Microsoft's competition might be looking for a silent contender, but they won't find it in CEO Steve Ballmer. Rather than relying on the software giant's marketing professionals to dish dirt on competitors, Ballmer does it himself. And he does it quite often.
On Tuesday, Ballmer had some interesting things to say about Google and its upcoming Chrome operating system.
Steve Ballmer fielding a question from Fortune's Geoff Colvin.
(Credit: Screenshot by Ina Fried/CNET)Speaking in an onstage question-and-answer session following his speech at the Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans, Ballmer told those in attendance that he doesn't "know if Google can't make up their mind or what the problem is over there...The last time I checked, you don't need two client operating systems."
Ballmer couldn't quite stop himself there. He had a few more interesting things to say about Chrome OS.
"Who knows what this thing is?" Ballmer said. "To me, the Chrome OS thing is highly interesting--it won't happen for a year and a half, and they already announced an operating system (Android)."
With all those zingers flying around, it made me start remembering other instances in which Ballmer has taken a company or product to task. So I decided to search Google for all results matching "Ballmer disses." Amazingly, the search returned more than 125,000 results.
Microsoft's CEO likes to hit the competition with some pretty tough comments. Here's what he's had to say about some of his most prominent competitors over time.
... Read MoreThis story has been corrected. See below for details.
AppleInsider is reporting that Apple is engaging in an aggressive sale in many of its brick-and-mortar stores to eliminate its leftover inventory of last-generation Macs.
The updated MacBook Pro.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)According to the report, last-gen MacBook pricing has been reduced by $100 to $300; MacBook Air prices were reduced by $400 to $800; and MacBook Pros are being offered at $400 to $500 off original retail prices.
"Our MacBook family has been updated, and all current stock of MacBook and MacBook Pros need to be sold," Apple wrote in an e-mail to stores and other partners cited by AppleInsider. "All current in-store computers are on a first-come, first-served basis."
I called a few local Apple stores to confirm the report. According to store employees, Apple is, in fact, selling last-gen Macs at those discounted rates.
When Apple announced the release of its new family of MacBooks on Monday, the decision might have been simple for some of us: buy the new stuff. But with steeply discounted pricing, that decision might not be so easy. It's always nice to have new products, but at what cost? If you could get a Mac--one that was just fine for your needs last week--for less than what's currently being offered, would you?
It's a tough decision to make. So let's take a quick look at the product updates to help you make your decision.
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Now that Apple has announced that it is pulling out of Macworld after its 2009 event, during which Steve Jobs won't be making a keynote presentation, the outpouring of outrage is being heaped upon us once again by those who can't believe that Apple is ending its association with IDG and its expo.
Why? IDG and Apple's relationship over the past few years has been anything but cordial, and we can't forget that Apple wants complete control over, well, anything Steve Jobs can get his hands on. On top of that, Apple has been able to create Macworld-like hype for its own events, so the need for a Macworld keynote is even less appealing.
But to simply stop there in trying to explain Apple's decision to drop out of IDG's event would be overlooking the idea that the company may have run out of ideas for Macworld destined to send shock waves through the industry.
... Read MoreIn case you missed it, Hewlett-Packard announced today that it will be bringing a multitouch notebook to consumers in the form of the TouchSmart tx2. The device will feature a swivel, LED-backlit display, Windows Vista, and full touch capabilities on the screen.
That's quite the development. Sure, HP already had some touch-screen devices in the desktop market and other companies are trying desperately to make some headway in that space, but why has no one made such a big deal about the device?
I know what you're thinking: why should we make a big fuss about a device that has evolutionary capabilities and hasn't been put through the paces? We need to wait and see.
Sorry, I just don't buy that.
When Apple announced new MacBook Pros last month featuring its own multitouch capabilities in the trackpad, the world rejoiced. Consumers were already saying how they couldn't wait to pick one (or maybe two) up at the Apple store and every major news outlet was discussing it in minute detail. I turned the nightly news on when it was first announced and it was everywhere.
And yet, as HP ups the ante, we don't hear anything about its latest notebook.
... Read MoreThe announcement Apple made Tuesday was impressive. Steve Jobs and his cronies showed off some of the best notebooks I've seen in quite some time and even after coming down from the initial high of new tech goodness that I get with any product announcement, the impressiveness lingered.
But the real story here isn't that the notebooks sport nicer designs or better components. The real story is that Apple has drawn the line in the sand and told the world that it has tied its future to multitouch technology.
First, multitouch technology in one form or another cropped up on the iPhone, then it moved to the iPod touch, and now it has solidified itself in the entire Mac notebook line. The only products missing are the Apple TV, iMacs, and Cinema Displays, and chances are, the iMacs may be equipped with similar functionality at some time in the future, too.
Of course, Jobs hinted that such a move would become a reality last year. Speaking to The New York Times last year, he hinted that his company was on to something and more Apple products would feature multitouch technology in the future.
"People don't understand that we've invented a new class of interface," he told the Times.
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Historically, no company in the tech industry has performed nearly as well as Apple at creating an immense amount of anticipation for its products. After all, do we really care when Sony releases its next HDTV or Dell announces a refresh to its notebook line?
And while every other company in the world gets a free pass when they quietly refresh a product line, Apple doesn't. Why is that, you ask? Simple really -- Steve Jobs has created one of the most fantastic promotion campaigns the world has ever seen and Apple is easily the very best at "selling" a product before it's even available in stores.
But lately, Apple has tried something different. Instead of amazing us with fantastic new designs (aside from the MacBook Air) and extremely important updates, the company has followed a plan where it would quietly announce a new update each Tuesday. Just over the past month, Apple has dropped the price of its iPod Shuffle, announced the release of the Apple TV Take 2 and today, refreshed its MacBook and MacBook Pro lines.
And while some may be happy to see Apple doing just that, I can't help but wonder why anyone cares. Beyond that, what happened to innovation and groundbreaking updates? Has Steve Jobs and company slowed down the innovation to focus on something else?
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Over the course of the past week, I decided to wait before making my final decision on whether or not I believed Apple's new MacBook Air would be a success or not. After evaluating the state of the ultraportable market historically (poor) and the specs Apple is doling out with this device, it seems almost too obvious that very few people will be willing to buy this junker.
Let's face it--the MacBook Air is nothing more than a gimmick to make people believe Apple is a trendsetter that knows the best way to bring "cool" products to the masses. But what everyone seems to forget is that this company already has a slew of "cool" products and there's no need for something that's underpowered and overpriced.
Suffice it to say, the MacBook Air is nothing more than a toy that has no promise and will flounder in stores. Why you ask? It's simple.
... Read MoreSay what you will, but as I've said numerous times on these pages, the MacBook is easily one of the best notebooks in the world. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it's probably one of the best I've ever used.
And while I still have numerous issues with Windows and my utter distrust for a company that can't even release an operating system that's final knows no bounds, I truly believe the average consumer should go out and find themselves a Mac.
Luckily for us, it seems like most people tend to agree. As of this writing, theresults of Amazon's bestseller list shows Apple's 13.3-inch MacBook leads the pack of any and all PCs and computer hardware.
Sure, the results may not mean much to some and saying it has sold the best may not necessarily indicate that Windows PCs are on the slide and Macs are slowly making a trek to the top, but can you remember a time in recent history when a Windows machine wasn't sitting atop a list of bestselling computers?
Regardless of how you feel about it, Macs are coming on strong and 2008 could be the year of the Mac.
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