Shadow Ram
Steve Ballmer can’t escape iPhone!
Microsoft CEO is haunted by Apple's iPhone. Ballmer had once famously scoffed at the iPhone's chances for long-term success.
During the recent interviews given by Ballmer following the launch of Windows 7, he has been repeatedly asked by all interviewers to comment on iPhone.
"Let's face it; the Internet was designed for the PC. The Internet is not designed for the iPhone," Ballmer told the Associated Press in an interview.
Again in an interview on a popular TV show to discuss the Windows 7 launch, Ballmer was asked whether people might eventually be able to handle all their computing needs on an iPhone as opposed to a PC.
This time, Ballmer chose his words more carefully, "People need and like bigger screens for reading, for writing, so there's going to be a mix.”
The most interesting Ballmer-iPhone face-off happened last month at Microsoft's private company meeting. Reportedly, Ballmer saw an employee taking a photo of him with an iPhone. He snatched it away, and pretended to stomp on it.
With Windows 7, Microsoft is playing up the ability for its hardware partners to come up with PC designs that make consumers drool. Until Microsoft gives mobile device partners a cutting edge OS for doing the same, Ballmer will probably continue to hear questions about the iPhone.
Blu-ray vendors face antitrust investigations
Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi are being reportedly investigated by the US antitrust regulator if they violated the fair-competition laws in the optical drive market.
According to some reports, the trio collectively account for about 60 percent of the optical drive market. However, it’s still not clear what’s triggered the probe. While the three companies have confirmed the probe, they have been tight-lipped about the scope of the investigation.
Many believe that the investigations could be related to the high prices of Blu-ray and suspect a possible cartelization among the three companies.
If that’s true, then let’s cross our fingers and hope that the investigations lead to drop in Blu-ray prices. |