Google envy is alive and well in Redmond

The weepy countdown to Bill Gates' last day on the job as a full-timer must be getting to Steve Ballmer. Always full of surprises, the big galoot is at it again.

Eric who?

(Credit: Dan Farber/CNET News.com)

In a revealing interview with The Financial Times, Ballmer distanced Microsoft from any criticism that it's lost a step over the years. In fact, he added, why not point fingers at some other software behemoth? (Any guesses who that might be?)

I haven't seen speed out of Google really. I mean, come on. They have one product. It's been the same for five years--and they have Gmail now, but they have one product that makes all their money, and it hasn't changed in five years.

Yes, but as his erstwhile comrade in arms is wont to say, doesn't that speak to the magic of software? Ballmer can try and call out Google for being a one-trick pony. Still that's one heckuva pony. Truth be told, if Microsoft enjoyed that sort of technology prowess in search, I very much doubt Ballmer would have wasted four months wooing a unenthusiastic Jerry Yang.

But what's with the nonstop trash talk from the CEO--especially in the countdown to Gates' upcoming "Going Away Day?" He ought to watch his words. Over the next week, Ballmer is going to be all over the media, reaffirming that Microsoft is finished with its Yahoo crush and as relevant as ever. Inevitably, reporters will pop the "What about Google?" question. And the more Ballmer insists on convincing interlocutors about chinks in Google's armor, the less people will believe him. In the same FT interview, for instance, Ballmer says the following:

I mean, (Google has) a gestalt, but gestalt is gestalt. Let's talk about the reality. The reality is one product makes 98 percent of all of their money, search. Oh, they have two products, AdWords and AdSense. They have two products, both search-based, that make all of their money, and it hasn't changed a lot in five years. I'm not giving them a hard time, but we've got to learn--if you say, what have you learned, we try to learn from people's successes, not from people's gestalt. The gestalt is yet to be proven.

Gestalt? If I didn't know better, I'd be tempted to diagnose this as a severe case of Google envy (which may be the flip side of Microsoft's ongoing search for respect as a technology innovator.)

"We're trained in Silicon Valley to believe that Microsoft steals other peoples' innovations," says Microsoft's Stephen Elop, who replaced the retiring Jeff Raikes as president of the company's Business Division. "We just don't give Microsoft credit. I don't know whether that's because of arrogance or hubris."

I spoke with Elop a few weeks ago. As I reviewed my notes, his comments as a former outsider shed a different light on Ballmer's ongoing eruptions of "Google-itis."

"A lot probably has to do with the fact that Microsoft is in a different geography," said Elop, who did prior stints at Juniper Networks, Adobe Systems, and Macromedia, where he held down senior posts. "We've had a generation of leaders who have had to compete head to head with Microsoft over the years. What's happening now is that we're moving on. We've got 2,500 people in the Valley. Maybe I'm surprised that opinion hasn't evolved yet in the Valley, but it will. Too many things are going on."

Maybe so. I can't predict whether Microsoft will ever be received warmly by Silicon Valley. There's a long history and memories die hard. (Microsoft's emissary to the Valley, Dan'l Lewin, keeps plugging away.) Meanwhile, the best way to put the relationship on a more solid footing is to continue to open up and prove Microsoft can build great technology, not just because management is "persistent." (Note to the inner sanctum at Redmond: You can remain obsessed with Google. But try not to let on so much. It's just bad form.)

[hawkeyeaz1]

Yeah, Google only has "one" product in 5 years, but Microsoft only has 2 in 20. DOS doesn't count as it was bought, not made and Windows just absorbed it.

[theantibush]

An amazingly incompetent statement.

[GallowGlass]

That's not entirely true. Microsoft has had plenty of products and games. The difference is, Google isn't constantly trying to be something it's not... like microsoft is.

[Penguinisto]

well, they did make Microsoft Bob. And a whole parade of products that have either consistently failed, fell into last place, or required a shedload of cheap tricks (e.g. channel-stuffing) just to keep relevant.

[MSSlayer]

Microsoft games? Wrong, they bought great gaming houses and left them alone. One of the few smart things MS did. But you can't claim that those games are truly from MS, because they are not.

[supoman]

There is envy in Redmond anytime there is a company that does what they can't seem to do.....INNOVATE. Stop playing evil ogre under the bridge and start innovating!!!!

[theantibush]

Thats right, they are a one-pony show.
All you need is a pony gun.
And wouldn't you know it, balmie just happens to own one heck of a gun shop.

Im sure they will abstract from search and derive its meaning and value to the customer, the axioms that support the fundamental calculus of consumer value provided by search..and then take that little yet infinitely vital leap forward.

