CES: Live report on the Steve Ballmer Keynote
Mon, Jan 9, 2012 - Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer launched this year's Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show tonight in what will become the company's last of a long, unbroken string of keynotes kicking off the show. ( 89 comments )
Microsoft shuffles Windows Phone management to build momentum
Tue, Dec 13, 2011 - Microsoft has rearranged its management team for Windows Phone, shifting division head Andy Lees to a "time-critical opportunity" to build momentum for its Windows Phone and Windows 8 operating systems, a move that some have viewed as a sign of failure. ( 43 comments )
Microsoft Board criticizes CEO Steve Ballmer for weakened smartphones, Windows
Tue, Oct 4, 2011 - After conducting an annual performance review of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the software giant's Board of Directors took him to task for poor sales of its Windows Phone 7 operating system, dampened Windows revenue and the "need for further progress" with new form factors, awarding him just half of his maximum yearly bonus. ( 54 comments )
Microsoft CEO pans Apple's Mac sales, admits 'very small' Windows Phone sales
Tue, Jul 12, 2011 - Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer this week boasted that sales of Windows PCs continue to vastly outperform the Mac, but also conceded that his company's mobile phone business has not done much to improve its market share. ( 170 comments )
Prominent hedge fund manager calls for Microsoft's Ballmer to step down
Thu, May 26, 2011 - Influential hedge fund manager David Einhorn called Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer "the biggest overhang" on the company's stock at an investment conference on Wednesday, saying he should step aside and "give someone else a chance." ( 118 comments )
Microsoft retracts Ballmer's Windows 8 in 2012 comments
Wed, May 25, 2011 - After Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer appeared to confirm earlier this week that the next generation of Windows will arrive next year, a spokesperson has clarified the comments as "a misstatement." ( 71 comments )
Microsoft says next-gen Windows systems coming next year
Mon, May 23, 2011 - Speaking at a developer forum in Tokyo, Japan on Monday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed plans for a 2012 launch of the "next generation of Windows systems," which will include Windows 8 slates and tablets. ( 66 comments )
CES: Microsoft keynote underwhelms with few surprises
Thu, Jan 6, 2011 - Microsoft kicked off the Consumer Electronics Show Wednesday evening with a relatively subdued keynote that highlighted an upcoming update to Windows Phone 7 and demoed Windows on ARM's system-on-a-chip architecture. ( 157 comments )
Steve Ballmer cashes in $1.3B worth of Microsoft shares, Apple looked into Kinect technology
Sat, Nov 6, 2010 - Microsoft confirmed Friday that CEO Steve Ballmer intends to sell almost one-fifth of his stake in the software giant, starting with sales this week that total $1.3 billion, while a new report claims Apple tried to license the technology used in Microsoft's new motion-tracking Kinect peripheral. ( 253 comments )
Apple's Steve Jobs 'raged' at Steve Ballmer when Microsoft bought Halo
Tue, Oct 26, 2010 - When Microsoft acquired Bungie, creator of the "Halo" franchise, to develop the flagship game for its first Xbox gaming console, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs reportedly made an angry phone call to Microsoft's Steve Ballmer. ( 130 comments )
HP releasing $799 Slate 500 to take on iPad in tablet market
Fri, Oct 22, 2010 - Six months after the launch of Apple's iPad, HP is ready to launch its Slate 500 tablet device, which will cost $799 and is aimed at business customers. ( 434 comments )
Microsoft software chief resigns as Windows maker struggles in mobile
Tue, Oct 19, 2010 - Ray Ozzie, the Microsoft executive who replaced Bill Gates as Chief Software Architect, has stepped down from his role, as the company fights to regain lost market share in the mobile space. ( 49 comments )
Ballmer: Microsoft's brand 'means something' to users
Tue, Oct 12, 2010 - Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer insinuated this week that his company's ailing brand holds value for users, more so than rival brands, while at the same time conceding that he's seeing a lot more of Apple's iPads deployed in the real world than he'd like to. ( 219 comments )
Microsoft unveils plans for first nine Windows Phone 7 handsets
