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Comment by nanook | Hacker News Reader

In a parallel universe: Gates returns, fires Ballmer and turns MS around. Reality: He's probably happier solving much bigger problems in the world.

But still, it sucks to see someone drive his company to the ground. Has Ballmer ever done anything right for Microsoft? I can't think of anything.

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He's kept the ship afloat and is good at maximizing profits from MS's traditional businesses. The problem is that Ballmer isn't the person you need in a transitional phase for a company.

Gates was that guy.

Remember when they haven't shipped a web browser in Windows 95 and then they turned around and produced a kickass browser that killed Netscape Navigator? Or how MS Word took marketshare from WordPerfect like taking candy from a baby? Or how Win 95 won against IBM's OS/2, even though OS/2 was also binary compatible with DOS and Win3.11?

Gates used to be that guy. He doesn't care anymore. He's involved in something greater than even what MS was. Under current conditions, I'm not even sure that Gates could even do what he once did but he would drive a shot into the company and the perception of it.

There's no question Gates was as much of a skilled tactician more than a coder (which he was great at when he did it) but, while I'm sure he still loves MS, he is a man in the real world looking for a cause to drive him. MS is in the past.

I can't blame him. A good woman changes you and that's what Melinda did.

Ah, the MS OS/2 2.0 fiasco: http://yuhongbao.blogspot.ca/2012/12/about-ms-os2-20-fiasco-...

"Turns MS around" into what? Failure?

Microsoft seems like a successful company to me. I don't get it.

I hope he doesn't come back, and he keeps working for his foundation. What he is doing is much more important than a single for-profit company

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