Displaying items by tag: Steve Ballmer

Nokia could be in a tad bit of trouble with their decision to buddy up to Microsoft. It seems that investors are not willing to wait for their investment in Windows Phone to pay off and we can’t blame them. When Nokia made this decision it was more than a little controversial as Window Phone represented a mere fraction of the market and had not shown any growth potential to warrant making it the exclusive OS for Nokia. Many felt that it was only Stephen Elop’s close connections to Microsoft that enabled the deal as Elop was the head of Microsoft’s Business Division prior to taking the top spot at Nokia.

Although Steven Sinofsky successfully led Microsoft's important projects, a few days ago he left under unusual circumstances. If you ask Microsoft, the decision was mutual and Microsoft claims that Sinosky was not expelled from the company. However, according to rumors current Microsoft President Steve Ballmer had enough and wanted to get rid of Sinosky.

Ever since the launch of the Surface tablet Microsoft has been going back and forth about their intentions with the new device. At one point Steve Ballmer made the statement that it was just intended as a “design point” to show the potential of Windows 8. He later made sales claims about the new devices and now could be starting to tell the truth about the direction that Microsoft is taking (one that we called some time ago). Ballmer is now saying that people will come to view Microsoft as a “devices-and-services company”. As it stands right now Microsoft will probably not be making all of the devices they would like to and Ballmer knows he has to walk a fine line between pushing Microsoft hardware and keeping the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) happy.

Microsoft is no stranger to controversy and throughout its history has made some pretty bad decisions that still come back to haunt them. Now, it seems that Microsoft might be getting ready to make an error that will trump all of the others in its past. We are talking about Windows 8 and the say that Microsoft appears to be closing in its ecosystem and also the platform as a whole. This move to a closed system has not only raised concerns with end users, but also with developers who see the move as a serious issue.

If you want to get a good grasp on how much Microsoft needs Windows 8 and their Surface tablet to work all you have to do is take a look at who they have talking about it. Right now they have gotten Bill Gates to talk about Surface and also to back Ballmer’s play on having Microsoft make their own. This comes the day after they call for a $6.2 billion write down and not long after we have heard that Nokia is making backup plans for if Windows Phone 8 fails in the market.