Things that happened: 1.) This was said: Xbox transported, “literally transported,” millions of people to the world of HALO. 2.) Netflix was demoed using Kinect. The movie chosen was Twilight: Eclipse. 3.) Kinect was announced to have sold over 8 million units. 4.) Ballmer talked about how popular Windows phone is with users, but gave no sales figures. Things that did not happen…

Steve Ballmer, I have a problem with something you said yesterday. During CES, you made a great dig at Google, saying that Microsoft’s intent with Bing is “… not just trying to provide people with a list of links; we want to understand user intent and anticipate what users are really looking for.” That sounds good, until you really think about it. Microsoft, as a company, is famously bad at anticipating what users want.

Could Steve Ballmer get any more confusing? He laments the lack of openness in the iPhone OS and Google’s Android, will swear up one side and down the other that proprietary walled gardens are better, but then publicly contemplates an open future for Microsoft’s flagship browser! At the Power to Developer’s conference in Sydney, Australia, Ballmer was conducting a Q & A session with the audience, when a student in the audience posed this rather interesting question:

“Why is IE still relevant and why is it worth spending money on rendering engines when there are open source ones available that can respond to changes in Web standards faster?”

Ballmer’s response, though rambling, began with typical corporate stall tactics: “That’s cheeky, but a good question, but cheeky.” Ballmer continued…

Is Microsoft setting its sights on Research in Motion? By Steve Ballmer’s own admission, the iPhone is as much a threat to Windows Mobile as Google is to Microsoft’s search efforts. Windows Mobile has seen its market share eroded by fresher, more nimble competitors like RIM and Symbian-based smartphones. Given the lack of excitement around any new Windows Mobile devices or versions, is buying RIM a cheaper alternative?

A few years ago, Microsoft had managed to capture almost a quarter of the smartphone market with Windows Mobile. But uninspiring versions of the operating system, and several lackluster devices from various partners, have cheapened the experience, causing Windows Mobile to lose almost half of its market share to competing devices. Microsoft, in the face of actual competition, never succeeds in dominating markets—Windows took control in the post-Apple era because there was a lack of any serious competing operating systems. It is not difficult to imagine Steve Ballmer sweating over the erosion of the Windows brand in all its forms—since the Microsoft/Yahoo merger never happened, RIM could plug a hole in the (somewhat) leaky SS Windows.

Would this buyout make sense?

Steve Ballmer, already famous for his dancing skills, has pulled off a spectacular 180º pirouette in his position on Apple. In an email earlier this summer, Ballmer addressed Apple’s rising threat to Microsoft’s operating system dominance, telling staffers Apple’s success was:

Because they [Apple] are good at providing an experience that is narrow but complete, while our commitment to choice often comes with some compromises to the end-to-end experience. Today, we’re changing the way we work with hardware vendors to ensure that we can provide complete experiences with absolutely no compromises. We’ll do the same with phones—providing choice as we work to create great end-to-end experiences.

In the interview with Ann Winblad, a partner at Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Ballmer neatly about-faced this position. Discussing current market-leader Nokia’s 30% position, Ballmer stated, “If you want to reach more than that, you have to separate the hardware and software in the platform.” This, obviously, is the same model that propelled Microsoft to dominance in desktop computing with the Windows OS, and it is exactly what Ballmer vowed to Think Different about in his memo!

With Bill Gates’ departure from his everyday role at Microsoft having happened over a month ago now, I thought it might be a good time to reflect on what this means for Apple’s relationship with Microsoft, and vice versa.

I think that despite Bill’s obvious place in the Windows-based world, he still has and has always had a certain affinity for the Mac platform and many of Apple’s products. Let’s not forget that Bill was so very involved in software for the original Macintosh, and agreed to form probably Apple’s single most important partnership that, in my opinion, likely saved Apple from going under in the late 90s.

Video and more thoughts after the break.

Glassdoor has more data to offer about Apple and its employees, if all of the payment difference data wasn’t enough for you. This time around, the data shows that Steve Jobs has a whopping 91% approval rating from the employees at Apple. He can be compared to Steve Ballmer, the CEO over at Microsoft, who more »

Us Apple fanboys love the iPhone SDK, but what does Microsoft’s CEO think of it? During mix ’08, he was asked about the iPhone SDK, Active Sync, and if their competitor to flash will be coming to the iPhone. He stated that “Silverlight for the iPhone is of course interesting,” but didn’t give any specific more »