Steve Ballmer

That's what I did with Surface. I didn't wind up, it hasn't played out. And, you know, partly, you know, I didn't have that much, as much time with it. But, you know, there were no high-end PCs that would really compete with Mac. And I decided the only way we were going to get there, we couldn't sit there with our OEM model and have it work.

That's what I did with Surface. I didn't wind up, it hasn't played out. And, you know, partly, you know, I didn't have that much, as much time with it. But, you know, there were no high-end PCs that would really compete with Mac. And I decided the only way we were going to get there, we couldn't sit there with our OEM model and have it work.

If we're going to have high-end PCs that appealed to users, because I wanted us to be a consumer slash user company, not just an IT company. Because ThinkPad had, IBM by then, Lenovo had some higher-end computers. But you never saw them in schools. You never saw them in coffee shops. We needed a high-end PC. And the economics weren't going to let of marketing and romancing.

If we're going to have high-end PCs that appealed to users, because I wanted us to be a consumer slash user company, not just an IT company. Because ThinkPad had, IBM by then, Lenovo had some higher-end computers. But you never saw them in schools. You never saw them in coffee shops. We needed a high-end PC. And the economics weren't going to let of marketing and romancing.

That was not going to be an option for our OEMs. And I said, we got to go do Surface. Now, again, would we have tweaked things, done things a little bit better, or part of that iPad? Sure. But the model was not going to work.

That was not going to be an option for our OEMs. And I said, we got to go do Surface. Now, again, would we have tweaked things, done things a little bit better, or part of that iPad? Sure. But the model was not going to work.

Yeah. So we are in probably 2005, 2006. AWS has a little lift off. I think AWS comes to market what? Around then. Around then. And it's not like the cloud is some surprise to us. The Energizer, if you go all the way back to that Energizer thing from the mid-90s, it's all about the cloud. It's before it was called the cloud. It's before all the infrastructure that becomes the cloud.

Yeah. So we are in probably 2005, 2006. AWS has a little lift off. I think AWS comes to market what? Around then. Around then. And it's not like the cloud is some surprise to us. The Energizer, if you go all the way back to that Energizer thing from the mid-90s, it's all about the cloud. It's before it was called the cloud. It's before all the infrastructure that becomes the cloud.

So it's not like we say, oh, woke up one day, oh, there's AWS. We didn't wake up one day and say, oh, there's backends to applications too. We've been doing that with Windows Server and SQL Server. We've been in the cloud, blah, blah, blah. But at that point, I think we might have already had Exchange in the cloud as a standard product.

So it's not like we say, oh, woke up one day, oh, there's AWS. We didn't wake up one day and say, oh, there's backends to applications too. We've been doing that with Windows Server and SQL Server. We've been in the cloud, blah, blah, blah. But at that point, I think we might have already had Exchange in the cloud as a standard product.

What you have to remember is super important because I really want to give you my sense of what Microsoft's businesses are. But we didn't have a platform. And so I said, we've got to do one. Let's go get Cutler. Let's just go get Cutler. So I say, okay, we've got to get Cutler on it. And Cutler and I have a great relationship. To this day, we have a great relationship. We're personal friends.

What you have to remember is super important because I really want to give you my sense of what Microsoft's businesses are. But we didn't have a platform. And so I said, we've got to do one. Let's go get Cutler. Let's just go get Cutler. So I say, okay, we've got to get Cutler on it. And Cutler and I have a great relationship. To this day, we have a great relationship. We're personal friends.

But I mean, Cutler and I have been to basketball game together. We've played golf a number of times. We've done golf trips together. So But Cutler, he's a hard ass at work. I mean, if he doesn't want to do something, he'll tell you. If he thinks you are wrong, he'll tell you. If he thinks somebody else in your organization is bad, he'll tell you.

But I mean, Cutler and I have been to basketball game together. We've played golf a number of times. We've done golf trips together. So But Cutler, he's a hard ass at work. I mean, if he doesn't want to do something, he'll tell you. If he thinks you are wrong, he'll tell you. If he thinks somebody else in your organization is bad, he'll tell you.

He's very blunt. He was a great athlete in college, two sports. I think he played maybe three even in college. But anyway, so I get Cutler. And there's a guy working in MSR who I think is underutilized too, this guy Amitabh Srivastava, who you guys talk about. I thought he was underutilized doing what he's doing. So grab him, grab Cutler, bring them both onto this project.

He's very blunt. He was a great athlete in college, two sports. I think he played maybe three even in college. But anyway, so I get Cutler. And there's a guy working in MSR who I think is underutilized too, this guy Amitabh Srivastava, who you guys talk about. I thought he was underutilized doing what he's doing. So grab him, grab Cutler, bring them both onto this project.

I think Bill, is Bill still with the company?

I think Bill, is Bill still with the company?

He's about to leave, I think. Yeah.

He's about to leave, I think. Yeah.