SteveBallmer -- Engadget

SteveBallmer posts

Ballmer apologizes for letting slip wrong Natal release date

by Donald Melanson, posted Jun 22nd 2009 at 2:56PM

Microsoft has already come out and clarified Steve Ballmer's recent statement that Project Natal would be rolling out sometime in 2010 (possibly in the form of a new Xbox console), but it looks like the man himself also felt the need to set the record straight. Speaking with IGN, Ballmer said that he "confused the issue with my poorly chosen words," adding that, "there is no news in my comments. Things are as reported after E3. Sorry." Of course, this would be somewhat understandable if it were an isolated incident, but as you no doubt recall, Ballmer also recently dropped word of an earlier than expected Zune HD release date, which prompted yet another quick "clarification" from Microsoft. But hey, he only works there.

[Via Joystiq, image courtesy guardian.co.uk]

Project Natal recognizing retail shelves in 2010, says Ballmer (update: maybe not)

by Ross Miller, posted Jun 18th 2009 at 5:14PM

Despite our incessant pleading, not a soul at Microsoft -- including newly-minted media darling Kudo Tsunoda -- would give up a release window for Project Natal, except to say "not in 2009." Well, at least we know we won't be waiting too far into the future. Company CEO and cheerleader Steve Ballmer told attendees to his speech at The Executives Club of Chicago today that the Xbox 360 motion control interface is coming in 2010. That's still a large timeframe, but hey, at least you can go ahead and start planning your block-breaking 2011 New Year's Eve party now.

Update: Looks like Steve might've spoken out of turn. Microsoft just us over an official statement reiterating that they "have not confirmed a launch date at this time." Full reading after the break.

Continue reading Project Natal recognizing retail shelves in 2010, says Ballmer (update: maybe not)

Exclusive: Steve Ballmer demos the Zune HD for Engadget!

by Joshua Topolsky, posted May 28th 2009 at 12:41PM

That's right kids -- Ballmer himself whipped out the newly minted Zune HD for us during D7 and showed off a few of its finer features... including its ability to play a Pixar movie on its gorgeous OLED screen. Also of note, Steve off-handedly mentioned that the device would be ~~shipping in a month~~, though we can't confirm that that's accurate. Anyhow, these pictures say far more than a thousand words, so just hit the gallery.

Update: Microsoft just pinged to let us know that the Zune HD is still set for a Fall release, not next month.

A few quick impressions we took away:

The device was a pre-production model, and Steve had to boot it up -- which can be seen in the shots below.
Hardware was surprisingly thin.
There's what appears to be a solitary hard button below the screen.
Interface was basically the same Zune UI with touch navigation, but very colorful and pretty snappy.
The OLED screen looked great.
We'll obviously be badgering Microsoft in the coming months for a longer, closer look at the device, but at least it's not just a render anymore.

Gallery: Steve Ballmer demos the Zune HD for Engadget

Air Force now using super-secure version of Windows XP

by Nilay Patel, posted May 1st 2009 at 6:42PM

Windows 7 might be getting all the attention lately, but Windows XP is having a quiet little renaissance of its own -- not only have sales of the venerable OS been extended until 2010, Microsoft is selling an ultra-secure version to the Air Force. The custom build ships with over 600 settings bolted down, and a security patch turnaround of just 72 hours compared to the standard edition's 57 days -- all because Steve Ballmer personally stepped in and approved the project at the Air Force's request. The effort's to standardize and preconfigure the OS has paid off: 85 percent of previous known exploits have been blocked, support call volume has dropped 40 percent, and the USAF has saved some $100 million in costs. Nice -- but don't get your hopes up, since it doesn't seem like Microsoft has any intention of selling this version to the public.

