In college, I owned a Microsoft Zune.

It was this big, bulky iPod competitor, but I loved it.

But there was another memory I have about Microsoft from that same time period that I've always wondered about.

As a broke college kid, of course I wanted Windows 7, but couldn't.

didn't afford it. Somehow I came across a page from Microsoft where you could sign up to host

a Windows 7 launch party. Of course I signed up and to my surprise I actually received a box in

the mail with a Windows 7 Ultimate license, some streamers, a tablecloth, a deck of cards, and

balloons. And thinking back to that, I always wondered who at Microsoft would have thought to

do something like that. But after researching this episode, I think I know whose idea it might

have been. Steve Ballmer. From his Midwestern roots and Harvard days to his high energy leadership as

CEO on this episode of In The Shell.

Hello. Hey, why we're not shipping Windows 98? Absolutely. Mr. Jobs, you're a bright and

influential man. Here it comes. It's sad and clear that on several accounts you've discussed,

you don't know what you're talking about. The key to success is developers, developers, developers,

developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers.

Jens and I don't own phones. Neither should you people, if you have any common sense.

Steve Ballmer was born March 24, 1956 in Detroit, Michigan. He was an exceptional student, reported

the valedictorian of his high school. Ballmer's smarts earned him admission to Harvard University

where he continued to stand out. He graduated with dual degrees in applied math and economics.

In a dorm down the hall lived a fellow student who would change Ballmer's life, a shy computer nerd

named Bill Gates. Ballmer and Gates became friends and late-night study buddies. Gates later recalled

being amazed by Ballmer's excess energy and effortless social confidence, saying Steve Ballmer

had it beyond anyone I had ever known. After Harvard, Ballmer temporarily took a conventional path.

He spent two years as an assistant product manager at Procter & Gamble. By 1979, Ballmer enrolled

at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, but he would not stay long. In 1980, Bill Gates

came calling. Gates, who had dropped out of Harvard to found a small startup called Microsoft,

wanted his college friend to join him. Ballmer faced a fork in the road. Continue his MBA

or take a gamble on this software company. In June 1980, Steve Ballmer dropped out of Stanford to join

Microsoft, becoming the company's 30th employee and the first business manager hired by Gates.

Gates knew he needed a savvy business partner to handle the business side of the growing operation.

Ballmer was initially hired at a $50,000 salary plus a hefty profit-sharing deal.

That profit share grew so large that by 1981, as Microsoft incorporated, Ballmer converted it into an

8% equity stake in Microsoft. According to Gates, he even gave up part of his own equity to make room

for Ballmer. Ballmer's early role at Microsoft was a bit of everything. He managed hiring in HR,

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wrangled contracts and finances, and basically handled all the logistical and managerial tasks

that the young techies, like Gates and co-founder Paul Allen, weren't as interested in.

This freed Gates to focus on technology and product vision,

while Ballmer kept the gears of the company turning smoothly.

One of Microsoft's first big breaks was a deal to provide the operating system for IBM's personal computer.

And while Gates often gets credit for the shrewd negotiation that lit Microsoft license MS-DOS broadly,

it was the overall business discipline instilled by Ballmer that enabled Microsoft to seize that opportunity and scale it.

By the early 1990s, he was essentially the number two executive at Microsoft,

which was formalized when he became Executive VP of Sales and Support in 1992.

He cultivated Microsoft's aggressive sales force and its win-at-all-costs business mentality.

Without Ballmer's contributions, Microsoft might have never dominated with Windows and Office the way it did.

Ballmer's physical energy became legendary at Microsoft.

He was known to pound tables in excitement and high-five everyone in sight after closing a big deal.

Of course, having two strong-willed leaders at the top meant occasional clashes.

In later years, stories emerged of strategic rifts between Gates and Ballmer, for example, over how quickly to embrace the internet or whether to pursue certain acquisitions.

For the most part, though, the Gates-Ballmer partnership is remembered as one of the most successful duos in tech history.

They remained close friends, even when they disagreed.

For all their contrasts, the two shared at least one trait, an unyielding passion for Microsoft.