Yahoo, target practice..especially as they disintegrate internally.
I'd pick 'em up later at the fire sale, for icing on the cake..not the cake itself.

[Penguinisto]

If MSFT uses half of the buzzword-soup that you just spewed, the customers will likely just tune them out.

[Shuelin]

Google is about innovation and originality, Microsoft is not. It amazes me that this company, Microsoft, has so much money but continues to put out crap like Vista and Office 2007.

[ballmerisanape]

Ballmer is so out of touch it isn't funny. If the shareholders let him stay in charge.. it will be the end of Microsoft.

[xuanquydm]

google has one product but they don't stop.

[Penguinisto]

Err, someone ought to tell Elop that it's not due to arrogance or hubris, but actual no-**** history that marks Microsoft as a theiver of others' innovations. ;)

[dune36]

You people are all vicitms of mindless groupthink. Microsoft is the most innovative company on the planet. They've done far more than anyone else to make the power of computers available to people. Google's pretty cool, too, except... "Don't Be Evil...?" - try reading the EULA when you sign up for gmail...

[frantaylor]

The market doesn't seem to agree with you. Check out Microsoft's stock price. Unchanged for the last 8 years.

[igl00lgi]

Try reading the EULA when before you buy a laptop. Ohh, you CAN'T.

[KonradK]

A long list of Microsoft "innovations":
http://www.mcmillan.cx/innovation.html

[KonradK]

This link shows that Microsoft is not an innovator, in spite of their claims to the contrary:

http://www.dwheeler.com/innovation/microsoft.html

[cnetcensorssuck]

...and you're a victim of mindlessness in general.

[ballmerisanape]

dune36... you do realize that microsoft didn't even "optimize" the retail version of windows for internet use until xp service pack 2.. don't you? Is that innovation? Who's drinking the punch?

[gpstein]

Though I don't follow Microsoft closely (I'm a Mac guy), I do know that they have only a few solid products.

1) Vista is a mess

2) XP is sluggish & moody

3) Office (both PC & Mac) is blotted and needs to be tweaked

4) IE is below average when compared to Firefox

5) Zune was DOA, not even a contender.

Really, what does Microsoft do thats great ?

[igl00lgi]

Not much since 1995. I own the stock I should know. Ballmer has to go.

[jbirge]

> Really, what does Microsoft do thats great?

I'm no fan of MS, and especially Monkey Boy Balmer, but I do have the answer to your question: developer tools. Visual Studio and .NET are actually quite brilliant. MS has always known that the most important feature of an OS is the software written for it. You have to give them credit for that.

[manlion1975]

being a seattle-ite, i hate most people working at microsoft and think steve ballmer is a chump. but the fact of the matter is, microsoft makes a lot more money than anybody else. they grow more per year than google makes per year. say what you want, but i think most other companies envy that. and most businesses have come to rely on them so much that they will always have customers. it is true that google only has one product that makes money. microsoft has scores. as for innovation, enabling third party developers to write powerful apps without having to learn assembly was pretty smart. they were writing basic compilers before most people knew what a computer was. it may not be as sexy as little smiley face icons on a screen or a cool word like google, but microsoft came up with a real business model and won, and made companies like google possible. stop ******** and go figure out how to steal their market share from OS, Office, Visual Studio, SQL Server, Win Server, XBox,... that's what will humble them.

[frantaylor]

"they grow more per year than google"

Boy are you deluded. Microsoft's stock price peaked in 2000 and hasn't been the same since.

[igl00lgi]

Isn't it so telling, if Yahoo can be called a loser in the search space, what does that make MS? What does that tell us about the leaders of a company, with a monopoly on the desktop, who are unable to parlay that monopoly into a success online. I think it tells us that Ballmer needs to go as much as yang does. Maybe they can hang out in the bar together talking about what could have been. I would like to be the fly.

[developIT]

What do you expect from the anti-MS zealots? It's always a damn if you do damn if you don't situation for Microsoft. They will never acknowledge the fact that Microsoft has the biggest contribution to the world of personal and business computing. In case you're one of those that kisses the ground where Google walks on, here's one thought. Google is now the monopoly of the search business. And you don't seem to care. But you're also the ones that regularly bring out Microsoft's monopoly in the OS and Office business. Now why the double standard here? And to the author of this column, I don't think its envy. Balmer has no reason to be envious of something that is only a small portion of his company's business. If case you have forgotten, it's Windows and Office that is their major cash cow. So unless search has already become the biggest money source in the planet, and the OS, Office, game console, electronic gadgets, etc. have become irrelevant , I don't see your point.

