Ballmer says Windows installed base will top a billion by the end of 2008
By Donald Melanson 
posted July 27th 2007 1:04PM
posted July 27th 2007 1:04PM
Microsoft's Steve Ballmer seems confident that the company is headed for a fairly big milestone in the near future, telling attendees at the company's analyst day meeting yesterday that he expects the Windows installed base to reach one billion by the end of fiscal year 2008. As Ballmer was quick to point out, that makes more PCs running Windows than there are automobiles in the world. In related news, Microsoft also announced that it's sold 60 million copies of Windows Vista this year, including those 40 million licenses sold in the first 100 days, although that obviously still only accounts for a small percentage of the total Windows installed base.
[Via Slashdot]
[Via Slashdot]
Over one billion served...
(to Windows owners: you just got served)
*boots up Vista and starts break dancing*
Wow...all 60 million have switched from XP to the ever so great Vista...what is that like a whooping 16%, good job windows :/
Lets see if Apple can get a HUGE 16% to switch from 10.4 to 10.5 when it comes out...vista makes my eyes bleed...OS X ftw
Ryan
This may make you laugh, but I don't know abody with an IPod. I do know three with the Zune and I don't work for Microsoft.
Stu
Am I the only one who thinks he looks like the monster from Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein
I like the McDs analogy, because selling a lot of something (whatever it is) doesn't make it good. It seems that their priority is quantity, not quality. I don't really care how many they sell, sold, or have in use; I care if it's stable, if it works well, if it does what I need it to do. They've spread themselves so thin into any and every possible marketplace for no seemingly good reason other than the fact that they don't seem to be able to stand seeing anyone being a market leader other than themselves. Why do they need to make so much stuff? I'd love to see them worry more about the quality for a change. A billion tons of manure is still...
You raise an excellent point...
MicroSoft's strategy has always been to rush a product to market, make a million, or several billion dollars on it, and fix it later.
I can believe this...
It's only 100,000 call centers.
It did make me laugh. Thanks!
That guy looks extremely evil in that pic.
…in fact, he almost resembles Dr. Evil to me. Anyone else think so?
looks like a high school gym teacher from hell
A billion is an impressive number, but... how many are active?
Kinda like saying that there have been 13 billion people born in the world. (Yeah, but only 6 billion are breathing now.)
It would be 2 billion of you include Pirated copies :)
Silverlight is better than Flash, eh? Making a hit over the web? I donno, it seems that this, plus PhotoSynth, the "Photoshop Killer" and a bunch of the other products Microsoft is making just doesn't make sense for them to be making, and thus is just turning out to look like a really bad knock-off. I'm no Windows fan by any stretch of the imagination, but Office just kicks soooo much butt it's not even funny (though PowerPoint still needs work, I just wish there were better ways of "forcing" templates).
Even Surface. I just picture Bill Gates and Ballmer going crazy about multi-touch coming to the consumer in 5 years and Steve Jobs is like "Yeah, we'll have it in June. We're good."
XBox is good, though I think it's too expensive for what it is (XBox v1.5). For what ever reason, the XBox is where it's at with the games.
The Zune.... eeeeeh. The ID is HORRIBLE. I don't even think people in the late 90s would have wanted to carry that around. I will admit that I like the more graphical interface, but I think the iPod gets it right where is just a VERY simple menu system, nothing complicated about it.
Windows Mobile... I haven't cared about Windows Mobile since before they started calling it Windows Mobile. When Pocket PC hit, I really liked it because it was a reboot and made the interface simpler, but more powerful at the same time. Then Pocket PC 2002 came out and the interface started having all this detail that we didn't need and it just got worse. Today, you can't even recognize the pure simplicity of the original Pocket PC interface. Working with Windows Mobile on a Treo? A Nightmare!!! You really NEED at LEAST a 3.5" screen to be able to work with WM.
IE7 is way better than 6.
Vista is horrible because it's basically just a visual improvement (using that word lightly) over XP (and slows down your system at that...). MS had a LOT of great ideas going into Vista, but stripped them all out. At very least when Apple release their 10.X OS upgrades, there's real enahancements.
"It's like a Mac, except I can actually do something useful with it" yeah ummm you can do lots of useful things with macs, like me typing this right now on my Powerbook 17"G4 while rendering video with finalcut pro, try doing that with a windows machine.
