Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer thinks universal app strategy 'won't work'

[steven36]

Steve Ballmer may not be running Microsoft anymore, but the former CEO of the company clearly has some opinions on its current Windows 10 app strategy. Ballmer believes that the universal app platform that Microsoft is currently following is not the way to go, and that the company should consider having Windows Phones run Android apps.

 

Ballmer, who is now the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team, attended Microsoft's annual shareholders meeting in Bellevue, Washington (Ballmer still owns a sizable share of the company's stock).

 

Ballmer expressed his views on the company's current app strategy while chatting with Bloomberg, offering his opinion on current CEO Satya Nadella's response to a shareholder question on why there was not an official Starbucks app for Windows Phone:

Quote

"Nadella responded by citing the company's plan to appeal to Windows developers by allowing them to write universal applications that work on computers, phones and tablets, targeting a larger array of devices than just Microsoft's handsets that have just a single-digit share of the mobile market. "That won't work," Ballmer commented as Nadella spoke. Instead, the company needs to enable Windows Phones "to run Android apps," he said."

 

As Windows Central reported earlier, Microsoft's previously announced "Project Astoria" that would have given Android developers an easier way to covert their apps to work on Windows 10 has been put on hold indefinitely.

 

Sources : Bloomberg  and Windows Central

[dMog]

have to agree   windows phone would take off big time if they could run android apps...

[steven36]

19 minutes ago, dMog said:

have to agree   windows phone would take off big time if they could run android apps...

You was talking about Photoshop  earlier at lest you can run it in wine or a vm on Linux . But   as far as windows  apps all the adobe apps and most other apps in windows store are just crippleware  compared to legacy windows  apps  . This was Windows 10 biggest mistake to try make computers run there not so good windows phone apps .  It should of never happened  they need to keep PCs and phones apps separate from each other and use android apps just on phones . Everyone is not going to switch to crippleware apps  after using full apps every since windows existed.

[Dodel]

Yay unviersal keygens, patches & Viruses...

[Holmes]

No I want windows phones to use android apps universal apps makes malware easier to infect malware can be coded easier and with less time to infect all devices with one app compared to windows phones using android apps and malware writers having to spend extra time and effort to code for each platform.

[steven36]

10 minutes ago, Holmes said:

No I want windows phones to use android apps universal apps makes malware easier to infect malware can be coded easier and with less time to infect all devices with one app compared to windows phones using android apps and malware writers having to spend extra time and effort to code for each platform.

They only way they will ever sell windows phones is use android apps something was made for another phone o/s all togther that should tell you something about the quality of M$ apps . This would not stop malware there’s malware in android apps already and malware in legacy windows  apps not made by M$ all the time  ,  but people chose legacy apps over windows modern apps and to buy android phones over windows phones all the time.

[Holmes]

They sell windows phones right now WHAT? That first sentence made no sense.  I know there is malware in android apps DUH!  It wouldnt stop malware it would take them longer to spread the malware one app for all platforms compared to a app for each platform needing to make a malware for each one separately windows phones android phones etc etc etc.

[vibranium]

Instead, the company needs to enable Windows Phones to run Android apps - Ballmer

 

Windows all the way. - Nadella

 

This is Microsoft's own version of Star Wars.