Microsoft was the end beneficiary of those comments. They can take the hit, they want to throw cold water on the competition, and it worked.
I agree that Ballmer's remarks make him look like an idiot given his position. And recall this is not the first time he's come out with a notable quotable. Remember the immortal "I say to heck with Janet Reno"? Where did that one get him? The guy has a big mouth without a matching filter.
However, I can't attribute any real manipulative motive to this dumb remark unless some kind of lasting result is produced, and I don't think it will be. IMHO, and in the opinion of a lot of others, a correction was due, had already started, and was bound to be felt hardest by the issues that benefitted most from the mania in any case. This was just another factor that helped glitch it down a little. If high valuations for techs are going to end, they would certainly have ended with or without Ballmer's help. If they are a quasi-permanent fact of market life for a while (which they probably are), then techs will recover, eventually, without leaving M$FT with some kind of lasting relative advantage.
My tendency is (and always has been) not to give Ballmer too much credit.
Regards,
--QwikSand |
