve Ballmer in Redmond's press release section confirms he is stepping down as a board member.

In the six months since leaving [the CEO position], I have become very busy. I see a combination of the Clippers, civic contribution, teaching and study taking a lot of time. I have confidence in our approach of mobile-first, cloud-first, and in our primary innovation emphasis on platforms and productivity and the building of capability in devices and services as core business drivers. I hold more Microsoft shares than anyone other than index funds and love the mix of profits, investments and dividends returned in our stock. I expect to continue holding that position for the foreseeable future.

Given my confidence and the multitude of new commitments I am taking on now, I think it would be impractical for me to continue to serve on the board, and it is best for me to move off.

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  • (Score: 4, Funny) by jasassin on Wednesday August 20 2014, @08:27AM

    by jasassin (3566) <jasassin@gmail.com> on Wednesday August 20 2014, @08:27AM (#83442) Homepage Journal

    Ballmer really hit it out of the ballpark with Windows Phone, not to mention the ubiquitously loved Windows 8. What the fuck will they do without him? This genius could be investing his time on more innovative and unimaginable technology, but he's spending it on some baseball team named after a discount hair salon. Baby Jesus crying in a manger, what a waste!

    --
    jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0xE6462C68A9A3DB5A
    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Nerdfest on Wednesday August 20 2014, @10:09AM

      by Nerdfest (80) on Wednesday August 20 2014, @10:09AM (#83466)

      I was really hoping he was going to hang around. He's done more for Linux than most will ever do.

      • (Score: 2) by Tork on Wednesday August 20 2014, @03:53PM

        by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 20 2014, @03:53PM (#83580)
        Heh, yeah, because this was totally the year of the Linux desktop. Hundreds have converted and rejoiced!
        --
        🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
        • (Score: 2) by DECbot on Wednesday August 20 2014, @05:13PM

          by DECbot (832) on Wednesday August 20 2014, @05:13PM (#83610) Journal

          You're pretty optimistic, or are you counting all my VM instances as conversions?

          --
          cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
          • (Score: 2) by Tork on Wednesday August 20 2014, @06:05PM

            by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 20 2014, @06:05PM (#83629)
            Heh I misread that and had a funny picture in my head of web hosts running Windows 8 VMs.
            --
            🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 20 2014, @08:19PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 20 2014, @08:19PM (#83682)

          ...and has been for years.
          People are asking for Linux by name these days. [googleusercontent.com] (orig) [fossforce.com]
          They've learned it's the cure for drive-by infections, blue screens, and the reboot-reboot-reboot thing.

          Now, if you're looking at *new* desktop systems, well, only people who run MICROS~1's bloatware -need- newer, faster hardware.
          Those are **businessmen** who have always run MICROS~1's stuff and who do so because it gets them a steak dinner every few years from a M$ salesman.

          Everyone else is keeping their old still-plenty-powerful hardware and replacing the MICROS~1 crapware with the $0 stuff that doesn't have the nasty characteristics associated with Redmond's junk.
          Those wipe-the-crap-and-install-better-stuff instances don't show up in the sales stats.

          ...and, for most folks buying a computing device these days, their "desktop" is a handheld thingie.
          Most of those run Linux.

          When folks get home from work these days, they switch to using Linux.

          .
          ...then we get to webstats (which are gamed by the "analysts"). [google.com]
          For a few days, I had a Google cache of the ZD page referenced, but Ziff-Davis can't have that much truth on one of their pages, so, of course, they quickly deleted the post.

          The data collection process is biased [googleusercontent.com] (orig) [mrpogson.com]
          and hides significant factors. [googleusercontent.com] (orig) [mrpogson.com]
          Why does 1 town skew the results so much for a state of 38 million people?

          -- gewg_

          • (Score: 2) by Tork on Wednesday August 20 2014, @09:04PM

            by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 20 2014, @09:04PM (#83697)
            "They've learned Windows 7 is the cure for drive-by infections, blue screens, and the reboot-reboot-reboot thing."

            FTFY.
            --
            🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 20 2014, @09:21PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 20 2014, @09:21PM (#83704)

              ...it must have been a stupid question.