And f***ed.

By 1998, Ballmer was named President, officially Bill's second-in-command.

Two years later, in January 2000, Steve Ballmer became CEO of Microsoft,

as Gates stepped down from that role to focus on software architecture.

With Gates gradually stepping back, Ballmer became the public face of Microsoft.

And what a face it was, sweaty, red, and beaming with intensity.

Ballmer's keynote addresses became staples of tech conferences known for their unbridled energy.

At a time when rivals like Apple had the cool and composed Steve Jobs as CEO.

Today, we're introducing three revolutionary products.

Microsoft had the bombastic Balmer.

In one memorable entrance, Balmer danced Goofy with Bill Gates on stage at the Windows 95 launch party.

In another, he lost his voice screaming, I love this company, to an auditorium of Microsoft employees.

I have four words for you.

I love this company.

Yes!

Personally, I would welcome that kind of energy back to launch events, instead of the powerpoints of empty promises from corporations.

But Balmer was more than a cheerleader.

As CEO, he made bold strategic moves.

Perhaps his biggest gamble was pushing Microsoft into the gaming and consumer electronics business.

In 2001, Microsoft debuted the X-Men.

It was a totally new arena for the company known for Windows and Office.

The Xbox launch wasn't an overnight moneymaker.

In fact, it took years for the council division to turn a profit,

but it eventually established Microsoft as a major player in the $150 billion gaming industry.

Fast forward, an Xbox is a cornerstone of the Microsoft empire,

validating Balmer's vision of diversifying beyond PC software.

Balmer also championed various product launches and expansions.

The company released new versions of Windows, like Windows XP in 2001, which was a huge success,

and later Windows Vista in 2007, which was not.

Vista's buggy rollout and mixed reviews were a black eye for Microsoft.

Balmer himself admitted years later,

that Vista disappointed users and hurt Microsoft's reputation,

but they rebounded with Windows 7 in 2009, restoring faith in the flagship product.

Ballmer's Microsoft also aggressively grew the enterprise side of the business.

Under his watch, Microsoft built out a massive suite of enterprise software.

Ballmer invested in these quietly, and by the early 2010s,

Microsoft's enterprise division was generating around $20 billion annually.

There were, of course, missteps and missed opportunities during Ballmer's tenure,

and he got plenty of criticism for them.

Perhaps most notably, Ballmer underestimated the smartphone revolution.

When Apple's iPhone debuted in 2007, Ballmer infamously laughed at it.

Steve, let me ask you about the iPhone and the Zune, if I may.

The Zune...

I was getting some traction and Steve Jobs goes to Macworld and he pulls out this iPhone.

What was your first reaction when you saw that?

$500? Fully subsidized with a plan?

I said, that is the most expensive phone in the world,

and it doesn't appeal to business customers because it doesn't have a keyboard,

which makes it not a very good e-mail machine.

We all know how that prediction turned out.

The iPhone went on to dominate, and Microsoft's own mobile efforts struggled.

Balmer's Microsoft did try to compete in mobile, launching Windows Phone in 2010,

and even acquiring Nokia's handset business in 2013,

but by then, Apple and Google's Android had a stranglehold on the market.

Many observers argue that Microsoft lost a decade in mobile and tablets under Balmer's leadership,

forcing the company to play catch-up later.

Ballmer was also slow to embrace emerging consumer trends like music players.

The Zune, which Microsoft launched in 2006, was their late answer to the iPod, and it flopped.

Ballmer also wasn't afraid of big bets via acquisitions.

In 2011, he pulled the trigger on Microsoft's largest acquisition at the time,

the $8.5 billion purchase of Skype, the popular internet calling service.

This move put Microsoft in competition with Apple's FaceTime and Google's voice services

and signaled Ballmer's recognition that communication was moving to mobile and internet platforms.

Ironically though, just last month, in early 2025, the announcement came out that Skype would be shutting down.

But back to 2007, Ballmer also made a high-profile and ultimately unsuccessful.

attempt to acquire Yahoo for nearly $45 billion, aiming to boost Microsoft's position in search

and online advertising. Yahoo's board rejected the offer, and Microsoft walked away, a decision

that was controversial at the time, but later seen as lucky, given Yahoo's decline.

