Steve? Ballmer, the CEO of Microsoft, doesn't have the spacious, lavish office of many people think, and certainly not as scruffy as the offices of technocratic engineers.

5202, which is the house number of Ballmer's office, which previously belonged to Bill? Gates, located on the corner of the Microsoft headquarters office building, has large glass windows on both sides, allowing you to see everything outside, such as at this moment, the beautiful Microsoft headquarters office campus under the fog, and the rows of cars parked below.

The office is small, but neatly furnished, with a comfortable desk with monitors, phones, and photographs, and the wall on the right is plastered with all sorts of sticky notes, but the most striking are some old photos, among which you can find him and Bill? It has been 30 years since Gates took photos shortly after they met.

This is a passage by Bill? Gates described the friendship as the greatest business partnership, but that one now seems to have faded a bit, Steve? Ballmer himself doesn't know when he began.

If this feeling wasn't strong enough when he first took over Microsoft, then over the past few years, he has gradually realized that he and Bill? Between Gates, there will definitely be problems, but even he never thought that these problems would come so quickly, so fast that he was almost caught off guard.

Microsoft is facing a very, very many problems now, but in the final analysis, there is only one problem, and that is to decline from a market value of more than $600 billion at its peak to more than $200 billion now, which is unacceptable to all board members and venture capital companies that hold Microsoft shares.

But Ballmer obviously doesn't have a very effective way to deal with the company's current situation.

As he did before Bill? According to Gates and the top of the board, this opponent is very difficult, because the company, which has only been established for less than a decade, has become the most successful conglomerate in the world, and more importantly, the company is still developing at a high speed, and he has hardly any signs of stopping to rest.

Yes, the one that Ballmer sees as the number one competitor is Leaf Tech!

The history of Ye Technology's origins is well known throughout the world, starting with a revolutionary Zeus mobile phone, pioneering the trend of smartphones, and building the Android system into a mobile device with a market share of more than 90%, and the company is now gradually devouring Microsoft's business, especially in the two pillars of the traditional PC system and OFFICE.

It can be said that on the day that Leaf Technology announced the launch of Zeus Ultrabook, Microsoft's stock price came to a big decline in response, although it rose slightly after that, but almost overnight, Microsoft's market value evaporated by one-tenth, and in the following period, especially after the hot sale of ultrabooks after listing, Microsoft's market value fell by three-tenths.

What this means, maybe for ordinary consumers, they can't see clearly, but for investors, they see very clearly that Leaf Technology is challenging Microsoft's supremacy.

The board of directors held an emergency meeting to discuss how to fight back, but they were surprised to find that they did not have a very effective way to deal with Leaf Technology, or rather, Microsoft's containment of Leaf Technology has been going on since the birth of this company, but the more it contains, the faster it will develop.

OFFICE SOFTWARE DOES NOT SUPPORT ANDROID SYSTEM, IT DOESN'T MATTER, PEOPLE HAVE ACQUIRED A COMPANY BY THEMSELVES, AND ENGAGED IN A FREE VERSION OF OFFICE, WHICH HAS DIRECTLY LED TO A CONSIDERABLE DECLINE IN MICROSOFT'S REVENUE IN THE OFFICE FIELD IN THE PAST FEW YEARS.

Through a series of acquisitions such as Nortel Networks, Leaf Technology is now very strong in both soft and hard, but more importantly, they are very strategic and unparalleled forward-looking.

In 2007, Leaf Technology, which became popular because of Zeus's mobile phone, announced that it had poached a technical director from Google, Mark? Lukovsky, no one would have realized anything at the time, everyone just thought that it might have been just an ordinary poaching, but Ballmer knew very well that this man was extraordinary, and when he decided to jump ship from Microsoft to Google, Ballmer was so angry that he threw a chair at him.

HE IS THE CHIEF ARCHITECT OF MICROSOFT'S WINDOWS SYSTEM, PARTICIPATED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MOST OF THE KERNEL PROGRAMS OF THE WINDOWS XP SYSTEM AND SOME OTHER KEY CORE PROJECTS, AND HAS WON THE TITLE OF OUTSTANDING ENGINEER, AND IS A VERY IMPORTANT TECHNICAL TALENT OF MICROSOFT.