From the little I've used Vista, a lot of it was copied off of Mac, except the ease of use. One of my friends has a brand new Dell Inspiron with 2 Gigs of ram, Core2Duo, and Vista, and my 4 year old PowerBook G4 boots faster and runs applications quicker. All that laptop has me beat on is graphics for games. All of the things the changed to try to make it more user friendly have made it so hard to use. On my Mac, if I want to connect to a wireless network, I turn it on and it finds it and asks me to connect. With vista, you have to open the utility, hit find networks, wait, click on the one you want, specify if this is a home or business or other network, and then connect to it. Why all this extra stuff. Heck I couldn't even figure out how to change the desktop background and resolution at first because its all in a weird place.
That aside, yes having that many machines running Windows is a lot, but that doesn't mean every one of those users is satisfied. I have a couple Windows machines that I still occasionally use, and those are running XP. Theres spyware, viruses, junk that builds up, errors, and other things that you have to keep up with. If you have spyware and virus protection, a firewall turned on, run a disk repair and defragmentation utility, and run a registry optimizer, then you will have a good clean working machine. Thats ALOT to do. Why not have a Mac and do the occasional disk permissions repair to speed things up, thats all you need to do. No viruses, spyware, etc, that you have to worry about. Thats why I just use my Macs.
They do need to take all their money and sales and put it to good use. Tighter programming and code to prevent viruses and spyware from getting in, make things easier to find and use (more self explanatory), and don't base your new OS off of other existing ones, come up with your own!
Zune to me was a flop. I don't know one person that has one. To another response higher up, I know 6 people off hand that have 360s. iPod is the portable audio king, making a resembling clone of it isn't going to help. If Zune had new breakthrough features and could do a lot more then the iPod, then yes Microsoft would have done a good job. However, looking at its selling points and features, I'd still much rather have an iPod. Works on both Windows and Mac, easy interface, Mac has one of the highest rated support branches, whats not to love?
Theres my argument.
I agree with some of your stuff, but some others I don't.
True, Microsoft did seem to 'copy' many features, but I think they kind of really enhanced what was already avaliable. Like Microsoft Gadgets are cross platform, and can be on the web, your browser, and others. Desktop Search seems more quicker on my laptop than Finder is. Plus most people didn't know that Microsoft previewed desktop search in a Longhorn demo, and a few months later, you see Google Desktop and Apple's Finder. Sad. The reason why MS has been keeping things under wraps lately.
Have you ever used a high-end/mid-range PC with anti-virus program? Seriously? My Sony Vaio has top of the line specs, and runs Vista beautifully. No problems at all. It's the problem that most of the public consider Dell's, HP's, and cheap PC's, as the only PC's available. And Live OneCare, my AV runs very nice with minimal interference. Runs in the background, and provides nice system tools.
Zune wasn't that successful I admit, but the 1st version of any PMP is not always the best. Compared to most 1.0's of PMP's, Zune has really come out far in terms of features you still can't find on iPod's. But since most people think iPod's are the only form of a good PMP, and are less likely to really take a look at something different, then it will stay like that. Zune could have been better, but it's not truly a failure. Apple is in talks of WiFi - Would that have happened without the Zune?
So you're kinda right, and I can see where you're going. But I just hate the fact that most people don't take a look at the real facts, and try to open their minds as to why people prefer something over another.
I have a high end windows PC and antivirus programs, I use panda, don't make too much of a performance difference, but what about people with mid and lower end pcs. The ram and processing power that it would normally take on a high end one that you wouldn't normally notice is now very noticeable and there. I was surprised from running a virus scan last week that I had 34 infected files found, some viruses and some spyware. I don't use that machine too much since I use my Macs more, but just from doing some normal web browsing with it over time gave it those things. Thats why I side with mac, since there aren't viruses available that still work today.
Things like the desktop search and such, I do agree on, but apple has had its search in finder since OS X was released, which I think was 2001, right around when XP came out. I was referring to more of things like the interface, effects, and some of the window designs like the download windows. I do like having the widget or gadget bar over on the right side instead of having to click on the dashboard to pull up all your widgets in Mac. When they are away though, they aren't fully active, unlike Vista where they are always running, which I would guess would pull performance down a little but.
