Talking In Circles

You have to love Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. Well, OK, no you don't, but the man has stones. Never at a loss for words (unfortunately), here's some of latest bullsoft from Steve.

"I don't think we are in a recession, I think we have reset."

I wouldn't plan any speaking engagements in Michigan if I were you.

"Some say that the ad-funded model has not led to profitability. Google's search site makes money but past Google is there a publisher with an ad-funded or fee-based model that has made lots of money? No."

So, in other words, If Microsoft can't make money with the ad-funded model/fee-based model, it must not be a good model.

"The Web is designed for the PC. Most of these mobile apps are substituting for the fact that the original app wasn't designed for the PC."

No, the web was designed to be a database of information, for collaboration. It was not designed for any particular device. It is by it's nature, design agnostic. And mobile apps are just that. Applications designed for mobile devices, NOT PC's

I just think netbook is a funny brand … what is a netbook? Is it defined by its operating system, its memory, its screen size? They're really just PCs. I bet if you asked people if they planned to buy a portable computer you'd get a much better response. … It's a little hard to know what the heck the difference is between the netbook and the PC?."

Two words Steve. Cheap & portable. That's your definition of a netbook.

"Vista is faster than XP"

Not even sure what to say about this....

I'm sure Mr. Ballmer is a smart man no I'm not. Maybe he should try talking like one every once in a while.

Rants From The Heartland

Ready For Some Marketing?

Are you ready people? We're are about to be marketing blitzed by the American car companies. It'll will bring back memories of those glorious days in the 70's, when American car companies told us to "Buy American", not so subtly implying if we didn't, we were un-American.

We were supposed to ignore the fact that American car companies we're building cheap, unreliable, ugly vehicles, that didn't serve the market well. And to pretend that Asian produced vehicles were sub-standard simply because they weren't produced in the good ol' USA. How did that all work out?

30 years and a bankruptcy later and what are we hearing from American auto leadership? Let's review some quotes from the "new" (72 years old & completely out of touch) GM Vice-President of Propaganda, Bob Lutz:

“Bankruptcy is totally out of the question. We have never contemplated it.” OK

"I think an audacious and bold person with a mind of his or her own would go to a dealership and see that our new vehicles easily trounce the foreign competition. . . . It's uncool to drive an import." If this is true, then there sure are a lot of uncool people in the US, some of which work for US auto companies and/or the companies that support & supply them.

“What obviously surprised us is gasoline rising from $1.50 to $3 a gallon,” Bob must have been sleeping during the 70's.

And my favorite: "Global warming is a "total crock of shit." "I'm a skeptic, not a denier". Yeah, and I'm going to be elected Pope.

So, get ready. It's coming. Media blitz 101. GM & Chrysler don't have enough good vehicles in the pipeline. They have some, but not enough to execute a quick turn around. So we will get bombarded, and bombarded, and bombarded.

I have no problem with people "Buying American". It's your hard earned cash. It's your right as American. Just as it is my right, not to simply forget all the past sins hoisted on the American public by American car companies. Let's re-read that last line, one more time. "All the past sins hoisted on the American public by American car companies".

Who's calling who un-American?

Rants From The Heartland