              The only way "7" becomes the "solution" is if you buy new hardware--with that pre-installed.

              ...meanwhile, I have always used my hardware until it completely drops dead.
              I've never had any device driver concerns since I switched.

              ...and I have never had to deal with "product activation".

              Horses for courses.
              These days, in the midst of the Bush-Obama Depression, more and more folks are doing it my way.

              -- gewg_

              • (Score: 2) by Tork on Wednesday August 20 2014, @09:36PM

                by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 20 2014, @09:36PM (#83709)
                If the reboots, drive-bys, and BSODs aren't actually happening, then your whole point is moot. Meanwhile your year of Linux on the desktop is still maintaining its marketshare of ... within-margin-of-error.

                Linux zealots are worse than the Apple fanboi stereotype describes.
                --
                🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
          • (Score: 2) by meisterister on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:17AM

            by meisterister (949) on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:17AM (#83765) Journal

            I don't understand why people install anything that isn't windows. Windows is the [A Fatal Exception 0E has occurred at...]

            I'm really surprised that people didn't move to Linux back in the late '90s-early 2000s. Back then every version of windows (including the beloved XP) was a bloated slow POS. Also, don't give me any of this "But linux was hard to use back then!" A significant portion of the PC users at the time had used DOS at least to some extent. Also, there were graphical interfaces like KDE that were easier to use than Windows. The problem now is that Microsoft has started churning out halfway-competent versions of Windows starting with Vista. The constant steady stream of BSODs are mostly confined to overclocking or flaky hardware.

            --
            (May or may not have been) Posted from my K6-2, Athlon XP, or Pentium I/II/III.
  • (Score: 2) by RobotMonster on Wednesday August 20 2014, @08:36AM

    by RobotMonster (130) on Wednesday August 20 2014, @08:36AM (#83443) Journal

    Sounds like he's giving in to nominative determinism.
    Sorry, couldn't resist.
    I'll get my coat.

  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Lagg on Wednesday August 20 2014, @08:47AM

    by Lagg (105) on Wednesday August 20 2014, @08:47AM (#83445) Homepage Journal

    Good to see that the idiot is spewing out MBA speak to the very end.

    I have confidence in our approach of mobile-first, cloud-first, and in our primary innovation emphasis on platforms and productivity and the building of capability in devices and services as core business drivers.

    One also must wonder what new commitments he's referring to. I've never managed a basketball team before but I can't imagine it's such a huge commitment that he has to leave a position which (let's be honest) he hasn't put much energy into in the first place. Plus, what civic contributions and teaching has Steve "DEVELOPERS" Ballmer done? I can't recall any (seriously, even ignoring smartassery I can't).

    --
    http://lagg.me [lagg.me] 🗿
    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday August 20 2014, @12:42PM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 20 2014, @12:42PM (#83499) Journal

      Plus, what civic contributions and teaching has Steve "DEVELOPERS" Ballmer done?

      Almost pushed into being a new Olympic probe: chair throwing.
      Didn't happen because the olympic committee realized there could be no competition as long as Balmer is still alive (+70 years) - he has a copyright on that as a form of expression.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 2) by mrider on Wednesday August 20 2014, @07:14PM

        by mrider (3252) on Wednesday August 20 2014, @07:14PM (#83661)

        Defenders! Defenders! DEFENDERS!! (throws chair)

        --

        Doctor: "Do you hear voices?"

        Me: "Only when my bluetooth is charged."

  • (Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Wednesday August 20 2014, @09:15AM

    by Hairyfeet (75) <{bassbeast1968} {at} {gmail.com}> on Wednesday August 20 2014, @09:15AM (#83451) Journal

    It should have happened a decade ago, lets just hope this new guy has some sense and makes Win 9 into Win 7 SE.