[lohhonch]

Sometimes when you get too successful and rich, you will be sued.

hongjun
http://hongjun.blogspot.com/

[walkair]

Wow - it's amazing to see so many Microsoft hatters from Goople club.

hawkeyeaz1 - are you out of you mind? 2 products in 20 years?!
Wake man, just wake up and do some research prior to posting. If you personally know just two products (btw, how many MS products you're using without knowing?) that doesn't mean anything. Just to name the "few" - Windows Mobile, Windows Server, SQL Server, Windows XP, XBOX, Exchange Server, Hotmail, Visual Studio, PC Games , etc...
Most of you guys mixing up Google consumer freebies with Microsoft fee-based business model for both businesses and consumers. Don't get me wrong I like Google too (their web tools in particular), but I also aware of lack of support when you're expecting help from Google itself. Another problem that I'm seeing in this post is that you're comparing web browser oriented tools (Gmail, Google Maps) with OS/hardware oriented products (Office, Windows). It's totally different ball-game. When your OS runs on thousands of hardware components manufactured by thousands of companies somethings may go wrong. Just imagine Microsoft is manufacturing it's own laptop like Apple does and suddenly all of your XP/Vista problems are gone forever.

Next time that you're going to buy a laptop from dell.com or LCD TV from costco.com be aware that you're (at least) using Microsoft Windows Server with Microsoft ASP.NET technology.

"Microsoft may not innovative, but it is very very competitive and ambitious."

[Ar1as]

most of you, supposably computer/tech savvy individuals, state that Google has only ONE product (Google.com) when in reality they have more than 10! Some examples are: Gmail, Picasa, Google Earth, Google Maps, Adsense, etc. Microsoft also offers more than 10 products and one of its most succesful is its video game line: Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Marketplace, Ensemble Studios, Microsoft Studios, etc.

Stop the blind hate and the blind love people.If you seek to make a difference then stop purchasing Microsoft producst, DO not CRY.

-ar1as

[DrtyDogg]

the one product that is being refferd to is search, they make all of there money from adsense. picasa, google maps etc all utilize adsense for profit.

[Sumatra-Bosch]

The Boy Fuhrer from Duncan Hines is hilarious.

Having him call Google a one-trick pony is like having Jeffrey Dahmer accuse someone of bad table manners.

MSFT is the epitome of one-trick ponies. They have one trick: boot loader lock-in via contracts with the manufacturers.

Without it, consumers could buy computers with 20 operating systems on it and, like any software, buy and use one or more however they see fit.

If Justice ever opened up the boot loader, Microsoft would vanish in 5 years. Ballmer knows it. It's all they have besides the file format scam. That's why he is running scared, that and the fact that the company can't actually make anything that anyone would want. Which is why MSFT wins by making sure the market space is queered through some legal mechanism, like the boot loader aspect of MSFT's contracts with the manufacturers.

Duncan Hines!

[jeffmalec]

Go ahead. Try using 20 different OS's. Let's see...which one to play Sims 2? Which one to log in to my work machine? Which one to run that photo editing software again?

We tried that multi-OS crap before. Remember the 80's? Commodore, TI, Timex, TRS, Apple, Coleco, and oh IBM. That was a blast. Ask Bank Street Writer how much fun it was to put out 6 flavors of one word processor...oh, that's right you. You can't. The wait of supporting multi-OS crushed them.

Google, Google, Google. It was only 24 months ago it was Red Hat, Red Hat. Turn into the mirror and look at yourself. I'm tired of the whining fanboys. Move on. Innovate yourself.

[alenas]

Come on everybody, lets praise GOOGLE, cause GOOGLE has monopoly on SPAM'ing the internet. Such a great company - such a great business model - such a profitable SPAM business.
I do not understand - how come everyone hates SPAM emails, but on the other hand tolerates Google SPAM placed on every website. And why are businesses paying money for SPAM?
Google has only one product that makes money - just they forgot to make sure this product brings value to businesses.

[ppgreat]

"Google is about innovation and originality, Microsoft is not. It amazes me that this company, Microsoft, has so much money but continues to put out crap like Vista and Office 2007."

No, the amazing thing is that people keep buying the crap and tolerating it. Microsoft works off their own spreadsheets. If the numbers start going south, they will do something about it. The market is going to have to vote with their business and consumer dollars elsewhere, and put the screws to the OEMs who only peddle MS wares.

[t8]

Microsoft as made heaps of money off other peoples ideas, illegal and legal. That is what Microsoft does well. Google and Apple are the real innovators and history will remember it this way too.