At that time, Ballmer had a hunch, but he didn't pay too much attention to it, but when Ye Technology announced that the Android system would be transplanted to the ultrabook, almost the whole world was shocked, because these are two very different fields, but Ballmer quickly thought of Mark? Lukovsky, who turned out to be the person in charge of the Android PC system project, became a pivotal member of Leaf Technology.

How surprisingly forward-looking is it that started four years ago and was preparing everything four years from now? It can be said that they are prophets of the future!

Not only that, Yezi Technology has launched Twitter and Weibo, launched WeChat, launched Facebook, and founded a series of Internet applications and companies such as Youtube, which seem to have little to do with Microsoft, but in fact let more and more users move closer to them.

Seeing that Ye Technology gradually devoured Microsoft's business and market, Ballmer did not have too effective countermeasures, because Ye Technology did not have much contact with Microsoft, and Microsoft even filed an antitrust lawsuit against Ye Technology, but in the end, it was also closed.

Just as some other companies have failed to sue Microsoft for antitrust, antitrust lawsuits are very nonsense in both the United States and the European Union, because you can't define in what areas Leaf Technology is suspected of monopoly, or in what way to use its monopoly advantage to harm users.

If these two points cannot be proven, all antitrust lawsuits will be declared unsuccessful!

Steve? Ballmer leaned back on the office chair, this chair was not the same chair he threw Lukovsky at the beginning, he had changed it, but his mood at this moment was even worse than back then, sighing deeply, but thinking about a very serious question in his head, that is, what should Microsoft's future be.

From Ye Zi Technology, Ballmer seems to have figured out a pattern, he feels that it is necessary to change Microsoft's past concept of heavy software and light hardware, and must launch its own mobile smart devices as soon as possible, especially mobile phones and tablets, this market is too amazing.

Ye Technology's current cash reserves have reached an astonishing level, and it has even been revealed that their current cash reserves have reached more than 120 billion US dollars.

It is conceivable that if they are given another year or two, the acquisition of Microsoft will not be a problem!

Just in Steve? When Ballmer thought hard, complaining that he was supposed to be the captain who led Microsoft to ride the wind and waves, but now he became helpless and ashamed to hide in the dark to conspire against the enemy, there was a movement from MSN on the computer, and Ballmer turned on the video conference and found that Bill? Gates, Tony? Bates and General Counsel Brad? Smith and other high-level executives are online.

"It's a pity, ladies and gentlemen, Ye Qiu, chairman of Ye Technology, has just announced through their website, Weibo, WeChat and other official channels that Ye Technology has successfully acquired Nokia's mobile phone, map and patent business, and the total amount of this acquisition will reach 15 billion US dollars!"

With the company's Chief Counsel Bled? Smith's words, everyone in the video conference immediately gasped, and even a few were obviously surprised, because they knew very well that this meant that Ye Technology would further consolidate its already very solid competitiveness in the field of mobile devices.

"It can't be, it can't be so fast!" Ballmer even had a feeling of dead heart, and he didn't want to believe it.

"I'm sorry, Steve, it's true, we also confirmed with the Finnish side that they exchanged contracts overnight last night, and as long as the EU and the US government don't interfere in this regard, this acquisition is basically closed!"

Listening to the analysis of the Chief Counsel, including Bill? Everyone including Gates and Ballmer was silent, and it was obvious that they were all thinking about how big the impact on Microsoft would be if Leaf Technology completed this acquisition, and it was obvious that it would be difficult for them to come to a conclusion in a short period of time.

"How likely do you think it is that the EU and US governments will terminate the deal?" Tony? Bates quickly thought of this problem, he felt that it was obviously too late to stop it now, and Microsoft did not have such strong financial resources to compete with Ye Technology, which was 15 billion US dollars, which is a huge amount of money for Microsoft, which is now only more than 200 billion yuan.

