That's an interesting find but he's not necessarily being hypocritical or deceitful. Ballmer could just think that the web apps Microsoft is announcing today are super awesome compared to Google Docs.
My understanding is that they are "Silverlight enhanced". Meaning that it is primarily HTML/Ajax, but some features may only be available with Silverlight. I have no idea how they are going to pull that off, but it seems reasoanble that complex PowerPoint animations or accurate page layout and print preview functionality would require Silverlight.
Yeah, a commenter in the story mentioned it works in Firefox and Safari too, which is pretty awesome. Maybe it's that they're trying to take cross-browser compatibility seriously in this one.
Business-wise, it would be a good way to grow the Silverlight install base though...
If you believe in Ballmer, they are ready to implode the desktop apps if people prefer to do it online. They just want to lead this market too.
It's better to have lots of people using your online version and not using the desktop ones, than lots of people using Google's version and none using your desktop offers.
Now, if it'll work, that's another story... but if it does, MS will keep being the market leader.
Perhaps this answer hasn't fully clarified why Ajax and not Silverlight. IMHO is to allow more stuff to run.
Nowadays is inconceivable a consumer device with network capabilities, screen and some form of input method to not have a browser. From mobiles to netbooks and desktops, people who make hardware have to put a browser. Silverlight, being a different piece of software, would have to be re-coded/compiled to each of these plataforms.
Besides the extra work required for MS, it's just another layer of difficult for end-users (installing the plugin). Simply not having this step is better.
But, someone could argue, MS could make vendors, even paying them, to ship with Silverlight. Or some form of stripped down Windows version, say, CE, which would bundle Silverlight.
Why not? MS today controls the OS market and the Office app market. But with so many plataforms, it'll be very, very complicated in the future to control the OS market. A version of Windows for mobiles, netbooks, desktops, tables, etc etc etc? IMHO MS knows that the future doesn't look as good as right now for them on the OS space.
So, they're throwing the towel on the OS market _as a whole_, I mean, for everything. Of course they'll keep Windows (for desktop), because it's such a huge cash cow. But they won't be able to control the rest, or at least is not something that you can bet your revenues on. Would you? I mean, if you were a MS executive, would you bet that in 2015 90% of the mobiles will be running Windows CE?
Maybe yes, maybe not. It's easier to just make the online Office stuff, and try to own its market, because you already do for the offline. MS knows what business want from their Office offers, so it's on the best position to make it work for online in the future (Google and Apple lovers: I've said best position, not that it will).
Anyway, long post. English is not my primary language so I am sorry if the above wall was hard to parse!
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/10/steve-ballmer-disses-goo...