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Ballmer (and Microsoft) still doesn't get the iPad

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I really think its time for Balmer to step aside now. Please, please get a tech guy to head Microsoft and bang the divisional heads together before MS misses both the smartphone and tablet markets.

The most shocking bit of the story is this quote.

Though OneNote was compelling on tablets, the remainder of the suite was not. Insiders suggest that this was deliberate; although the Windows group wanted the Office group to produce a tablet-suitable suite, the Office group saw no point, and was unwilling to go out of its way to help out the Windows group.

What is MS's new mission statement? Is it "Lets engineer failure by crapping on each others ideas"

Ballmer (and Microsoft) still doesn't get the iPad
 
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And just who does "get it"? Jeff Bezos. I would have to say that Amazon could produce their own tablet in 6 months to a year after JB sends the memo. Amazon already makes the best selling single-purpose consumption device (well they sell it, they don't make it) and they already have a distribution system well in place with amazon.com. Marketing a "multi-purpose" tablet device is only a matter of finding someone to make the hardware and that doesn't seem like it would be too much trouble for JB.

I know it probably would never happen, but with the fact that Apple just removed the "adult" titles off of the top selling iBooks list, I suppose it is hypothetically theoretically possible that Apple could mandate that all app suppliers adhere to a certain "moral standard" at which point I am sure Jeff Bezos would wave his middle finger in the direction of One Infinite Loop and send the aforementioned memo.

I can't imagine that happening because Steve Jobs is, first and foremost, a businessman and his first allegiance is to the shareholders of AAPL. One of the reasons for the outstanding success of the iPad has to be attributed to it's ability to serve as an eReading device so it is Steve Jobs that owes Jeff Bezos a thanks. Of course there are far more people reading Kindle-formatted books than there are actual Kindle devices thanks to Apple, so this business relationship between Apple and Amazon is definitely a two-way street.

I am sure Steve and Jeff have a very healthy respect for each other, but I am sure they are also have a healthy respect for the fact that they are very much in competition with each other.
 
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1991-CA said:
Steve Jobs is, first and foremost, a businessman and his first allegiance is to the shareholders of AAPL.

Steve Jobs first allegiance is to Steve Jobs. If he listened to shareholders they'd have gone under by now. Read some Apple History.

1991-CA said:
I am sure Steve and Jeff have a very healthy respect for each other, but I am sure they are also have a healthy respect for the fact that they are very much in competition with each other.

I don't agree with that, at least not yet. Bezzos could do it but it would mean entering a whole new market segment for Amazon and they would be up against the likes of Apple and MS. I'm not saying it wouldn't work, I'm saying it would not be the best road for Amazon go down. Right now there really is no competition between the iPad and the Kindle. If there was, Amazon wouldn't have made a Kindle App for Apples products. Amazon is trying to do what it does best, sell books, not mass market a self branded tech toy.
 
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Steve Jobs first allegiance is to Steve Jobs. If he listened to shareholders they'd have gone under by now. Read some Apple History.
As much as you don't want to believe it, Steve Jobs works FOR the board of directors, not the other way around. Apple is a publicly traded company and his first duty is to run the company at a profit so the shareholders can be paid dividends. If he fails to do that, he can be fired.
 
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I think what baggss is saying is that Apple's focus is different. See an interview with Jobs and he concentrates on Apple's great software and hardware. His attitude is, we make great products and the customers will come, the money will come with them and we will make a profit. His focus is definitely not we must make more money by any means just to keep the shareholders happy.
 
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I think what baggss is saying is that Apple's focus is different.
Apple's focus is EXACTLY the same as every other corporation... to make money. People invest in the stock market for one reason... to make money! Its economics 101. The employees at Apple have to be paid and Apple has to pay them benefits as well and they can only do this if the company makes a profit. Steve Jobs retains his position because he makes money for the shareholders. From a PR standpoint, he is smart enough to say that his job is to create cool stuff that people want to buy, but the bottom line (and I mean that very literally) is that if his innovative, bleeding edge ideas fail to make money, he is out of a job.
 
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"to make money," is too general of a term to use when describing "every other corporation!" There are different means to the same success! Selling lots of stupid things to make some money vs. selling a couple of GREAT things to make the same amount of money. The "couple of GREAT things" are geared to apeal to the buyer, unlike the "lots of stupid things" which are sold because people don't care about it's small cost, and general short life span. This model can be used on almost anything of monetary value. That's the simplest way to describe it!
 

