Steve Ballmer calls it quits, will retire in the next 12 months

23 August, 2013
Microsoft's CEO has announced his retirement, but will remain in his position till his successor is named.

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That would make Microsoft a "devices and services" company very fast, since after RMS would put all their software under GPL, they would have to sell only devices and services, not software as such...

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    • AnonD-87222
    • RV4
    • 25 Aug 2013

    During his ruling MS succeeded at Enterprise (failed with Win8 which the enterprises won't buy), made MS's entertainment and services greedy and went wrong way with OS products. Kind of a mixed bag, as most income comes from Enterprise but their main products were Windows operating systems. Most of all, it was under his ruling that Microft became so deluded and disconnected from reality.
    Now he created a "brand new vision" for Windows and Microsoft and is leaving it for someone else to take responsibility for. Sounds like jumping a sinking ship with undetonated C4 left on board, and leaving the detonation remote to the second captain left on board.

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      • Anonymous
      • Mx@
      • 25 Aug 2013

      posanjit santra, 25 Aug 2013Mr. Ballmer has done a good job in some respect, particular... moreDnt jst copy and paste. :)

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        • posanjit santra
        • tUd
        • 25 Aug 2013

        Mr. Ballmer has done a good job in some respect, particularly in enterprise. It is still good and aggressively grow.
        In consumer market, there are too many anti and intentionally against Microsoft. So, it is very difficult to have a success.
        Many try to exaggerately blame and ignore good point.
        For google and Apple, many tell good point and ignore bad point.
        Whatever marketing plan is, Microsoft is hard to reach average consumers who are their main ones by posanjit santra

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          • Aye
          • 70d
          • 25 Aug 2013

          Mr. Ballmer has done a good job in some respect, particularly in enterprise. It is still good and aggressively grow.
          In consumer market, there are too many anti and intentionally against Microsoft. So, it is very difficult to have a success.
          Many try to exaggerately blame and ignore good point.
          For google and Apple, many tell good point and ignore bad point.
          Whatever marketing plan is, Microsoft is hard to reach average consumers who are their main ones.

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            • yosi
            • jZt
            • 25 Aug 2013

            i vote for Richard Stallman to be the new CEO !!!!!

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              • AnonD-115822
              • gIH
              • 24 Aug 2013

              They Should hire Elop !!!

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                • AnonD-5197
                • jIv
                • 24 Aug 2013

                Bye bye crazy man Ballmer. Will miss your insane performance on stage.

                  Does this mean Windows 9 will be more like Windows 7?

                  Hope so, can't use Windows 7 forever.

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                    • Anonymous
                    • P@1
                    • 24 Aug 2013

                    revolver, 24 Aug 2013good news! hopefully they replace him with someone more co... moreToo late for that. :(

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                      • revolver
                      • vfx
                      • 24 Aug 2013

                      good news!
                      hopefully they replace him with someone more competent and not obsessed with iPhone :)

                      ballmer & elop both obsessed with iPhone, you can see what happened to company they lead now. :)


                      I like WP, sadly it has many limitation. and I can't rely on WP on future, it's heavily locked-down, not future-proof. that's why I don't use it.

                      I felt MS had better chance with Windows Mobile, sadly just because their CEO obsessed with iPhone, they alienating large user base of WinMo and forcing people to use limited WP.

                      Same with Nokia, they have good chance with Symbian, Meego, and all other valuable properties on their arsenal, sadly just because their CEO obsessed with iPhone, they sell all those valuable resource and stick with one OS, WP.

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                        • Anonymous
                        • 3dv
                        • 24 Aug 2013

                        J2ME User, 23 Aug 2013Are you sure? What about Commodore C64 and Amiga 500 and 1... moreExactly!! Back in the 80s PCs were solely for spreadsheets! Most home users had Commodore 64s, Amstrad CPCs, Ataris, Apples and Amigas. The Amigas were the best by far of course! The PC only became popular in the mid to late 90s when the internet came around and when all other brands had already perished due to mismanagement.

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                          • Dimil
                          • tRh
                          • 24 Aug 2013

                          It seems to me that Microsoft goes down the drain. Surface demonstrates clearly that they have lost the game. Whereas Apple came up with a tablet that broke free from pc based OS by introducing a special OS for tablets (iOS) Microsoft tries to mix old technology with new creating monstrous products as result. Apple created a new category of products with its iPad. iPads maybe not able to do the same things like a pc but on the other hand they are better than a pc for such things like browsing the Internet or chatting on line. Microsoft on the other hand wanted their tablets to do everything and as a result you end up with devices that devour battery life and are bulky - the exact opposite of what a mobile device should be. The failure of Surface and similar hybrid devices is the testimony that Microsoft's vision for the future is wrong.

                          Now if you consider the fact that 4G and other Gs that will surpass the speed of wifi by several times in the coming years, the big elephant in the room is the CLOUD! I imagine at certain time in the very near future, cloud and 4,5,6 etc G providers would offer a package of apps like photoshop at a flat rate monthly rate. Actually, software companies like photoshop are in danger, too, because many will come up with photoshop like apps and a fraction of the price of photoshop or just given as part of a cloud package. PC and computers will become screens that can connect to the Internet. No need for battery hungry CPU's or graphic cards. Cloud will be like electricity and yours for a few dollars a month. Compare where the computers are heading and what Micrososf has onoffer... Surface. No doubt why Steve Ballmer resigns. It is clear that microSOFT -in other words a software based company that needs the old fashion CPU based devices to instal and run their programs -becomes irrelevant and soon will be extinct. Their Microsoft Office is still the industry standard because until now everybody had to buy a pc. But this is changing fast, too. Even now there are hundreds of apps or cloud services that do word processing and other stuff -many of them free. I just find hard how Microfoft can survive. I reckon in 5 years it will be osbulute.

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                            • AnonD-74880
                            • 0xi
                            • 24 Aug 2013

                            Microsoft is going in the wrong way. If Microsoft defunct one day then the entire world can defunct.

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                              • Jed
                              • 7X9
                              • 24 Aug 2013

                              I'm a bit sad about this.

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                                • AnonD-178423
                                • 0dp
                                • 24 Aug 2013

                                MdN, 23 Aug 2013Easy. Make me a CEO. I will convince them that Windows is a... moreLOL +1

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                                  • G.M.301
                                  • KIG
                                  • 24 Aug 2013

                                  what the date of mr.elop ceo of nokia go back his home?plz any body write the date of nokia ceo end?
                                  I am very happey if mr.elop went his home.and nokia made a new symbion and good camra s 40s fones.all world and nokia fans will b very happey if nokia ceo stop his work and go home

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                                    • AnonD-122899
                                    • ucA
                                    • 24 Aug 2013

                                    I miss Bill Gates. Perhaps he is coming back to MS?

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                                      • Omar Mohamed
                                      • fkf
                                      • 24 Aug 2013

                                      AnonD-178450, 23 Aug 2013Now make Elop the CEO of Microsoft !!Hahahaha :)

                                        Hooray! With Steve Ballmer gone, future updates for Windows Phone will get released faster and sooner and not delayed like crazy.

                                        Some high-office employees at Nokia were also not happy with what's Ballmer doing in Microsoft and the way he treated Windows Phone and nearly behind Stephen Elop's back developed Android as their Plan B because of WP's slow and late update release cycle.

                                        But now those employees can rejoice at Ballmer gone from Microsoft while you know... Elop's sad and maybe's crying in his own office in the leased Nokia House.

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