Brad? Smith shook his head, "Unfortunately, the situation in this area may not be as we imagined, they have made sufficient preparations for this before, the Finnish government and the EU side will not block this acquisition, and the US government believes that the same, but the Chinese government, I heard that they may stand up against it and file an antitrust investigation!" ”

"In addition, it is revealed that Google has basically completed the acquisition of Motorola, and the total amount is likely to exceed 10 billion, and some people even broke the news that it is 12.5 billion US dollars, and once it is acquired, Google will have 17,000 patents of Motorola, including many patents in the field of mobile phones."

All the executives who participated in the video conference were even more silent, and they had to be surprised to find that their competitors were ahead of them, and they were a little unaware of this kind of thing.

This may be a big slap in the face to Microsoft's monopoly position in the past few decades, reminding and telling all Microsoft executives that today's world is no longer the world of the 80s, and that today's world is full of all kinds of changes, and it is no longer their Microsoft alone.

"As I said, we can't always focus on software and ignore hardware, and now our competitors are ahead of us, and that's a hard lesson for us!" Steve? Ballmer said angrily.

Bill? Gates was furious when he heard this, he is no longer the personable young man he used to be, he is now old and pale, and even looks a little old, "I don't think this is a painful lesson at all, I am even less optimistic that they will complete such a major acquisition, we only need to focus on our software research and development, I always maintain this view!" This is also the biggest disagreement between him and Ballmer.

"But you have to see that if we continue with the current strategy, they will eat up our market share step by step, before you said they couldn't enter the traditional PC field, but they developed ultrabooks, and now their ultrabooks are selling no worse than ordinary laptops, and Android is developing rapidly in the PC field!"

"And then they're going to take it a step further and go ahead and move into the personal PC, and then they're going to go into the office computer, and the bottom line is that every step they take, we're going to take a step back, because we don't have any effective countermeasures against them, and what can we do other than meet here and say here that their acquisition isn't going to work out?"

Steve? Ballmer is the kind of person who can't stop when he gets angry, chattering endlessly, and many people are used to his style, but in video conferences, his whining brings dissatisfaction to others.

Because he says as if he is right about everything, and others are useless.

"Alright, Steve, what we want now is not to complain, not to be accountable, but to think of a solution!" Tony? What did Bates know about Ballmer and Bill? The contradictions and conflicts between Gates came out to make peace.

"What is the current market value of ARM?" Bates asked.

After the acquisition of Nokia, Ye Technology is in an absolute leading position in the field of patents and technology in the field of mobile devices, and it is the kind that is far ahead, and it is followed by ARM, a semiconductor intellectual property company, which is a typical technology company, without its own factory, and is more in the business of providing technology services.

But don't underestimate this company, Qualcomm, Samsung and other well-known semiconductor companies all use ARM's technology, which is called Intel in the field of mobile devices, which shows the company's technical strength.

"After two consecutive waves of acquisitions, it may not be easy to acquire ARM now, at least more than 10 billion US dollars, or even more than 15 billion US dollars, and they are also a technical company, with a total annual revenue of more than 700 million US dollars, and a profit of about 50%, without the slightest acquisition value!" Steve? Ballmer is familiar with the market.

ARM's little revenue and profit is a small profit for all large companies, but for this little small profit, it has to pay a purchase price of more than 10 billion US dollars, which is very, very uneconomical.

And even if you Microsoft buys ARM, so what?

Can you say to Qualcomm, to Samsung, and to Leaf Technology, that my patented technology is not authorized to you?

If you dare to do this, they will definitely be able to sue you directly, and many of ARM's technologies are not completely without replacement, the main problem is that ARM has formed a situation of small profits and quick turnover, everyone is greedy for cheap, thinking that instead of developing it themselves, it is better to rent ARM's patents cheaper.

So, overall, the acquisition of ARM is a very bad deal.

In addition, ARM does not have much hardware capacity at all, and Leaf Technology is now investing heavily in R&D in this area, and they rely on their extraordinary product sales to dilute this R&D cost, so no matter from which angle, or even from the perspective of weakening competitors, it is not necessary to acquire ARM.