Under Balmer, Microsoft had also started the Surface line of tablets,

blending hardware and software like Apple, a strategy that had bumps early on,

but set a precedence for the company's future devices. Clearly, he was willing to take

Microsoft in new directions, even if it meant stepping outside the company's comfort zones of

software. By the early 2010s, Microsoft was at a crossroads. The world was shifting towards

mobile and cloud, and some investors were restless. In August 2013, Steve...

Ballmer announced he would step down as CEO within 12 months.

It marked the end of an era.

Microsoft's last link to its founding duo was moving on.

When Ballmer made the decision public, it was a shock to many, even internally, because

there was no obvious successor lined up.

Some reports later suggested that Microsoft's board, and even Bill Gates, had pushed for

leadership change due to the company's strategic drift.

Ballmer himself admitted, in hindsight, that he'd wished he'd moved faster on mobile

and new form factors, essentially acknowledging some missteps.

Regardless of the exact triggers, Ballmer prepared to leave the company he'd worked at

for the last 34 years.

He gave a rousing farewell speech in an arena in late 2013, filled with thousands of employees.

This isn't about any one person. It's about this company. It's about a company that's

important, that's forward-thinking, that's innovative, that's ethical, that hires great

people and lets them lead great lives, that helps people around the world realize their

full potential. I want to end with this song. Respectful, a song that talks about what

you've meant to me and what you've done for me. You've made this the time of my life.

It was classic Balmer, emotional, heartfelt, and a little unconventional.

Balmer officially retired as CEO, handing the reins over to Satya Nadella, a longtime Microsoft

engineer and executive, who would take the company in a new cloud-focused direction.

Like him or hate him, it's undeniable that Balmer loved Microsoft.

So what do you do after running one of the world's biggest tech companies for over a

decade?

In Balmer's case, you buy a basketball team.

Only months after leaving Microsoft, Balmer made headlines by purchasing the Los Angeles

Clippers NBA franchise for a reported $2 billion.

The Clippers sale came after a scandal forced the previous owner out, and Balmer swooped in.

At the time, it was...

the highest price ever paid for an NBA team.

Many wondered if this was just the billionaire's trophy purchase,

but Ballmer proved to be an actively engaged owner.

Love you, dear.

I have these notes, but I gotta say, I'm just fired up to be here today.

It's pretty cool. Pretty damn cool.

Woo!

That's not right for that, were you?

I'm just delighted.

You know, I'm proud of what we did last year.

We had a hell of a team, played the right way, hard, gritty, tough, resilient.

That's what the Clippers are about.

And it was a great season. Great season.

48 wins. Great season.

Not what we want, but a very great season.

I'm so proud of the guys we have.

Together with his wife Connie, he started the Balmer Group, which focuses on philanthropy to address economic mobility for children and families in the U.S.

He's donated large sums to community programs, education initiatives, and more.

One of Balmer's notable post-Microsoft undertakings is USAFacts.org,

a non-profit project he launched in 2017 that compiles data on U.S. government spending and outcomes.

The idea sprang from Balmer's desire to apply a data-driven, analytical approach to understand how government works and to make that information accessible to citizens.

Steve Balmer's journey from a Detroit kid to Harvard math whiz, to Bill Gates' right-hand man, to CEO of Microsoft, and now to charitable billionaires.

and MBA owner, is anything but ordinary. It's a story of high energy and high stakes.

He had keen business intellect and an unwavering loyalty to the company he helped build.

He was the salesman who could talk the ear off any customer, the taskmaster who pushed

Microsoft's teams to execute, and the ultimate company cheerleader who truly, as he said,

loved Microsoft.

In the shells written, researched, and recorded by me, I'm Windows Vista.

If you are listening in an app that lets you rate shows, please take a minute to rate this

one. I think it's important to rate this show because

I love this company! Yes!

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this episode on don't forget to thank the developers developers developers developers

developers developers developers yes that's it take care and i'll see you next time