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That's right on the money and has been used several times to describe the difference between Apple and some of the other tech companies which are long since gone. You can do as some of the bargain basement PC guys and build machines that are cheaper than Macs. You will sell a ton of them until customers find out how quickly they become useless. Until then, the problem is that there is little profit on each machine so when sales slip you are in trouble. There is also little brand loyalty here. The machine is basically a commodity and the customer may well go elsewhere next time.

Apple has chosen a different tack. Build a better mousetrap and the world will not only beat a path to your door they will eagerly await the next bigger better mousetrap. Generally Apple's profit per machine is higher than those of most of their competitors. That, coupled with brand loyalty is good for the stockholders. Anyone check Apple's stock price lately? I don't think shareholders are complaining.
 
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But that is precisely my point. Steve Jobs has a particular talent for being a "visionary" and coming up with ideas that will make lots of money for himself as well as the shareholders. With all due respect, you guys are looking at Apple through the eyes of a consumer and there is nothing wrong with that at all, but at the end of the day, Apple is just another corporation that just so happens to have someone who is particularly adept at marketing to lead the company.
 
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I don't agree with that, at least not yet. Bezzos could do it but it would mean entering a whole new market segment for Amazon and they would be up against the likes of Apple and MS. I'm not saying it wouldn't work, I'm saying it would not be the best road for Amazon go down. Right now there really is no competition between the iPad and the Kindle. If there was, Amazon wouldn't have made a Kindle App for Apples products. Amazon is trying to do what it does best, sell books, not mass market a self branded tech toy.

And as far as Amazon goes, do you even know who they are or what they do? Amazon started out by selling printed books over the Internet, but now they sell pretty much anything you can think of. Why? Jeff Bezos is smart! He figured out how to sell stuff, tangible things and content like books and music. They are arguably the most successful dot com in history.

Why would Amazon make a Kindle app for an Apple product? In order to sell more Amazon content to people without having to buy Amazon hardware.

And speaking of that, you say that Amazon is not into selling a mass market self-branded tech toy. What do you call the Kindle?

Amazon already has a well-established distribution system in place, something Microsoft does not have, at least not in terms of delivering content. Taking all of these things into consideration, Amazon would be the perfect match for selling a multi-function consumption device.
 
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As much as you don't want to believe it, Steve Jobs works FOR the board of directors, not the other way around. Apple is a publicly traded company and his first duty is to run the company at a profit so the shareholders can be paid dividends. If he fails to do that, he can be fired.

Contrary to what you may believe, you are incorrect. Sure it works that way on paper but reality is far different with Apple. As I recommended before, you should read some Apple history and learn more about Steve Jobs.

loushen said:
I think what baggss is saying is that Apple's focus is different. See an interview with Jobs and he concentrates on Apple's great software and hardware. His attitude is, we make great products and the customers will come, the money will come with them and we will make a profit. His focus is definitely not we must make more money by any means just to keep the shareholders happy.

That too.

1991-C4 said:
Apple's focus is EXACTLY the same as every other corporation... to make money. People invest in the stock market for one reason... to make money! Its economics 101. The employees at Apple have to be paid and Apple has to pay them benefits as well and they can only do this if the company makes a profit. Steve Jobs retains his position because he makes money for the shareholders. From a PR standpoint, he is smart enough to say that his job is to create cool stuff that people want to buy, but the bottom line (and I mean that very literally) is that if his innovative, bleeding edge ideas fail to make money, he is out of a job.

Again, you need to read up on Apple in general and Jobs in specific. He doesn't just run that company, he IS that company. You may choose to believe Apple is just another company out to make a buck, and in some respects they are, but Jobs has always been different and Apple has always been different. There's a reason it's often referred to as a cult. Knowledge is power, get some.

And as far as Amazon goes, do you even know who they are or what they do? Amazon started out by selling printed books over the Internet, but now they sell pretty much anything you can think of. Why? Jeff Bezos is smart! He figured out how to sell stuff, tangible things and content like books and music. They are arguably the most successful dot com in history.

Why would Amazon make a Kindle app for an Apple product? In order to sell more Amazon content to people without having to buy Amazon hardware.

And speaking of that, you say that Amazon is not into selling a mass market self-branded tech toy. What do you call the Kindle?

Amazon already has a well-established distribution system in place, something Microsoft does not have, at least not in terms of delivering content. Taking all of these things into consideration, Amazon would be the perfect match for selling a multi-function consumption device.

