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#1 2009-11-20 4:17 pm
- SomeOneOrOther
- 3-yr-old switcher
- From: Ottawa, Ontario
- Registered: 2004-01-05
- Posts: 668
Microsoft shareholder: Apple connects with youth, and YOU don't
Something to give Ballmer reason to pause for reflection...and possible apply more antiperspirant.
http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/19/sharehol … out-apple/
While Bill Gates looked on, Microsoft shareholders asked CEO Steve Ballmer about Apple at their annual meeting this morning. Steve's CEO-speak responses illustrate the larger problem.
Portfolio reports that one investor asked about the company's reputation with young customers:
"I'm just wondering why your marketing group can't do something to try to rein in this next generation, because you've got a real bad image out there."
He also said that Apple's ads make Microsoft look like "a buffoon." That's when the CEO-speak began.
"There's certainly always opportunities for improvement," Ballmer said. "[There is] ... a group of people with whom our market share is less."
When you hear "opportunity for improvement," you're screwed. Euphemistic language clouds meaning and hides the truth. Think "economic downturn" and "previously enjoyed" instead of "depression" and "used." Or "opportunity for improvement" instead of "problem."
MacBook, 13", early 2008.
"Watch as Windows integrates Lotus 1-2-3 with Miami Vice." -Steve Ballmer
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#2 2009-11-20 4:46 pm
- gd
- Teen Drama Source
- From: Look behind you!
- Registered: 2009-04-06
- Posts: 1112
Re: Microsoft shareholder: Apple connects with youth, and YOU don't
As a young guy in these times I must say that if MS were to give me a gift I'd send it to the junkyard.
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#3 2009-11-20 5:56 pm
- NightCougar_37
- PARTY CALL!!!
- From: The bridge of my Akira Class
- Registered: 2001-07-22
- Posts: 9274
Re: Microsoft shareholder: Apple connects with youth, and YOU don't
Hey I wouldn't mind a free Windows 7 if M$ is giving gifts to try and rein in people 
.
That being said, think M$ has a stronger appeal to the youth in the gaming console segment. But how to translate that over to the rest of M$ as a whole, I dunno.
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#5 2009-11-20 6:18 pm
- gd
- Teen Drama Source
- From: Look behind you!
- Registered: 2009-04-06
- Posts: 1112
Re: Microsoft shareholder: Apple connects with youth, and YOU don't
Apparently they are. I had not thought about the 360. That is actually something to look forward to, except that they are so unreliable. The Zune... no thanks I'll pass. Windows... bleh!
I think I'll stick with the N64. I have never had to repair that. My friend has sent his 360 a couple of times. Something about a red halo surrounding the power button.
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#6 2009-11-21 2:14 pm
- MysticCow
- Junior Assistant Poobah (Probationary)
- From: Somewhere
- Registered: 2002-07-29
- Posts: 4156
Re: Microsoft shareholder: Apple connects with youth, and YOU don't
DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS
(you can't have a Ballmer thread without it).
I wonder what happened to my colleagues who voted with me as I opposed every war supplemental request under the previous administration. It seems, with very few exceptions, they have changed their position on the war now that the White House has changed hands.--Ron Paul
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#7 2009-11-21 4:35 pm
- Pariah
- James Carville Fan..
- From: Belly Of The Beast, Oklahoma!
- Registered: 2001-05-24
- Posts: 19088
Re: Microsoft shareholder: Apple connects with youth, and YOU don't
Apple is merely enjoying in this decade the growth MS enjoyed last decade. Well, kinda.
What do you suppose Apples installed base is now? 100 million maybe?
What's MS's? A billion+?.
MS was right on top of the massive computer wave of the later half of the 90s and into the early 2000s. A wave Apple basically sat out.
But now the sun beats down on the asphalt land
Like a hammer invoked from God's left hand
What little still grows cringes in the shadows till the night fall...
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#8 2009-11-22 6:46 pm
- SomeOneOrOther
- 3-yr-old switcher
- From: Ottawa, Ontario
- Registered: 2004-01-05
- Posts: 668
Re: Microsoft shareholder: Apple connects with youth, and YOU don't
At some point, Apple will want to make a concerted effort to grow market share. A lower price tag on its products achieves that much quicker and effectively than merely opening more stores and engaging in more promotional efforts (e.g., the PC vs Mac ads).
And the market for premium computers is always going to be small. The MacBook and Mini are a start for tapping the larger, lower end market (I didn't say "low", but "lower"), but the company still has a ways to go, obviously.
It's tricky when you're an Audi or a Mercedes and you're trying to maintain your brand WHILE increasing volume.
MacBook, 13", early 2008.
"Watch as Windows integrates Lotus 1-2-3 with Miami Vice." -Steve Ballmer
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#9 2009-11-22 10:26 pm
- gd
- Teen Drama Source
- From: Look behind you!
- Registered: 2009-04-06
- Posts: 1112
Re: Microsoft shareholder: Apple connects with youth, and YOU don't
Then again we have Porsche and its new cars(Cayenne and Panamera) they have done a perfectly good job doing what you said.
Are you comparing Apple to Audi or Mercedes. I usually compare them to Aston Martin or Lamborghini, exept with everyday practicality and reliability. That could be Rolls.
Last edited by gd (2009-11-22 10:29 pm)
I hold your IP hostage
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#10 2009-11-22 11:11 pm
- c_norris1
- I believe in a thing called love
- From: runnin' down a dream
- Registered: 2009-09-19
- Posts: 161
Re: Microsoft shareholder: Apple connects with youth, and YOU don't
The price always HAS been the biggest barrier for the masses in becoming one of Us.
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