[Via Slashdot]

Ballmer: Zune's future might be as software on non-Zune devices

by Ross Miller, posted Mar 23rd 2009 at 7:10PM

Fear not, Zune lovers, your beloved media player isn't going anywhere just yet. Interviewed at the McGraw-Hill media conference, Microsoft's head honcho Steve Ballmer said that the hardware will continue to improve, but reaffirmed that its future may be as software / ecosystem found on other devices. "I won't say full steam ahead because that implies acceleration of investment," he said, "but we're going to sustain our investment." It's unclear from the transcription -- much of it paraphrased by The Wall Street Journal -- whether or not Ballmer had given any indication as to the future of the hardware itself. Of course, should one of those mentioned hardware improvements managed to take a notable bite out of Apple's iPod business, we reckon those investments will see an uptick. We've already heard that the service would find its way on non-Zune devices sometime this year, but mum's still the word on any details thereof.

Ballmer says tide has turned on Apple, "paying $500 more to get a logo on it" won't work in this economy

by Paul Miller, posted Mar 20th 2009 at 10:35AM

Hot off word that Apple's Mac and iPod sales for February took a 16 percent hit compared to last year, Steve Ballmer says the "tide has really turned" after recent Apple market share gains: "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." Of course, PC sales have been hit as well, but the numbers do point to Apple's market share slipping of late. Of course, he's not exactly complementing the masses when he says that people were paying $500 more a fruit logo. Maybe, just maybe design and software had something to do with it? Just something to think about, while you roll around in piles of cash and a dominant market share, Steve.

[Via Boing Boing Gadgets]

Steve Ballmer pounds chest, decrees Windows Mobile 7 coming next year

by Ross Miller, posted Feb 24th 2009 at 6:03PM

Sure, we're still anticipating -- but not necessarily merrily -- the release of Windows Mobile 6.5, but for those who wish to look even farther into the future, Microsoft head honcho Steve Ballmer said in a conference call this week that WinMo 7 will be out sometime next year. That jibes pretty well with what we've heard from Motorola and ZDNet before, although there's probably a dozen or so known unknowns that could push it well into 2011 or beyond. For now, however, we're willing to take Steve at his word. Hey, at least they're not gearing up for a Windows Mobile 6.75 in the interim... right?

Ballmer to businesses: deploy WinXP now and face concerns from employees

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 5th 2009 at 8:04PM

There's no two ways about it -- Microsoft has moved a truckload of Windows Vista licenses. That said, just 10 percent of all PCs within enterprises in North America and Europe use Vista, with the vast majority sticking to what has worked for years: Windows XP. Company CEO Steve Ballmer had quite the zinger on this topic during a recent interview at an NYC interview to mark the extension of Microsoft's collaboration with EMC, and we're certain you'll love it. Here goes: "If you deploy a four or five-year old operating system today [Windows XP], most people will ask their boss why the heck they don't have the stuff [Vista / Windows 7] they have at home." Of course, a one-off remark from some chap that's not at all pertinent to the day-to-day operations of a company isn't apt to make a business owner rethink their approach to running their own show, but we're sure it's fun for Steve to think that only a handful of consumers out there are still relying on WinXP.

[Via PCWorld]

Fresh-baked Windows 7 beta keys now available through MSDN?

by Tim Stevens, posted Jan 7th 2009 at 7:28PM

Got an MSDN subscription? Interested in checking out Windows 7 without engaging in any shady downloading? According to some tips we're receiving, keys are available right now through official channels -- and they even work. Mr. Ballmer was widely expected to announce the release of the (so far quite well-received) OS into public beta at his keynote speech later tonight, so you might say they've let the cat out of the bag a little early on this one. Give it a try, if you would, and let us know what you find. Sadly our subscriptions were revoked for posting silly pictures of a certain CEO.

Update: Seems it's gone. We'll just have to wait for the official word. You know where you can find it.

[Thanks, Wayne S.]

Windows 7 beta 64-bit version leaked just in time for Steve Ballmer's keynote

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Jan 7th 2009 at 4:11PM

It looks like the usual suspects are at it again, showing their baldfaced contempt for copyright law by disseminating a 64-bit version of the Windows 7 beta. When we saw the 32-bit version a couple weeks ago things looked pretty good, outperforming Vista and XP in "real world" tasks, so we're hoping that its older brother performs on the same level. There's a strong possibility that the public beta will be announced at tonight's keynote, and if it is Engadget will be on hand to dish out all the gory details.

