Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Officially Opens CES, Briefly Demos Forthcoming HP Slate

[cumanzor]

Funny, yes. But not in the good way.

Meh.... honestly, I think Ballmer must be a cool guy to have a few beers with.

By "normal computer" you must mean a PC, because my iMac certainly doesn't sound like an Xbox 360.

*giggles*. The PC I build a couple of weeks ago is extremely silent.... I love it. I swear, the first time I turned it on I had to check the CPU fan to see if it was actually on. At night, I don't even notice the thing (yes, I leave it on almost 24/7).

OEM PCs are actually usually silent, nowadays anyway. I don't have an iMac so I cannot say how silent/noisy it is. But my brother's 13" MacBook is extremely silent as well, and it doesn't get as hot as some other notebooks.

And movies only have so many explosions to hide the Xbox noise - you're going to have to listen (or try to listen) to some actual dialog sometime. Unless it's a Michael Bay flick, of course.

My fat PS3 gets loud whenever I'm playing a game, although it isn't as noisy as the 360.

 

[*LTD*]

Microsoft’s Ballmer claims there isn’t a sizeable market for tablets

"Last night's keynote address by Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer came and went without a mention of a Microsoft tablet. Ballmer had a line up of products that included a tablet PC from HP. He spent less than a minute showing it off," Laura Sydell reports for NPR.

"This morning, I interviewed Ballmer and asked him about the market for tablet/slate computers," Sydell reports. "He made the excitement sound like empty chatter. He claimed to believe that there isn't a sizeable market for the tablet. 'They're interesting,' he said. 'But it's not like they're big numbers compared to the total number of smart devices in the world.'"

"As the world knows, everyone is anticipating a tablet computer from Apple later this winter. Based on the veracity of past rumors about Apple, I believe this to be true," Sydell reports. "I asked Ballmer, 'Why would Apple spend so much money and time on a tablet if there wasn't a big market?' He deftly deflected my question saying, 'You'd have to ask Apple.'"

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2010/01/steve_balmer_poo_poos_tablet_c.html

"There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance." - Steve Ballmer, 2007.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5oGaZIKYvo&feature=player_embedded

 

[flopticalcube]

MSFT down 1% today. The shareholders should fire his ass.

 

[Thex1138]

The Tablet: Revisited

Just had to throw it in again one more time... what a cracker.
Could it have been any more ironic?
A cheap plant by support staff?
Sarcasm?
Simple Irony?
A glitch in the Matrix [it happens when they change something] ?
Bill and Ted [Excellent Adventure] messing about with the time line...?
It could be a new marketing campaign for electronic picture frames...

Oh wait one more thing...

It might have been what happened after Jim Kirk and Scotty give the transparent aluminum to the wrong guy!!

 

[McLarenF1Fan]

Microsoft’s Ballmer claims there isn’t a sizeable market for tablets

"Last night's keynote address by Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer came and went without a mention of a Microsoft tablet. Ballmer had a line up of products that included a tablet PC from HP. He spent less than a minute showing it off," Laura Sydell reports for NPR.

"This morning, I interviewed Ballmer and asked him about the market for tablet/slate computers," Sydell reports. "He made the excitement sound like empty chatter. He claimed to believe that there isn't a sizeable market for the tablet. 'They're interesting,' he said. 'But it's not like they're big numbers compared to the total number of smart devices in the world.'"

"As the world knows, everyone is anticipating a tablet computer from Apple later this winter. Based on the veracity of past rumors about Apple, I believe this to be true," Sydell reports. "I asked Ballmer, 'Why would Apple spend so much money and time on a tablet if there wasn't a big market?' He deftly deflected my question saying, 'You'd have to ask Apple.'"

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2010/01/steve_balmer_poo_poos_tablet_c.html

"There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance." - Steve Ballmer, 2007.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5oGaZIKYvo&feature=player_embedded

One could find similar quotes from Jobs or from anyone else for example. Are you saying you've never been wrong yourself?