Mon, Oct 11, 2010 - Microsoft on Monday announced its initial arsenal of handsets built around the new Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system, in what many believe is the company's last-ditch attempt to regain traction in the mobile handset arena that's fallen into the hands of rivals like Apple and Google. ( 334 comments )
Microsoft may use Windows Phone 7 event to show off tablets
Tue, Oct 5, 2010 - A new rumor suggests that Microsoft, concerned by the success of Apple's iPad, will use next week's Windows Phone 7 unveiling to show off new touchscreen tablets it will have available this holiday season. ( 74 comments )
Failures in mobile space cost Steve Ballmer half his bonus
Thu, Sep 30, 2010 - Microsoft documents filed with the SEC reveal that CEO Steve Ballmer received only half of the maximum bonus available to him because of the company's struggles in the mobile market. ( 73 comments )
iPad launches Apple to 3rd place in mobile PC market share
Mon, Aug 2, 2010 - Apple's market share as a mobile PC vendor has surged along with the launch of iPad, breaking 200% year over year growth while vaulting the company from seventh to third place in global portable computing. ( 30 comments )
Steve Ballmer: 'Apple sold more iPads than I'd like them to sell'
Thu, Jul 29, 2010 - Speaking to Wall Street analysts, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer noted that tablets are a big issue for the company and expressed concern about Apple's success with iPad. ( 189 comments )
HP's webOS 2.0 to take on iPhone 4, iPad later this year
Fri, Jul 23, 2010 - After making comments to the contrary this summer, Hewlett-Packard is now positioning its acquired Palm webOS as a competitor to Android and iPhone 4, as well as Apple's iPad, relegating its Windows 7 Slate PC offerings to a business tablet niche. ( 88 comments )
Microsoft recruits iPad owners for study on its Redmond campus
Tue, Jul 13, 2010 - Microsoft recently offered owners of Apple's iPad a "gratuity item" in exchange for participating in a survey later this month at the software giant's Redmond, Wash., headquarters. ( 57 comments )
Microsoft says Steve Ballmer not speaking at Apple's WWDC
Thu, May 27, 2010 - Microsoft revealed via its official Twitter account on Thursday that the company's chief executive, Steve Ballmer, will not be speaking at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 7. ( 36 comments )
Microsoft CEO Ballmer not worried about Apple's market cap
Thu, May 27, 2010 - After Apple's market cap exceeded rival Microsoft on Wall Street this week, the chief executive of the Windows maker, Steve Ballmer, noted that his company still rakes in more profits than anyone else in the technology business. ( 106 comments )
Microsoft's Steve Ballmer rumored to present at Apple's WWDC 2010
Thu, May 27, 2010 - Steve Ballmer, the chief executive of Microsoft, could play a part in rival Apple's keynote presentation at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference, according to a new rumor. ( 165 comments )
Roughly 10% of Microsoft employees said to be iPhone owners
Sat, Mar 13, 2010 - Although it's no secret that members of Microsoft's leadership frown upon employees who choose an Apple iPhone over one running the company's own Windows Mobile operating system, approximately 1 in 10 still veer towards the forbidden fruit and sometimes go to great lengths to conceal them on the job. ( 69 comments )
Steve Ballmer praises Apple for creation of iPhone App Store
Mon, Mar 8, 2010 - Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer recently had positive words about Apple's success with the iPhone and its App Store, adding fuel to rumors of a potential alignment between Apple and Microsoft to bring Bing search to the iPhone. ( 88 comments )
Offbeat: Steve Ballmer signs MacBook Pro - running Windows, of course
Fri, Jan 22, 2010 - While on a visit to Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tenn., this week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer put his John Hancock on a MacBook Pro, and the event was captured on video. ( 131 comments )
Steve Ballmer: Safari a 'rounding error,' Mac losing market share
Wed, Sep 30, 2009 - Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer went on the offensive against Apple in a recent interview, stating that Windows has gained market share on OS X, and that the browser Safari is a "rounding error." ( 220 comments )
Ballmer teases iPhone-toting employee; iTunes LP comic book
Fri, Sep 11, 2009 - A Microsoft employee who snapped a photo of Steve Ballmer at a company meeting was given a ribbing by the company executive; and the first iTunes LP e-book is for sale in the form of a comic with multimedia extras. ( 99 comments )
