Steve Ballmer

Microsoft names Satya Nadella new CEO, Bill Gates steps down as Chairman

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 2, 2017

The search for a new Microsoft CEO following Steve Ballmer's August 2013 announcement of his retirement is finally over as the Windows maker on Tuesday announced major executive changes at the top. Insider Satya Nadella has become the new Microsoft boss and a board member.

He previously held the position of Executive Vice President of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group and is the third Microsoft CEO since the company's inception. Also important, Bill Gates will be stepping down as Chairman but will retain a board seat serving as an adviser. Lead independent director John Thompson would succeed Gates as Chairman, the software giant said...

CEO Steve Ballmer will retire within 12 months, Microsoft confirms

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

I bet you haven't seen this coming. Microsoft's controversial and enthusiastic chief executive officer Steve Ballmer will retire within the next twelve months, the company said in a media release.

The company cunningly chose Friday to break the unexpected news so investors have the time to chew on the development over the weekend.

The Windows giant said Ballmer will retire as CEO upon the completion of a process to choose his successor. In the meantime, Ballmer will continue as CEO and will lead Microsoft "through the next steps of its transformation to a devices and services company that empowers people for the activities they value most"...

Steve Ballmer admits Surface defeat

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 26, 2013

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Thursday played Captain Obvious, telling Microsoft workers the company may have overestimated demand for its Surface tablets. Really? The revelation comes only after the software giant announced a nearly $1 billion writedown after slashing Surface prices.

Not willing to take such things as a sign to go off and do something else, Ballmer and operations chief Kevin Turner reportedly told a closed-door town hall meeting a new Surface is now being tested...

Microsoft CEO goes on defensive, says the Surface is ‘a real business’

Ed Sutherland ∙ February 20, 2013

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently addressed the companies Surface and the tablet's sales (or lack thereof).

We're going to try our best not to characterize his comments as whiny or envision the firm's leader stomping his foot in the face of gloomy analysis. But it's hard - real hard.

Speaking with MIT Technology Review, while admitting the Microsoft product was not an iPad-killer, Ballmer stressed the Surface isn't a post-PC fantasy, either...

Ballmer dashes Office for iPad hopes (for now)

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 30, 2013

Following up on yesterday's release of cloud-based Office 365 for Macs and Windows PCs, Microsoft's energetic CEO Steve Ballmer sat down with Ashlee Vance of Bloomberg Businessweek to talk biz, competition and discuss what's next for the productivity suite. Office 365, basically a subscription-based offering, shouldn't be confused with the just released Office 2013 suite.

Despite several credible leaks proving that Microsoft is working on Office for iPad, Ballmer isn't afraid of an Office-less iPad. Little wonder, considering the Windows maker is keeping a tablet version of Office exclusive to Windows 8 tablets as a crucial advantage over other tablets...

Steve Ballmer crashes CES keynote and other Qualcomm tidbits

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 27, 2016

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn_XI3dU-kU

Though Microsoft passed on this year's CES keynote, that didn't stop the company's boss Steve Ballmer from making his trademark entrance to last night's keynote by Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs. His running out on stage wasn't on par with the previous bigger than life entrances and the now famous 'developers' chant and was in fact a prearranged surprise, but it's still kinda noteworthy. Ballmer basically praised Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors that power new Windows 8 and Windows Phone devices. Qualcomm made a number of announcements at the show and the company's keynote wasn't short on celebrities...

Steve Ballmer maintains the iPhone is overpriced, promises more Microsoft gadgets

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 27, 2017

The hardware arena is becoming an increasingly crowded space and that's a good thing for consumers who want more choices. Not that long ago, tech giants used to sit on the sidelines and leave the gadget making biz to Apple and the iPhone maker happily exploited the opportunity, churning out music players, cell phones, wireless appliances, set-top boxes, tablets and computers.

But things have changed quite a bit. Nowadays, everyone and their brother wants to build hardware, software and services in a vertically integrated fashion that made Apple a popular choice among the consumers. Amazon now sells tablets and e-readers and is allegedly building a phone. Google has become a handset vendor thanks to its pricey purchase of Motorola Mobility. And with a recent trifecta of Nexus devices, the search monster has become a hardware force to be reckoned with. But what's Microsoft up to?

Ballmer qualifies Surface sales as ‘modest’, but there’s a huge opportunity

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

For all the talk about the Surface - and we've said some nice things about it - Microsoft's foray into big league tablet computing has been marred with teething problems and lackluster sales. Arriving in a crowded tablet market on October 26, the Surface was praised for its industrial design and build quality as it was panned for its resource-hungry and buggy OS and insufficient third-party software.

The software maker did not release exact sales data and its CEO Steve Ballmer is dogging such questions in absence of a milestone like Apple's three million tablet sales in three days. In an interview with a French newspaper, Ballmer qualified the beginning of the Surface sales as "modest", which probably means way worse than expected...

Microsoft to sell 80-inch Windows 8 ‘tablet’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

Seriously, Microsoft has plans to officially sell a whopping 80-inch tablet, their VP has confirmed. This beast of a 'tablet' is powered by Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system and is currently hung on the wall in CEO Steve Ballmer's office.

It's apparently become Ballmer's whiteboard, email and phone replacement and the company plans to market it for office use initially. No word on pricing or availability yet.

I'd sure love to have such a Minority Report-style display adorn my office walls. The closes thing to this outrageous display in the Apple world? That non-TV TV from Apple that Forrester dreamed up yesterday...