The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 8 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 0 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Ballmer: Platforms must build the top first-party app to succeed
“Platforms need apps. You want to have the top first party app that runs on your platform. Otherwise your platform can't get good.”
Ballmer: Mastering Voice Technology Requires Owning a Smartphone Platform
“There's so many technologies that are hard to not just popularize, but even get good at, unless you have a phone these days, just take voice. You know, if you want to really be good at voice. You got to get enough signal and you'll get the signal off the phone…”
Ballmer: Microsoft Office was the foundation for entering enterprise markets
“The truth of the matter is Microsoft office slash M three 65, whatever exactly it's called today is super important. It was the foundation for having permission to be in the enterprise. And yet it's a product that sits right there in front of users.”
Ballmer: Microsoft's mindset of doing all software was an unfocused mistake
“We've got to do all the software that these things will ever need. I mean, it was still of the mindset that said, and that there's an arrogance to that, and there's a hunger to that. That says there's just nothing we shouldn't do. And I don't think that was a …”
Ballmer: Enterprise software sales must serve as peace-of-mind insurance policies
“When you sell the enterprise, you have to provide peace of mind, which is kind of like an insurance policy. So buying more than you might be using, or some users are using, it's an insurance policy.”
Ballmer: Long executive goodbyes are a mistake and unhelpful
“I also think we screwed that up. You can't have a long goodbye. Long goodbyes are not helpful.”
Ballmer: Succession planning requires two different candidates for emergency vs. term completion
“Succession plan has two candidates. It's what happens if you get hit by a bus and what happens if you get served to term, whatever term feels like. And they're different people, right?”
Ballmer: Nokia partnership failed without acquisition due to marketing funding economics
“The problem with the partnership with Nokia is they didn't have the money to invest in marketing. We did. We did. They didn't have the market to go. They did not have the ability to go deep pockets. We did. But if we didn't have the monetization capability bac…”