 

[Stately]

Haha, I guess everyone is trying to make some mulah before Apple releases their hot little device. That makes sense I guess, cause by the time Apple releases theirs, it's over.

 

[gibbz]

'They're interesting,' he said. 'But it's not like they're big numbers compared to the total number of smart devices in the world.'

This may be another comment that comes back to bite him.

 

[DMann]

This may be another comment that comes back to bite him.

A sucker for punishment, is he.

 

[SactoGuy18]

The one thing that MS didn't want has come to pass:

The tech world is now waiting on Apple.

In a way, you're wrong: the world is waiting for what Google will do with turning Chrome OS into a tablet computer OS. And Google has all the tools needed to do so--combine Chrome OS with the touchscreen features from the cellphone Android OS and voilà, you have something that could challenge what Apple will do with "iSlate." And don't dismiss this threat, either--because this tablet-enabled Chrome OS variant is essentially a version of Linux, it means OS licensing cost per tablet computer could be free or very close to it, which means a Chrome OS-based tablet could WAY underprice Apple's offering.

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

Brilliant line.

You do realize that a bulk of the "Apple" technologies you worship are companies Apple bought right.

 

[AidenShaw]

Funniest quote in the thread

(though Microsoft does have strong mind-control powers over its minions, which will help)

Had to laugh out loud on reading this line, written by an Apple fan.

 

[SandynJosh]

bla bla bla...it means OS licensing cost per tablet computer could be free or very close to it, which means a Chrome OS-based tablet could WAY underprice Apple's offering.

If it's all about price, ANYone can beat Apple. It's not about price when apple creates their own market segment and sets the bar for function, form and user experience.

For God's sake, that's the very reason Apple did not go into the netbook commodity business.

 

[SydneyDev]

"As the world knows, everyone is anticipating a tablet computer from Apple later this winter. Based on the veracity of past rumors about Apple, I believe this to be true," Sydell reports. "I asked Ballmer, 'Why would Apple spend so much money and time on a tablet if there wasn't a big market?' He deftly deflected my question saying, 'You'd have to ask Apple.'"

That's not a deft deflection, but the obvious answer to a rather silly question.

 

[DMann]

Had to laugh out loud on reading this line, written by an Apple fan.

Denial that this type of thing actually goes on, laughed off by a true Microsoft defender.

Government Delegate Compares Microsoft Methods to “Scientology Cult”

Astroturfing Examples: Learning How Microsoft Tames the Internet

Former Microsoft Shill Openly Confesses, Alleges Microsoft Still Does This

 

[msharp]

Wow. Watching that crap really makes you appreciate the production quality and effort that Apple puts into their keynotes.

Ballmer sounded like an idiot.

EXACTLY!!! This is my first time watching Balmer's presentation and I'm STUNNED by how poor he presented. And his voice and some other microsoft employee were so annoying.

Why on earth were they shouting all the time???

 

[DMann]

EXACTLY!!! This is my first time watching Balmer's presentation and I'm STUNNED by how poor he presented. And his voice and some other microsoft employee were so annoying.

Why on earth were they shouting all the time???

For the same reason the UI and UAC is IN YOUR FACE on a Windows system.

Refinement never has been a quality cultivated or embraced by Microsoft, its leaders, employees, or products.

"THIS IS WHAT WE'VE GOT... THIS IS WHAT IT DOES... BING-BING, BABY, WHAT ELSE MORE DO YOU NEED?"

For your reference and perusal:

Lineage of Steve Ballmer's Speaking and Presentation Style, from 24 years ago: Ballmer Sells Windows

 

[Amnak]

I hate that so many are like "i would never want a full desktop OS on my tablet"

you know what i wouldn't mind ...IF it would run flawless

Like photoshop on a tablet that functions WELL would be amazing i would buy it regardless of who manufactured it.

haha this was an off topic comment ...it felt good to type !