    --
    ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
    • (Score: 2) by present_arms on Wednesday August 20 2014, @09:35AM

      by present_arms (4392) on Wednesday August 20 2014, @09:35AM (#83454) Homepage Journal

      I agree, I really do hope that win9 will be good for those who still have to use windows, and easier for me to fix too :P

      --
      http://trinity.mypclinuxos.com/
    • (Score: 2) by isostatic on Wednesday August 20 2014, @02:54PM

      by isostatic (365) on Wednesday August 20 2014, @02:54PM (#83549) Journal

      Or windows 7 ME

      • (Score: 2) by Daiv on Wednesday August 20 2014, @05:32PM

        by Daiv (3940) on Wednesday August 20 2014, @05:32PM (#83620)

        I just started involuntarily whimpering and crying at that thought...

        • (Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Friday August 22 2014, @08:12AM

          by Hairyfeet (75) <{bassbeast1968} {at} {gmail.com}> on Friday August 22 2014, @08:12AM (#84270) Journal

          Actually WinME was a damned good OS, it simply had a single flaw in the specs that doomed it...some asshat put down you could use both VXD and WDM drivers.../facepalm/

          Ya wanna guess what happened if you took WinME and used ONLY WDM drivers? You got a nice stable OS that could be used for years without fail. I mean imagine what a mess you'd have if they had said Windows 7 could use Win98 drivers, that is exactly what happened with WinME. Luckily they learned from their mistake as one can take XP era WDM drivers and use them on Win 7 besides WDF drivers and the result? Works just fine.

          --
          ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
          • (Score: 2) by Daiv on Friday August 22 2014, @03:26PM

            by Daiv (3940) on Friday August 22 2014, @03:26PM (#84367)

            I had spent a good amount of money and time trying to put together the magical "perfect" Windows ME hardware box. I didn't succeed and fell back to Windows 98SE, which worked, every time.

            The single flaw was enough to tarnish it's name forever as it was a HUGE, unforgivable flaw for an OS manufacturer who succeeded by allowing their OS to run on wildly different hardware from all kinds of manufacturers.

            The wasted hours troubleshooting ME for people, trying to explain what drivers are, where they come from and how there was nothing I could do without them spending money on replacements for their perfectly fine hardware was an (admittedly small) reason for me to stop helping people with their PCs.

            That single flaw turned into an absurd disaster. No amount of looking at the hypothetical best case scenario of what could have been will make me forget what I went through.

  • (Score: 1) by jbWolf on Wednesday August 20 2014, @10:05AM

    by jbWolf (2774) <jbNO@SPAMjb-wolf.com> on Wednesday August 20 2014, @10:05AM (#83465) Homepage

    I don't follow sports much, but I feel sorry for the Clippers and their fans.

    --
    www.jb-wolf.com [jb-wolf.com]
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 20 2014, @10:12AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 20 2014, @10:12AM (#83468)

      I heard that from now on they're training with cubic balls. Easier to store, better UI.

    • (Score: 2) by JeanCroix on Wednesday August 20 2014, @03:01PM

      by JeanCroix (573) on Wednesday August 20 2014, @03:01PM (#83551)
      I'd imagine the Staples Center maintenance staff are busy bolting all the chairs to the floor even as we speak.
    • (Score: 2) by MrGuy on Wednesday August 20 2014, @05:17PM

      by MrGuy (1007) on Wednesday August 20 2014, @05:17PM (#83613)

      A tech millionaire with deep pockets, who has at least some clue on how to run a business, and who has expressed a passion for making the team successful, is taking over the operation of a sports team from David Friggin' Sterling. And you feel SORRY for them?

      Forget the racism and other personal failings of David Sterling for a second. Donald Sterling made his fortune as a personal injury attorney and as a slumlord. As the owner of a sports franchise, he was abysmal. He refused to pay market rates for key talent. He didn't make an effort to field a highly competitive team if it was less cost effective to him personally than fielding a mediocre team. He ceded the "LA's Team!" title permanently to the Lakers, preferring to perpetually be "little brother." He alientated fans, players, fellow owners. He unapologetically cashed in on the effort other owners put in to make the league profitable.

      I don't care what you think of Steve Ballmer as a tech visionary. He's someone who gives a crap, and has an actual desire to run the team to win (as opposed to being purely personal profit driven). And whatever else you think of him, he's by many reports a good manager and a motivator, which is what a sports franchise needs. Bring in the big talent, stay out of their way and let them make the decisions, and spend money well to build a contender.

