May 19, 2008 9:32 AM PDT

Steve Ballmer egged at Hungarian University

Wow. It's tough to be CEO of a multi-billion dollar software company these days, what with it being so difficult to extend desktop monopoly to the web and getting egged during speeches....

Yes, egged.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was egged by a protester during a speech he gave at a Hungarian University. As this video shows, the protester rose to his feet to challenge Microsoft for stealing billions in Hungarian taxpayer money, then started hurling eggs at Ballmer, who was forced to take cover behind a desk.

Who said it was easy to make billions?

Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay.

Topics:: Microsoft,; Industry news

Tags:: Microsoft,; Steve Ballmer

Share:: Digg; Del.icio.us; Reddit; Facebook

About The Open Road

Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to the Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is general manager of the Americas division and vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.

Add this feed to your online news reader

The Open Road topics

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right

Business Tech
Sun takes big fall in server market
Sun Microsystems clocks lowest revenue and shipment among global top 5 server vendors for third quarter of 2009, says Gartner.
Gallery
Energy displays bring the smart grid home (photos)
Digital Noise: Music and Tech
Gigzee iPhone app finds nearby live shows
Unfortunately, it doesn't offer anything unique, and has less gig information than competitors like JamBase, Bandloop, and iConcertCal.
Beyond Binary
Microsoft's Mehdi on financial impact of Yahoo deal
In a speech, Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi says that once the two companies have a single paid search platform both should see double-digit increases in revenue per search.
Video
A window into the Microsoft Store
Media Maverick
Another e-tailer named in probe changes course
VistaPrint, an online printing company, says it is no longer connected to Affinion, one of three marketing companies accused of duping consumers into paying monthly fees.
Video
Google Chrome OS demonstration
The Social
Mark Zuckerberg's grand missive: The translation
The Facebook CEO wrote a long explanation of some recent modifications to the site. But what is he really saying? Here are CNET's not-entirely-serious translations.
Crave
Coming soon: Recyclable mannequin robots
Osaka-based Eager Co. is developing corrugated cardboard mannequin robots for that can gracefully display clothing in retail displays.
Gallery
Digital cloud set to hover above 2012 Olympics (images)
Circuit Breaker
Put your Flip videos on the big(ger) screen
Flipshare TV is a system that wirelessly streams Flip video clips to a TV screen. Updated software will send video to iPhones, BlackBerrys, and Android phones.
Green Tech
Smart grid potential gated by broadband
The intersection of broadband and energy can lead to efficiency and technology innovation. What's needed is wider access, standards, and right regulations, say execs and officials at an FCC hearing.