Windows Mobile 6.5 confirmed by Steve Ballmer, might solve half your problems

by Paul Miller, posted Nov 7th 2008 at 11:36AM

We've all been scratching our heads ever since Motorola name-dropped Windows Mobile 6.5 in a recent earnings call, and at last the ever-reserved Steve Ballmer has come forward to set the record straight: Windows Mobile 6.5 is on the way. The the update is due to hit next year, while Windows Mobile 7 development -- an OS that was never supposed to be the be-all and end-all -- seemingly continues to wallow. As for improvements, there's little to go on right now, though it does sound like the interface might get some work. In all it seems like increasingly little, increasingly late, but we're willing to be surprised, Microsoft.

[Via pocketnow]

Samsung's T*Omnia praised by Ballmer in Korea, older Omnia coming to US this month?

by Tim Stevens, posted Nov 5th 2008 at 10:27AM

Steve Ballmer definitely gets around, last month taking a trip to the UK just to mock Android, this month heading all the way to Korea to praise Samsung's new T*Omnia. He says it's "at the forefront of this new generation of mobile devices," and digs how it "brings together communications, productivity, multimedia, and entertainment in a way that meets the needs of both consumers and mobile professionals." We think he's most fond of its operating system (WinMo 6.1), but must admit we're smitten by the handset too -- especially its 800 x 480 screen. That's more than twice the resolution of the older Omnia, which by the sounds of it will be released in the US sometime this month. Samsung didn't actually say which Omnia, but since it's the older one that's been FCC approved don't go holding your breath for WVGA goodness. Lucky Koreans, meanwhile, can expect the T*Omnia to start being served up by SK Telecom on November 20.

Ballmer keeps talking, says Android "looks like version one"

by Nilay Patel, posted Oct 2nd 2008 at 8:04PM

Steve Ballmer's whirlwind UK media tour ahead of the Professional Developers Conference just keeps giving us sound bite gems: first it was Windows Cloud, then Zune on Windows Mobile, and now Stevie's taking shots at Android and the G1. Calling Microsoft David to Google's search Goliath, Ballms said that he wasn't worried about Android because it won't be "attractive" to other handset manufacturers because it's "version one... and it looks like version one." Not only that, but he apparently thinks Google's going to sit still, saying "they've got one handset maker, we've got 55. They're available through one operator, we've got 175." True for now, sure, but we know Android isn't going to languish on a single handset on a single carrier for long -- and we're pretty certain Steve knows that HTC and T-Mobile aren't exactly minor players, regardless. Still, it's some masterful bluster from a master of bluster -- now if he'd just back it up with Windows Mobile 7, we'd be way more inclined to believe him.

[Via Cool Smart Phones]

Steve Ballmer confirms Zune coming to Windows Mobile

by Nilay Patel, posted Oct 2nd 2008 at 4:27PM

Rumors of a Zune phone have floated around forever, but we've always thought it would make more sense for Microsoft to start by simply making a Zune player for Windows Mobile -- a plan Steve Ballmer casually confirmed today in an interview with CIO Magazine. Sure, Ballmer's hinted at Zune on WinMo in the past, but those were just hints -- not like today's pronouncement that "the Zune software will also be ported to and be more important not just with the hardware but on the PC, on Windows Mobile devices, etc." That's a pretty solid declaration of things to come, if you ask us -- too bad he didn't give a time frame. Now, about that 360 integration.

[Via WM Power User]

Steve Ballmer, Steve Ballmer's fists to deliver CES keynote

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Aug 30th 2008 at 5:36AM

Are you ready to really let loose at this year's CES? If you said yes, then you'll be stoked as hell to know that our main man Steve Ballmer will be taking over Bill Gates' famous keynotes. You read that right, the scariest fratbanger this side of your last toga party will be stepping up to the plate in what we can only hope will be the kind of explosive performance we've come to expect from him. Other keynoters will be the handsome Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer and Alan Mulally, president and CEO of Ford. Here's hoping Gates at least drops by for a cameo -- it just won't seem like CES without him.