      It worked out OK for Dallas under Mark Cuban, who was a far less capable technical executive (he's famous more than anything else for selling out on a mediocre tech idea at the exact right time).

      Feel SORRY for Clippers fans? This is the happiest they've been in decades, and deservedly so.

  • (Score: 2) by Subsentient on Wednesday August 20 2014, @10:33AM

    by Subsentient (1111) on Wednesday August 20 2014, @10:33AM (#83478) Homepage Journal

    I'd personally give him a 1024 folding chair salute.
    But seriously, he will be missed by me.
    The developers chant was a favorite moment of all time, and it's actually the kind of crap I'd pull.
    He's just crazy enough to be likable to me.

    --
    "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Magic Oddball on Wednesday August 20 2014, @12:26PM

      by Magic Oddball (3847) on Wednesday August 20 2014, @12:26PM (#83497) Journal

      I agree -- not just the developers' chant, but also the other good-humoredly screwy skits & presentations he did.

      It seems very strange to me that people in the tech community are judging his performance based primarily on the small percentage of products the company produced that were duds, and for aspects that he wouldn't have been involved in. I can imagine regular non-IT people like my mother doing that out of ignorance & classic short attention spans, but geeks should know better.

    • (Score: 2) by DECbot on Wednesday August 20 2014, @05:19PM

      by DECbot (832) on Wednesday August 20 2014, @05:19PM (#83614) Journal

      640 folding chairs should be enough for any salute.

      --
      cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
  • (Score: 2) by zafiro17 on Wednesday August 20 2014, @11:04AM

    by zafiro17 (234) on Wednesday August 20 2014, @11:04AM (#83482) Homepage

    They're half way there. Too bad the second half is damned near impossible: now they need to get billg off the board. His "don't do anything to touch the cash cows of Windows and Office" has been responsible for a lot of the bad decisions made there over the last decade. Too bad there's going to never be a way to see him off the board - it's his baby.

    --
    Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis - Jack Handey
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 20 2014, @01:30PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 20 2014, @01:30PM (#83514)

      Too bad there's going to never be a way to see him off the board

      He's 58, give it another 20-30 years.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Thexalon on Wednesday August 20 2014, @01:45PM

      by Thexalon (636) on Wednesday August 20 2014, @01:45PM (#83524)

      I beg to differ:
      1. BillG, unlike Ballmer, is actually a good software architect [joelonsoftware.com].

      2. Windows and Office are the geese that lay golden eggs for Microsoft. Why would they even remotely consider anything that would endanger their market position in those products? Especially since about the only other real winner for them in their entire history has been the XBox, completely changing either of those would be a big waste.

      3. Consider the trajectory of Microsoft with BillG in charge, and with Ballmer in charge. Who would you pick?

      I don't like Microsoft. I don't particularly like BillG. But if I were a Microsoft shareholder, BillG seems like the last guy you'd want to kick off of the board.

      --
      The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 20 2014, @01:58PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 20 2014, @01:58PM (#83529)

        I tend to agree. Most CEO's would step over their mother's grave to have the technical ability and business nous of ol' Billy G.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 20 2014, @09:03PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 20 2014, @09:03PM (#83696)

        Windows and Office are the geese that lay golden eggs for Microsoft

        ...only via the treadmill model.
        Keeping SMB undocumented (and adding new quirks periodically) so that everyone not inside the loop at Redmond has to guess when reimplementing it via Samba is a typical example.

        Another example is adding "features" to their document formats and making those incompatible with everything else (especially their own earlier versions) and keeping those undocumented [googleusercontent.com] (orig). [wikipedia.org]
        (If $0 LibreOffice had a contacts manager, no one would still be using M$Office.)

        -- gewg_

  • (Score: 1) by codemachine on Thursday August 21 2014, @10:04PM

    by codemachine (1333) on Thursday August 21 2014, @10:04PM (#84119)

    He's in a great position. He retires as CEO and leaves the board, while owning 4% of the company. The news of his leaving causes his stock to rise significantly.

    1. Do a bad job as CEO.
    2. Leave the company.
    3. Profit.