Steve Ballmer calls Apple's Mac growth a "rounding error"
Fri, Jul 31, 2009 - Speaking to a group of market analysts this week, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer repeatedly mentioned Apple, including a suggestion that a growing rate of Mac adoption is statistically insignificant. ( 275 comments )
Steve Ballmer laughs off Google's Chrome OS threat
Tue, Jul 14, 2009 - Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer ridiculed Google's browser-based PC operating system which is slated for shipment next year, using a tone remarkably similar to that used to blow off the potential of the iPhone two years ago. ( 144 comments )
Ballmer changes tune on iPhone, says no Zune phone
Mon, Jan 12, 2009 - Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer, who once laughed off the iPhone, has now conceded to Apple's edge in the market while hinting at a very different future for his company's Zune players. ( 108 comments )
Microsoft intros Windows 7 beta, Songsmith app at CES
Thu, Jan 8, 2009 - In Las Vegas to lead his first CES keynote yesterday, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer announced a free Windows 7 public beta, available for download tomorrow, and a new piece of song composition software akin to Apple's GarageBand. ( 157 comments )
Microsoft plans to embrace Apple's App Store format
Mon, Nov 10, 2008 - Microsoft is less interested in adopting WebKit for a future version of Internet Explorer than in its plans to replicate another Apple-driven technology: the direct-to-customer software distribution model pioneered by the App Store. ( 35 comments )
Microsoft considers adopting WebKit for Internet Explorer
Thu, Nov 6, 2008 - Addressing a developer conference in Sydney Australia, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the idea of using WebKit as the rendering engine within its web browser was "interesting" and added "we may look at that." ( 59 comments )
Ballmer changes tune while dancing around Apple's success
Fri, Sep 26, 2008 - Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer, who's watched his company's PC business come under immense pressure from Apple, used a forum this week to discount the Mac maker's potential for future share gains and designate its mobile phone business as a doomed initiative that will "lose out" in the long run. ( 93 comments )
Ballmer: you can buy Vista and downgrade to XP for free
Wed, Jun 4, 2008 - While Apple is encouraging its install base to upgrade to the latest version of the Mac OS X operating system, a new sales pitch by its Redmond-based rival to the north recommends that customers unhappy with Vista take a step in the opposite direction 'for free.' ( 95 comments )
New 10.5.3 seed; custom Intel iMac chips, MacBook Air SSDs
Mon, Apr 28, 2008 - Apple on Monday asked its developer community to begin testing yet another build of its 10.5.3 Leopard update, which packs a slew of new fixes. Meanwhile, Intel has once again tweaked some of its processors at the Mac maker's request. And STEC will reportedly supply flash drives for the next MacBook Air revision. ( 72 comments )
Microsoft makes $44.6B bid for Yahoo
Fri, Feb 1, 2008 - In its latest bid to challenge Google's dominance in the online search and advertising markets, Microsoft on Friday issued a hostile takeover offer for Internet staple Yahoo valued at $44.6 billion. ( 102 comments )
Briefly: Apple Expo, Apple TV at Costco, Ballmer on iPhone
Mon, Apr 30, 2007 - The dates are set and pre-registration has opened for the annual Paris-based Apple Expo and conference. Meanwhile, Apple TVs have turned up at Target as well as at another popular discount chain. And Microsoft headman Steve Ballmer is running his mouth again -- this time over iPhone. ( 65 comments )
Zune incompatible with Windows Vista
Tue, Nov 14, 2006 - Apparently, Microsoft has been so focused on getting Zune out the door in time for the mad holiday rush that it hasn't gotten around to supporting the player under its next-generation operating system. ( 200 comments )
Ballmer claims Microsoft won't lose money on Zune
Wed, Oct 11, 2006 - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says his company will not lose money on the sale of its Zune digital media players this holiday shopping season, but admits it won't make much money either. ( 92 comments )
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates to step down
Thu, Jun 15, 2006 - Microsoft Corp. on Thursday announced a two-year transition process that will ultimately end with the departure of chairman Bill Gates, who founded the company along with Paul Allen back in 1975. ( 67 comments )
