Ballmer at MIX 08

Wanted to share a great interview Steve Ballmer had with Guy Kawasaki at Microsoft’s MIX08 conference a few weeks ago in Las Vegas. Guy is an ex-Apple executive who is renowned in the industry for not being a great fan of Microsoft, and he does not give Steve an easy ride. 

In the interview Steve is his usual self: he’s open, direct, humorous, full of energy and passion even when posed with tough questions on Yahoo, Facebook, Apple, and Google, to name a few of the topics discussed. Some of my favorite questions: “Why do you want to buy Yahoo?” (with more audience questions toward the end) and “Do you think social networking is just a fad?” (with questions around Microsoft’s $250M investment)

Some of the funnier exchanges were around Guy admitting that he uses the new Motorola Q (hey, same as me!) with Mobile 6 and can’t live without Exchange, and Steve’s challenge that his Toshiba weighs less and packs more power/features than Guy’s Mac laptop.

I also really appreciated Guy’s comments about the newer, friendlier climate and employees at Microsoft. He recognized that it’s become a pleasure to work with Microsoft employees. That’s great to hear, because I agree — it was one of the changes that convinced me to come work here 2 years ago.

Anyhoo — the video is worth viewing.