Microsoft's Ballmer Sees Humor in MacBook Pro
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How much is a MacBook signed by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer worth? I'm wondering that after watching a video taken by someone at Trevecca Nazarene University, in Nashville, Tenn., which shows Ballmer being asked to sign a student's MacBook Pro. "It's got Windows on it," said the student offering up the Apple laptop. "I promise." Ballmer decided to play along, leaving his signature along with a message: "Need a new one?" I give it a few months before that MacBook Pro ends up on eBay. If nothing else, the incident shows that Ballmer has something of a sense of humor. (Can you imagine how Steve Jobs would react if someone asked him to sign a Dell Adamo XPS? Buddhist or not, he'd probably try to strangle the little punk right there.) Recent rumors about Bing becoming the iPhone's default search engine notwithstanding, Microsoft has spent much of the past year positioning itself as locked in battle with Apple; during July's Worldwide Partner Conference, for example, Ballmer insisted that Microsoft's "I'm a PC" ads (which put the price points of Macs and Windows-equipped PCs in a head-to-head comparison) were having a detrimental effect on Apple's market share. Yet when Apple reports its quarterly numbers on Jan. 25, analysts are expecting the company to report both strong earnings and an increased percentage of Macs sold. Microsoft, which reports on Jan. 28, will likely present a more mixed picture of its finances, although a fourth-quarter rise in PC sales (24 percent higher than the same quarter in 2008, according to a Jan. 13 note from research company IDC) could translate into a robust rate of adoption for Windows 7 and other products. Apple now occupies about 7.4 percent of the U.S. PC market, according to that same IDC report. That's not going to make executives at Microsoft wake in a cold sweat just yet, but Apple still holds substantial mind share among a younger and culturally influential demographic--such as the student handing over his MacBook Pro for Steve Ballmer's John Hancock--and its handling of its still-officially-unannounced tablet PC shows the company is still arguably the best at sucking the air out of any given room. Those facts, combined with Microsoft still wrestling with its own issues in the consumer space, may have tempted Ballmer to take that MacBook and smash it to pieces! pieces! pieces! But if such a destructive thought crossed his mind, he refrained. Good thing, too. I bet that piece of hardware will sell for at least $500 on eBay. Anybody else want to shout out a number? |
Comments (4)
Nicks title: "http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/corporate/microsofts_ballmer_sees_humor_in_macbook_pro.html"
And where is exactly the humor Nick? Is that Apple is kicking MS butt in the high end market in the saturated US market, that really counts? Last stats I seen was 90% plus in the US market that Mac had on $1000 plus laptops. Has that changed?
Maybe the humor is that M$ bought 25% of mac back when it was hurting, and therefore control of a lot of what Jobs does, even though its not voting stock. So if Mac wins, M$ sort of wins, as it
owns so much of Apple, right? I can see the humor in that. It is just the users at the poor end of the joke.
It's been a long time since I posted a comment here, as this site holds and tends to censor comments it does not like, regardless of content. profanity, or in my case, the lack of profanity.
Ballmer, as much as we love the big guy, is on his way out. He cannot give you free laptops soon or other freebies anymore, not that you were one of those. LOL. Or that Eweek is paid by advertising by Micro$oft. Care to comment on that one Nick?
Posted by Chips B Malroy | January 23, 2010 4:53 AM
The idea of Ballmer signing a Mac is amusing but if he really wanted to turn heads over that incident he should have offered the kid a new laptop and made a big deal out of how in future he would be saving money avoiding Apple. Just a simple sentence and you can bet that would have echoed around the blogosphere and paid for itself as an advert many times over.
I have a feeling Jobs would have done something similar only he'd probably have given the kid a trade in offer and voucher, had the kid sign an agreement and sold the story as "Steve Jobs converts Windows lover with one touch from his hand"
My final thought, hopefully not as absurd as my last. While I don't own anything Apple, I do love the passion for its products Apple seems to create. Sucking the air out of the room with nothing more than a little tablet is to be applauded. If Microsoft did that, the room would all be snickering about how it didn't have a keyboard and good luck using twitter with that whispers.
More passion for the hardware I say, Technology is exciting stuff, lets stop peeing on the idea of it and start enjoying it.
Posted by techpops | January 23, 2010 11:54 AM
$550
Posted by Bob Maine | January 26, 2010 9:24 AM
Nick... Regarding chips comments about censorship. It's nice to come here and see it loaded with a bunch of useless garbage comments and penny stock scam spam. Just wanted to tell you, "good job." I know you have to walk a fine line when it comes to censorship; but just like screaming "FIRE" in a crowded theatre is wrong, so was the graffiti that used to plague this site.
Posted by Tom Berber | February 4, 2010 2:03 PM