Ballmer Says Google's Growth Is 'Insane' 420
eldavojohn writes "Steve Ballmer spoke to the Seattle PI this week, commenting that Google's pace of employee growth is 'insane,' and the company has few successful businesses outside of Internet search and advertising. He referred to Google's non-search efforts as 'cute.' Google's current number of employees is nearly doubling each year. 'I don't really know that anybody's proven that a random collection of people doing their own thing actually creates value.' Mr. Ballmer went on complain that, in general, competition for good programmers has become an issue. Even 'hedge funds' are looking for skilled coders, making the HR fight between the two companies that much more challenging."
What happened to . . . (Score:4, Funny)
Jealous much? (Score:5, Funny)
If you really felt this way, you'd sit back and wait for Google to implode, and then hire all the best ex-google-ites for well under what they're being paid now.
But you're making such a fuss about it...whining really.
Steve here's a hint for you, it's called competition. Look it up some time.
In soviet Russia... (Score:2, Funny)
Next week news: (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Let the chair throwing commence (Score:2, Funny)
Beer GOOD!
Google is insane? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Google is insane? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Let the chair throwing commence (Score:4, Funny)
(Insane) Pot calling the kettle black? (Score:4, Funny)
Insane (Score:5, Funny)
google 2015 (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Let the chair throwing commence (Score:4, Funny)
Re:In other news (Score:5, Funny)
So they have to sell one copy of Windows Vista to compensate. Big deal...
Re:In other news (Score:3, Funny)
Why does Steve Get Newstime? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Slasdotters Say Ballmer Is 'Insane' (Score:3, Funny)
Or Steve is trying his own hand at inducing a Reality Distortion Field.
Re:Slasdotters Say Ballmer Is 'Insane' (Score:5, Funny)
I like gmail, but it's bee 3 years since I started using it and its still "beta". I'm a bit concerned google isn't very committed to their products.
And let's face it - this isn't 1998. The google search model sucks these days, and only worked great for the first few years because no one was exploiting their pagerank methodology. I get the same crap on Microsoft's search engine I do on Google. It doesn't matter which one I use, and for the 90% of people who juse use IE's defaults, it doesn't matter to them either.
Google has been riding on their successes from nearly a decade ago. I think google is in a much more difficult place than you imagine. If anything, their hiring fanatacism is a desperate attempt to find a diamond in the pile of coal. They are hoping that of the hundreds of turkeys they hire, one will think of something big, and they will be saved.
I'd say if google doesn't come up with something real fast, like in the next 3-5 years - they will be finished.
just like Microsoft (Score:3, Funny)
I suppose the difference to Google is that Windows and Office are under siege and rapidly becoming obsolete.
Re:Meh... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Slasdotters Say Ballmer Is 'Insane' (Score:2, Funny)
There may well be a more useless measure than direct comparison of share prices, but I'm not sure what it is.
Maybe something like the number of employees between 1.8 and 1.85 meters tall? That might compete.
Cuz goodness knows (Score:3, Funny)
Never mind.
Re:Slasdotters Say Ballmer Is 'Insane' (Score:3, Funny)
P.S. I've got 2001 on the phone - something about you borrowing their accounting methods...
Re:Meh... (Score:3, Funny)
And somewhere, off in the distance, a chair gives it's life as sballmer@microsoft.com receives 492 simultaneous Gmail invites.
Re:Let the chair throwing commence (Score:3, Funny)
Having said that, I would like a copy of Windows Vista, (any flavor), and a suitable PC to install it on. Preferably one that I can also run my livecd linux [geocities.com] on, just for comparison purposes, you understand.
There, that was easy.
Now for the good part, that Mr. Ballmer will surely appreciate:
Every operating system has it's bad days, I have odd things happen to mine once in a while, probably related to some of the strange web sites Mozilla Firefox and I surf.
Surely Windows Vista will sit there, stable as a rock, and let me run Firefox just as if I am using my livecd linux. I understand that Vista will want a much more powerful PC than the dual pentium pro machine I'm using, with a hefty 256 MB of 72-pin RAM. That's why I am also requesting a new PC from Mr. Ballmer, to go with the free Windows Vista. Something with a dual core, and 2 GB of RAM will do nicely. No need to thank me for my restraint here.
Thank you very much for your patience.
Careful with that chair...
Re:Let the chair throwing commence (Score:3, Funny)
You're not the only one here. I'm going to stick my neck out, and be on Billy G's side as well, because I could do with a few million extra dollars right now, and I happen to know that both of them have vast amounts of the stuff. OK, so a lot of it's tied up in stocks rather than laying around in the form of cash, but I'm not fussy or greedy, and would be more than happy to accept a few tens of thousands of MS shares in lieu, if that's more convenient. So if Bill or Steve (or somebody who knows them) is reading this, I'm more than willing to say what a great pair of guys you are for a sum that neither of you would even notice wasn't there any more, yet would be an absolute fortune to a modest person like myself.
Hey, Billie and Stevie, I just _love_ you guys to death, and would be _so_ happy to be seen with you (well, maybe not you Steve), so just contact me, and I'll tell you who to make the cheque out to, OK?
X X X X
Weedles.