 

[AidenShaw]

Denial that this type of thing actually goes on, laughed off by a true Microsoft defender.

boycottnovell.com/2008/04/20/scientology-microsoft/ Government Delegate Compares Microsoft Methods to “Scientology Cult”

boycottnovell.com/2007/11/23/astroturfing-microsoft-examples/ Astroturfing Examples: Learning How Microsoft Tames the Internet

boycottnovell.com/2008/12/27/microsoft-shills-aka-te-secrets/ Former Microsoft Shill Openly Confesses, Alleges Microsoft Still Does This

Boy, did you link to a loony-site!

Welcome to Boycott "Boycott Novell!"

Did you mean to point both barrels of the shotgun at your own feet, then pull the trigger?

 

[DMann]

Boy, did you link to a loony-site!

Microsoft Shills

And yet, it all seems far more credible than the majority of your rants.

Are you insinuating, then, that all of this is fabricated; that MS astroturfing, shilling, planting favorable reviews, blogs, etc. doesn't exist?

Crone on.

 

[Art Mark]

I don't want a laptop, I want something new.

It was only a matter of time before we saw a Windows 7-based "slate" computer. Anyone who's looked "under the hood" of Windows 7 Home Premium/Professional notes that the OS has a LOT of support for touchscreen functionality.

If HP can keep use as much "off the shelf" hardware as possible they could actually underprice the rumored Apple "iSlate." My guess is that HP will offer an optional keyboard that will essentially this new device into a quasi laptop computer.

If you want a laptop BUY a laptop. The whole point of a mobile, casual computing tablet/slate would be that it is NOT a laptop. I don't want to run Word on it. I don't want to run Photoshop on it. I want a smart device that offers email, app, entertainment, books and periodicals. Maybe web based Word or something...but that wouldn't be the point. I also don't want a camera on the back. A 10 inch slab camera? Maybe a front camera for video conferencing...maybe...but that too isn't what I would want to carry this for.

For it to be successful it has to be completely different from a laptop.

 

[chasemac]

That MS keynote was like the worst infomercial ever. The tech behind that thing sucked. I can't believe what I have just seen. Sorry but I had to rant a little.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/ces/VideoGallery.aspx

 

[DMann]

That MS keynote was like the worst infomercial ever. The tech behind that thing sucked. I can't believe what I have just seen. Sorry but I had to rant a little.

I'd have appreciated a 'heads-up' regarding the extreme lameness of it.

Something along the lines of:

Welcome to CES 2010​

***Featuring***​

Microsoft - Modes of Regression and Mediocrity

 

[chasemac]

I'd have appreciated a 'heads-up' regarding the extreme lameness of it.

Something along the lines of:

Welcome to CES 2010​

***Featuring***​

Microsoft - Modes of Regression and Mediocrity

or Microsoft - Modes of an Infomercial You Have Never Seen Before

 

[DMann]

or Microsoft - Modes of an Infomercial You Have Never Seen Before

Perhaps, in light of a 24 year reunion, then?

Infomercial: Ballmer Sells Windows

 

[DMann]

I'd be seriously concerned if I were Nintendo at this point... They have a fun, enjoyable console at the moment, but can it last another 5 or so years?? The tech is very behind. It seems also that Natal is almost like the next generation of that motion sensor/interaction as well.

At this stage, project NATAL remains a concept video - with a product which may, or may not, perform at even one tenth of what is portrayed, due for release circa November 2010.

The next generation Wii 2 HD will be sporting a brand new interactive system, set of controllers, body sensors, receptors, and a Hi-Def output of 1080p.

After seeing the NATAL ball and paint demo, (quite the let down) it's apparent that bringing this concept to reality will remain an unsurmountable challenge, while using only one or two front-facing camera lenses with no integration of body-contact sensors.

Like most concept videos Microsoft releases, (Courier, MS Labs Vision) the concept video far outperforms any actual product. (HP Slate)

I would love to see NATAL develop further through implementation of contact sensors and additional receptors for precision, accuracy and depth - at this rate, the Wii 2 HD will be quite evolved by the time NATAL reaches the market place.