Again, Amazon and Apple are not really in competition. If anything they compliment each other, particularly where the Kindle is concerned. If Amazon wanted to compete with Apple they would, head on. Amazon is out to sell products in any way they can. If the Kindle was really meant to be competition for Apple they would make it do so much more and they wouldn't make content readily available for use on Apples devices. As it stands it's a win-win for both companies. Amazon is in direct competition with folks like B&N and Borders and other on-line folks, not Apple. Sure Amazon could sell a device, they could sell the heck out of it, they just couldn't really build it. Sure the Kindle is a nice gadget, but it's more simple than a basic iPod ever was (well, maybe not the Shuffle). That's just my opinion though.

Speaking of opinions, you might want to realize that your opinion is neither fact nor law (nor is mine), it is not the only opinion out there, others ARE allowed to disagree and have a discussion and a difference of opinion. No need to get snippy or rude when folks disagree with you. I'm not attacking you or denigrating you personally in any way. Chill.
 
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Does anybody have any opinions on Balmer and MS's plans for a tablet OS? ;)
 
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Does anybody have any opinions on Balmer and MS's plans for a tablet OS? ;)

I predict market crushing success, but what do I know...?
 
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Does anybody have any opinions on Balmer and MS's plans for a tablet OS? ;)

I think he is worrying too much about how far Apple are ahead of his MS

Have a read of this article and Video ...
Steve Ballmers iPad envy ......
Ballmer worry about your own company, come out with a good device then you wont have ENVY HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
 
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OK, maybe I went a little overboard. I apologize.

I meant no disrespect for Apple or Steve Jobs. Clearly, he is the driving force that has put Apple where it is today. He is certainly a unique individual with a particular talent (gift?) for knowing what people want. Maybe it was his conversion to Buddhism or his "experiments" with LSD in the 70's which he calls. "one of the two or three most important things [he had] done in [his] life".

I guess my point was that there are over 30,000 people who rely on a paycheck from Apple to support their families and while there might be a "cult" atmosphere at One Infinite Loop, it is Steve's job to make sure they get paid, as well as holders of the millions of shares of AAPL. All I am saying is that he has the exact same responsibility as every other CEO... to make money. The thing that makes him different is his methodology.

Make no mistake. There are very few people in his league. I get that. But I think he has been given a very wide latitude in terms of running the company because he has a proven track record and it appears that he has complete control of the company because of his successes. Wall Street, however, is very much a, "What have you done for me lately?" situation. Look at Tony Hayward. Damage our company and you are out of a job, pure and simple. No one is immune from that. As long as Steve's health holds out and as long as these latest iDevices keep flying off the shelves, his position is secure... for now.

You know, it really is OK to think of Apple as a multi-billion dollar international mega-corporation. Apple is not in the business of curing cancer or AIDS or ending the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians or hunting down Osama bin Laden. They are just a business. A very unique business with a sometimes quirky but brilliant man at the helm, but it is just a business.
 
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OK, maybe I went a little overboard. I apologize.

No worries.

You know, it really is OK to think of Apple as a multi-billion dollar international mega-corporation. Apple is not in the business of curing cancer or AIDS or ending the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians or hunting down Osama bin Laden. They are just a business. A very unique business with a sometimes quirky but brilliant man at the helm, but it is just a business.

That's because they are. My point is that they are a different kind of company and have always had a different kind of following. The closest comparison I can find are some of the older "Organic" foods companies that have almost a cult like following. Apple is is unique in the tech world and it's really because of Jobs. He's the single longest serving CEO in the companies history and the board gives him the leeway to do what he wants how he wants. Some mistakes have been made (the Cube for example) but he does produce not because it's his job (well. partly I'm sure) but because it's his life. That is what makes him so different and sets Apple apart. MS and Bill Gates were synonymous for years but they never found the right combo to make people love them or even really tolerate them.
 
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I think it's cause the Apple board are scared what will happen when Jobs is gone. Well he was gone for a bit in the past in the 90's and we all know how bad that time for Apple was. And the board do not want a repeat of that i am guessing so they are hanging onto jobs for dear life. And that suits Jobs just fine, cause he still likes working at Apple and heck he's one of the original 3 founding members of Apple. I think he has the right to be CEO if he's doing a good job. And even Ballmer can admit (in his own weird ways) that Jobs is doing a good job.
 

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