Ballmer Regrets Ceding Search To Google

Well Redmond...how's it feel? You didn't get steamrolled, you got Googled.

It's a case of old school vs new school. While I still think the old school way of doing things is best in many cases, launching a new technology is definitely a young mind's game. Look, the guys that started Google came from amidst the culture. They SAW the opportunity..they lived IN the culture You were still playing with old business models and ways of thinking in your castle when ol' Sergey and Larry saw the writing on the wall.

You can win Microsoft but first you have to be seen as the oppressed underdog. Good luck with that. The same human nature that I fight every day in getting people to look at Linux is the one that you will never wrestle away from Google. Google is ingrained into the user's experience....they don't WANT to change, regardless of the baubles and pretty feathers you wrap it in.

You left half the name out by the way.

Given some of your business tactics it should have been (I am so sorry for this...)

Badda-Bing

h

Quoting:You can win Microsoft but first you have to be seen as the oppressed underdog. Good luck with that.

EC helps.

EC is the only thing from making Microsoft a true Monopoly. Don't think we on this side of the pond don't know and appreciate that.

I love that lady.

Trying to breathe life into an old vaio desktop right now...speaking of old school

h

I meant, because of the EC lots of people believe Microsoft is the underdog, and they feel emphaty for the 'vendetta' the DG for competition launched against Microsoft. At least, lots of people feel this is a vendetta, and they even believe Ms. Kroes personally has something against Microsoft. They sure don't know the hundreds of other cases her directorate is dealing with too. So because of the EC, Microsoft is now viewed as the underdog by lots of people.

Quoting:Trying to breathe life into an old vaio desktop

Sure hope it doesn't come with TPM and such. Good luck!

Regarding the headline of the article: This is obviously some new definition of "ceding" with which I was previously unacquainted.

Microsoft has fought tooth and nail in search, with everything and every trick they had. They've still gotten demolished.

Quoting: ... Microsoft has fought tooth and nail in search ...

Yes and I was torn when they wanted to acquire Yahoo to improve their chances I could only think of clutching straws. Yahoo with every iteration of its search seems makes it worse.

Recently they improved the movies section, well the trailers play less problematically whereas they balked or did not play at all not too long ago, but that could have been an improvement in Linux or the Flash add on. Now when I search for the movie schedule in my area I have lost a number of features. Let's consider a few, the first page is fine, but the second page has theaters on the opposite coast. I used to be able to increase the breath of my search simply by hitting the more link and from the list select the ones that were more likely to show the more rare file titles. Not any more. It is also sad that when they had phone number searches more visible I had more luck with Google than Yahoo.

Those are some of the reasons that caused me to think, when MS thought the Yahoo was its search solution, I was tempted to say, "Why Not?"!

YBT

Quoting:Microsoft has fought tooth and nail in search, with everything and every trick they had. They've still gotten demolished.

Yes, it does make one wonder: -How much money have they previously thrown at MSN Live Search / Windows live search? -Given the amounts of money they already have thrown at it, why did it fail? -Why will they succeed this time by means of throwing money at it, while it was proven this has not worked (as of yet) in the past?

Glad I'm not a MS shareholder, than I'd have to ask those silly questions to those silly execs.

Quoting:but the second page has theaters on the opposite coast.

Well, my dear buddy, that's what decision engines do: Decide where you want to go today.

> Microsoft has fought tooth and nail in search, with everything and every trick they had. They've still gotten demolished.

I see Google having gotten the "service" aspect right.

People using a search engine are not looking for THE SEARCH ENGINE COMPANY. They are looking for the results of the search, first.

Microsoft, even with Bling, puts themselves first, puts the search engine "brand" first.

Even though Google does put their logo front and center, the real hero is that text entry field. Not the logo itself.