Word: ballmers
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...financial data in the suit that broke up Standard Oil, his lawyer's response was brief and to the point: "I'll see you in hell first." Microsoft hasn't been that dismissive of its own high-profile antitrust suit, but it's come close. Vice chairman Steve Ballmer declared, "To heck with Janet Reno," last year. And earlier this month a supremely self-assured Bill Gates told a meeting of 2,000 Microsoft shareholders that "the facts simply don't support the government's claim...
...trait valued above all others by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, Ballmer's boss and close friend. And Gates rewarded that unswerving loyalty last week: he appointed Ballmer, 42, formerly Microsoft's chief sales guy, as president and heir apparent...
...reward for being a suck-up. Ballmer operates at a decibel level bordering on OSHA's mandatory ear-protection threshold, a one-man surround-sound. He and Gates, who became fast friends in 1973 during their freshman year at Harvard, have always enjoyed what they refer to as a "high bandwidth" relationship; it means they can scream at each other but are still able to listen and respond. "We fairly well anticipate what the other guy is thinking, and can finish each other's sentences," says Ballmer of his 25-year relationship with Gates. "That doesn't mean we always...
...appointment of a warrior like Ballmer seems significant in light of Microsoft's ongoing battle with the Justice Department. The software giant, which controls some 85% of the market for computer operating systems, is facing a federal antitrust lawsuit focusing on its business practices. Ballmer will have been president seven weeks when the suit goes to trial in September. Gary Reback, the lawyer whose crusade is to break up Microsoft, contends the appointment reveals the company's arrogance in the face of the investigation. "Steve Ballmer is the most aggressive of the Microsoft management team, and based on his appointment...
...Ballmer will have plenty of other matters on his screen, however. Personal computer sales are on a downward trend, and the home and small-office/home-office markets, both hailed as the next wave in computing, are stagnant. In addition, that wild and wacky Internet, with its open standards, could potentially topple Microsoft's apple cart, eliminating the need for a Microsoft OS on every desktop...