Interviewer Charlie Rose chatted with Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer and Cisco Systems Inc. chief John Chambers in New York Monday, in a talk apparently arranged because of customer concerns that competition between the two tech giants is heating up, especially in the areas of IP networking and unified communications.
Not surprisingly, the attempt by each to smooth over these worries was pretty dull, as reported in ZDNet's Between the Lines blog. One potential chance for a spark arose when Ballmer was asked the perennial question: Why not buy Yahoo! Inc.? The two companies have reportedly discussed a deal several times over the years but have never been able to pull it off. The latest report surfaced in May.
Ballmer's answer wasn't really one, responding that Yahoo! would be expensive but that Microsoft could afford it. "We have an independent view, and we are making progress," he added, touting Microsoft's relationship with Yahoo! and the two companies' "sophisticated cooperation and competition." A yawn, but what did you expect?
Slightly more interesting perhaps was his response when asked about competing with Google Inc.
"Are they going to choose to be a telecom company?" quipped Ballmer, a dig at Google's interest in bidding in an upcoming communications spectrum auction.
Chambers, on the other hand, sat happily on the sidelines regarding Google competition.
"I love anyone who loads the network," he said, in a nod to the search giant's acquisition of bandwidth-hogging YouTube. —Olaf de Senerpont Domis
See ZDNet's Between the Lines blog
See July 30 eWeek's Microsoft Watch blog
See July 24 story on TheDeal.com
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