With the iPod, that is very true, its built up its name over time and I can see Zune doing the same. I don't own either since my flash drive with a built in Mp3 player and screen does the trick fine. You are right, if I was going to go out and buy a hard drive based player I would choose the iPod just because of its name and reputation, so with the Zune being released when the iPod had already built up its rep and was getting even better, the Zune does have a lot of work to do.
"But I just hate the fact that most people don't take a look at the real facts, and try to open their minds as to why people prefer something over another." I do, I've been a windows user my whole life up to the past three years when I bought a Mac. I still have both and use both, but I like Mac better because I looked at the facts comparing the two.
Every time I see that mistake of the nature it disgusts me more and more. God, I hate him. And for you guys who think he's ugly, take a look: http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/19/ce-oh-no-he-didnt-part-xvii-ballmer-to-linux-users-you-owe/
@argot
"Yeah. He's almost worse than Steve Jobs."
If I had to pick one or the other to represent, and present for my company - picking Jobs over Balmer would be as big a no brainer as picking a Bugatti Veyron over a rusty Razor scooter.
You must be pretty fucking stupid, argot.
Yeah... that is the all time classic Ballmer "UGLY" Photo... He must regret EVER sticking out his tongue. Pretty funny, yet disturbing, picture. :)
I have a 4G iPod, and it's still going strong. I got a Zune late last year, and because I rip everything on the iPod to Apple Lossless, the Zune couldn't pull it in to my library. So, my Zune sat on the shelf for 6 months. I recently went back, and ripped 5 or so CDs to copy music to it.
Damned it if doesn't sound BETTER than my iPod, both through headphones and my car stereo! Don't ask me why - better codec, better DAC, who knows.
It's enough to make me go through the process of re-ripping all my CDs, though, so that's certainly saying something!
Give it a try.
(I have two Vista PCs at home and 1 Mac, before you go all fanboy on me...)
That makes me wonder... Have there been any tests to see which device sounds better? Frequency analysis anyone?
@fahnboi: Considering how most users describe OS X (virus-free, just works, easy-to-use), it's not any better than saying Windows Vista is great.
Considering that Macs do get viruses (and Apple patches it at a slower rate than MS), Windows actually works too, and Windows is as easy-to-use as it gets. And I happen to love both PC's and Macs. I just can't stand the lies about each side.
And about WM - You'd be surprised to know how many people prefer WM over Palm and others. There's been recent articles about how WM is becoming a hot and trendy phone OS. Like Samsung BlackJack and T-mobile Dash? WM is well liked because of the functionality it offers. Now if only they made WM phone screens bigger...
i heard ya the first time you posted this. actually, not that i have been spending any time touting OSX in this article, but i'm dubious of your "love" for both platforms.
you say that "(virus-free, just works, easy-to-use), it's not any better than saying Windows Vista is great." actually, it's way better. "great" is a meaningless adjective, and the three ID's adjectives of OSX, while agreed are often exaggerated, are pretty much the three key advantages of the OSX platform vs. MS platforms. not sure which "lies" you're referring to... i guess "virus-free" is technically a lie. just hammer people to say "virtually" first.
and about WM, yeah, that was just a cheap shot. sorry =)
True- but it's a big difference between saying 'it's great because it works well for me' and 'it's great because we sold a lot of them', and that's what I have an issue with. To turn the tables, I don't think that an iPod is great because of how many they've sold either. I wouldn't buy an iPod 'because everyone used it' any more than I would buy one 'because no one used it' and it made me more of an 'underdog'. Microsoft's OS and software products tend to get lazy with quality once they feel they have no competition, while some of their other products tend to still try and improve. I am one who likes products that work for my needs. I like WM more than Palm, and my iPhone more than either. I like my 360 more than my PS2 or Wii or gamecube or xbox. I like my iPod more than a zen or zune or iriver or archos. I like my OSX-based systems more than my XP or Vista systems. I like my microsoft keyboard and logitech mouse more than the Apple ones. Quantity in either direction won't change those things. When I have a choice, I choose quality over popularity, and obviously my needs and definitions for quality will differ from everyone else's.
Obviously, some people prefer WM. However, it is a small minority. The overwhelming majority prefer Symbian, Palm, and Linux, based on market share.