"The official announcement of Ye Technology this time, including in January 2012, the annual new product launch conference, in addition to the launch of a new mobile phone, tablet, ultrabook and a series of new products, will also announce some new smart devices, as well as the first generation of intelligent vehicle systems they cooperate with many car manufacturers."

Brad? When Smith said this, he obviously took care of the emotions of all the executives who participated in the video conference and stopped, because they all knew very well that the bigger the market of Leaf Technology, especially the farther and faster it developed in their intelligent ecosystem, the greater the threat to Microsoft.

Why do you say that?

The reason is very simple, in the intelligent ecosystem planned before Ye Technology, there is obviously no shadow of Microsoft's operating system, that is to say, they regard Microsoft's operating system as synonymous with the previous generation of non-intelligence!

After a full minute or two of silence, Bill? Gates sighed deeply, "We really underestimated this company in the past, we missed the best opportunity, missed the best opportunity!" ”

If it was when Ye Technology was not in the climate, he took the opportunity to take advantage of Microsoft's Big Mac, or used the pressure of the government to forcibly acquire the company, then it was Microsoft who was calling for wind and rain now, but Microsoft didn't take them seriously at that time.

The marginal market, perhaps, many, many years later, the rise of Yezi Technology will be regarded as a model by countless entrepreneurs, because they have finally completed a rise from the marginal market, and finally staged the great feat of ants devouring elephants!

Standing in Bill? From Gates's point of view, he feels that he is not wrong to be obsessed with software, because software is Microsoft's core competitiveness, and it is also the key factor for him and Microsoft to be prominent in the world, so he does everything possible to maintain Microsoft's authority in software, and does not want the company to be more distracted by hardware, is this wrong?

But look at the current leaf technology, look at their rapid development over the years, are you really wrong?

Bill? Gates has never been willing to admit his mistakes, and he is called a model by his supporters who will never make mistakes and never fail, so he has no habit of admitting mistakes and admitting failures.

"I'm a little tired, you guys keep talking!" Bill? Gates used this way to get out of Microsoft's decision-making hierarchy, and he was really tired because he found that he really couldn't keep up with the times.

Perhaps, it is the monopoly that makes Microsoft, but it is precisely the monopoly that causes the collapse of Microsoft.

So, is monopoly good or bad?

Perhaps, Ye Qiu, who is in Europe at this moment, will not hesitate to tell Bill? Gates, "Monopoly should be fucking pulled out and shot!" ”

The reason is simple, he is monopolized QJ! After a full minute or two of silence, Bill? Gates sighed deeply, "We really underestimated this company in the past, we missed the best opportunity, missed the best opportunity!" ”

If it was when Ye Technology was not in the climate, he took the opportunity to take advantage of Microsoft's Big Mac, or used the pressure of the government to forcibly acquire the company, then it was Microsoft who was calling for wind and rain now, but Microsoft didn't take them seriously at that time.

The marginal market, perhaps, many, many years later, the rise of Yezi Technology will be regarded as a model by countless entrepreneurs, because they have finally completed a rise from the marginal market, and finally staged the great feat of ants devouring elephants!

Standing in Bill? From Gates's point of view, he feels that he is not wrong to be obsessed with software, because software is Microsoft's core competitiveness, and it is also the key factor for him and Microsoft to be prominent in the world, so he does everything possible to maintain Microsoft's authority in software, and does not want the company to be more distracted by hardware, is this wrong?

But look at the current leaf technology, look at their rapid development over the years, are you really wrong?

Bill? Gates has never been willing to admit his mistakes, and he is called a model by his supporters who will never make mistakes and never fail, so he has no habit of admitting mistakes and admitting failures.

"I'm a little tired, you guys keep talking!" Bill? Gates used this way to get out of Microsoft's decision-making hierarchy, and he was really tired because he found that he really couldn't keep up with the times.

Perhaps, it is the monopoly that makes Microsoft, but it is precisely the monopoly that causes the collapse of Microsoft.

So, is monopoly good or bad?

Perhaps, Ye Qiu, who is in Europe at this moment, will not hesitate to tell Bill? Gates, "Monopoly should be fucking pulled out and shot!" ”

The reason is simple, he is monopolized QJ!