SlashGear Japan
When the economy is down, the gloves come off, and we’ve always suspected Steve Ballmer harbored deep-seated grudges about the perceived value of a partially-eaten apple. The Microsoft CEO struck out at Apple during a conference in New York this week, describing the company’s products as “$500 more to get a logo”.
“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” Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft
The comment came in response to a question regarding Apple’s momentum in the desktop and notebook computer market, which prompted Ballmer to highlight a recent report that suggested the Cupertino company had seen its market-share drop. Ballmer was then asked whether he or his family own any Apple products, to which he explained to the audience that he was particularly brand-loyal.
Writing off Apple’s appeal as merely a logo choice seems a little short-sighted, what with the significant difference these days being the software – i.e. OS X versus Windows – rather than the hardware. While most are used to Ballmer’s outspoken comments, the tension between Apple-lovers and Microsoft-fans means it’s likely to restart old arguments about differences between the two companies.
[via BoingBoing Gadgets]
5 Responses to “Ballmer critiques Apple: “$500 more to get a logo””
DigDug March 20, 2009
Mr. Ballmer, with all due respect, my 3 year old mac mini has never crashed or locked up once. Not once. My PC with Vista Ultimate Crap, on the other hand, freezes every 5 minutes or so. IE8 crashes constantly, and Vista Ultimate Crap wouldn’t even recognize a MICROSOFT webcam when attached. So, why is it people pay $500 less for (the many) incredibly crappy products that Microsoft excels at? MSFT is truly the WalMart of the computing industry.
-13Hacker Wannabe March 20, 2009
Wake up – OSX. Stop living in the hype. You system is as secured as Winblows according to those hacker for living, not wannabe likes me. :)
As much as i like my MBP, it crush and burn as much as my Vista. With the popularity of OSX, it’s only getting worst, slowly approach windows your guys hated so much.
http://www.slashgear.com/safar.....r-1938165/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tech.....wned-again
-9valentine March 20, 2009
With all due respect, I’ve been using Windows for years, and I can’t tell you the last time my computer locked up, crashed, or had a virus. It also cost half of what an equivalent Mac would have cost me, I have a wider range of software available, I can play just about every computer game released, I can freely swap out hardware to upgrade the system regularly. Oh, and the best part is I don’t have to spend time justifying my product choice to people on a regular basis, because it justifies itself.
+16cpuenvy March 20, 2009
I have a MacBook Black, my wife has a white MacBook. I sell tons of them to my customers, home and business users.
One difference then with others, though. I put XP Pro on them.
OS X is basically a silly joke in the majority of the business world, and Windows XP is a great OS. You cannot deny it, unless you just like to bash Microsoft.
Apple is a hardware company, plain and simple. They make great hardware! When a user gets the MacBook in their hands, they know they have the highest quality laptop money can buy.
So yes, they pay more. But see, they pay for quality. Even a $1099.99 Dell, HP or Acer is the biggest piece of trash there is! Don’t even get me started on the Sony and Toshiba toilets, either. The cheapest Mac is QUALITY. Intel, nice form, great features, and Apple does not sell junk! Even Dell sells an XPS that has many of the features the MacBook Pro has.
I will often tell a customer to buy a Dell, mostly if it is for their teen or they have lots of kids in the house. You can get a complete care warranty for the Dell, but if you dump OJ on your Apple, then the company does not care. You had an accident, and they don’t cover it. Period. Dell can afford these warranties because honestly, their computers are cheap junk.
My shop gets Macs for repair, and yes, they can crash and burn just like the rest. They are by no means infallible. The OS DOES shat out because the user did something stupid, the hardware does fail, but I do think the hardware goes less often then on these crap boxes that people waste their money on. Apple has a warranty to cover silly hardware malfunctions, they know that their computers break due to no fault of the customer. There are less of them coming in, only because, in reality, there are a lot less of them out there.
Stop the OS war crap. Ever since my first Apple ][e in the 80’s, Mac fanboys were what they were. You won’t change them, and shouldn’t. I mean, really… Someone has to love that OS!
I have been working with computers for 28 years, so I do have some good knowledge to bring to the table here. And I buy Apple, because as a Consultant, the last thing I need to do is spend time on the phone getting replacement parts for my machine. Just like a tow truck driver I know that owns a Toyota Tundra, I am in business to make my money repairing other people’s garbage. I don’t have time to work on my own.
+3cpuenvy March 20, 2009
Oh ya, and Ballmer really is a tool.
+3