Mac buyers pay $500 more ‘to get a logo on it,’ says Microsoft CEO
Why does Steve Balmer say such patently absurd things? Well, probably for the same reason that John C. Dvorak or Paul Thurrott used to trash talk the Macintosh and its easily antagonized fans—it generates all kinds of page views and media buzz with almost no effort required (ie there’s no such thing as bad publicity).
TechFlash (via BoingBoing) reports that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the following earlier today:
Apple gained about one point, but now I think the tide has really turned back the other direction. The economy is helpful. Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment—same piece of hardware—paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that’s a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be.
See also: Steve Ballmer (aka monkey boy)
Well, obviously Steve’s prone to saying such things just for effect. That is, news organizations follow him and he regularly spews these controversial (ie if you don’t know to compare apples to Apples) absurdities.
Then again, Ballmer puts on one these turns whenever Microsoft’s about to change ad strategies. Perhaps the “I’m a PC” ad campaign working is so very, very well that Redmond’s marketing geniuses are plotting Seinfeld’s return?
Now, that would be Microsoft—Vista, Zune, Plays for Sure, Windows 2000—masterstroke we’re used to seeing…
What’s your take?
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March 21st, 2009
Emballmer also said Linux is like a cancer. I guess Emballmer has no clue that Microsoft has stock in the Apple Corporation either. Which makes him look like he is clueless and comes off as a Buffoon. Why? I don’t know….supposedly he has a very high IQ.
While I am not a big Mac fan, at least with Mac…one does not have to deal with viruses and malware and system slowdowns if the computer has been on for more than a few days.
March 22nd, 2009
It’s not really the right way to convince a Mac user to consider switching to Windows when they get their next machine, is it.
The alleged $500 markup you pay for a Mac comes with more than an Apple logo: you get a terrific UI that is totally consistent across applications, machines that work without having to tweak drivers and preferences and bla bla bla, among the best product reliability and customer service in the industry, and you also avoid the whole Vista annoyance or uncertain if Windows 7 will work as promised. And I say this all as a Vista user, typing on my HP Pavilion.
Besides, there are lots of people who pay extra for prestige and designers labels even when they don’t come with UI and hardware reliability: everything from handbags and tennis shoes, baby strollers to lawn mowers, pickup trucks to grocery stores. Apple is the MountainBuggy/Deere/Whole Foods brand in computers. Windows is the Evenflo/Sears/Wal-Mart brand of computers. Complaining about a $500 markup is not the way to change that…
March 23rd, 2009
“Why does Steve Ballmer say such patently absurd things?”
He says absurd things because his thinking is muddled. Here’s a good example:
“[...] I think the tide has really turned back the other direction.”
The correct expression would be “the tide has turned” – “back” and “other direction” are redundant. So the allegedly brilliant CEO of Microsoft has managed a *double* tautology. Sadly, Mr Ballmer simply doesn’t have the nous that is required by someone at the helm of a large company.
“Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment—same piece of hardware—paying $500 more to get a logo on it?”
Mr Ballmer’s take on the current financial situation is interesting. One wonders whether he thinks customers will continue to pay hundreds of dollars for Microsoft products when the equivalent open source offerings are free. I suspect that he already knows the answer to that – Microsoft margins are being squeezed very hard by Linux on netbooks, as Microsoft itself has admitted.
“[...] That is, news organizations follow him [...]”
The days when Microsoft utterances are received with bated breath are coming to a close. Most people have stopped caring what Microsoft says or does, and the news organisations will naturally start to lose interest as a result. Microsoft is irrelevant, and Steve Ballmer is a has-been; a bully who no longer inspires fear. One imagines that he is slowly coming to the realisation that Bill Gates, canny as ever, stepped down when he did because he saw the writing on the wall. Mr Ballmer must be very angry at having been handed a poisoned chalice, and he is no doubt mortified at being put in a position where he is being made to look a complete fool.