And there is currently not a single virus for Mac osx in the wild. So I would say that no, Macs do not get viruses. Will that change? Probably. But as of right now, it's Windows 100,000 - Mac 0
@Rick: Ok, this is my last bothering trying to explain with somebody:
1) I don't really care. Desktop search is just search. Does it even matter who copies who? It's just feature, and if a company does them real well, then it's all good. OS X and Vista feature have lots of good feature.
2) Consider a Mac (which are high-end within themselves), can run OS X so well, why can't a high-end PC run Vista so well? After all Macs, and high-end PC's are pretty much exactly the same in terms of hardware and specs, and even nice design.
3) Until I see WiFi in iPod, I'll believe it. We all love to say that Microsoft copied the iPod, yet when Apple will copy features of a Zune, we'll say they'll do it 'better'. Hmm. I thought it was the exact same thing when Microsoft pulled some feature of OS X over to Vista. I thought they did make it better. And Zune is still 1.0. iPod is at 5.0. Who should already have it?
We can talk about this all we want and debate, but I've got stuff to do, and I don't really care. I'm not a fanboy of either side, by the way. I just want people to see the truth in things, and see it as they really are.
Couple of things:
1) The OS X Desltop search wasn't copied from any Longhorn demo, it was part of the old Copland demos (Apple's next generation OS back in the mid-90s). This wasn't even a new feature at the time, the innovation of the particular Desktop search of Copland and OS X isn't that it's on the desktop, it's the instant search (i.e. all you have to do is start typing and things already come up, you don't have to wait for 20 minutes while Windows searchs your drive. Vista was SUPPOSED to make that better with a revolutionary new file system, but it, like the rest of what would have made Vista truly worth it, was stripped out).
2) It's sad that you have to have a high-end PC to be able to run without a problem. With all the extra software required to be running to protect your computer, it really slows things down.
3) I guess I wouldn't necessarily classify the Zune as a failure, but of all the things that it should have copied Apple on, ease of use and the "it just works" factor was something MS should have. Apple's WiFI they talking about isn't for "wireless squirting songs", but rather syncing songs over WiFi and surfing the net, and listening to streaming internet radio, you know, useful WiFi features. Speaking of Radio, what's with the FM tuner in the Zune? MS SHOULD have made it the oppoiste by making it a built-in FM transmitter.
Now, what do I consider a "killer app" in DAPs? That phone in the Verizon commercial that can recognize songs played on TV, radio, concerts, etc. Now THAT'S innovative AND useful!
Dear Mr. Ballmer,
Thanks for closing down dock 7 at the Orange County Convention Center for your entrance. As if we werent busy enough trying to please Microsoft. I hope you choke on your Adams peanutbutter.
PRICK
Mac OS X on all Pc world PLEASE
I
Well that comment sure worked out.
What I meant to say was:
I
wtf!
I think subways and streets are the right place for Ballmer.
How did that bum work at Microsoft?
Wow! 1 billion pounds of crap!! Our world is truly under attack... God save us all.
so, does this number include the 5 or so comps that ive had running the same copie of 98se? (best windows ever by the way)
That picture....the man is thinking of throwing a chair right now. God have mercy on the world if he ever develops telekinetic chair throwing powers. On stage with hundreds of chairs in the auditorium..*shudders*
I'm sorry to say Jobs's reality distortion field would be no match....huh.
I think there is a Stan Lee comic in there somewhere.
Boe??? What, Office 2007 is very very nice, and much better than Office 2003/OpenOffice. It has so many nice features, and you can get all things look prof :D
I run vista cuz it's only other OS that allows me to run photoshop on my OCed 3.6Ghz quad core.
well, i tried running OSX. Mac is too slow to incorporate 8800 nvidia into their OS drivers. had to plugin the same slow 7300GT in macproto get OSX to run on my OCed Quad core.
Ballmer says a lot of things.
So if a billion people are using windows, how many thousand do you think are cursing it at any time?
Must be weird to know a billion people several times a year hate you with all their heart.
Ballmer, your hair is almost gone. Might want to consider just saving some time and shaving the rest. I mean, you're almost there.
Of course, with no hair or eyebrows, you'll be dangerously close to looking like Robocop without the helmet. You could also get yourself a pacifier - that might get some laughs.
OK, I'm just jokin' around. But uh, congrats on the install base!
Considering that over half the world's population (> 3 billion people) still use open flames as their primary cooking method, somehow I'm not so sure selling a billion copies of Windows is anything to brag about.