Microsoft Is Way Dumber Than Facebook

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Over the past several weeks, I have made the case that Facebook (FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg could teach several older, more experienced executives a thing or two about running a tech company.

Zuckerberg schools Hewlett-Packard's (HPQ) Meg Whitman, Netflix's (NFLX) Reed Hastings and whoever deserves the blame for screwing up mobile at Intel (INTC).

I make the case in:

HP's Meg Whitman Setting New Lows in CEO Incompetence

Netflix: Buy, Sell or Remain Confused?

Intel Missed Mobile Worse Than Facebook Did

Enter Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve "Please Don't Call Me Jim Balsillie" Ballmer. Here's a guy who just can't stop inserting his unwashed bare foot in his mouth.

Former Buffalo Bills kicker Scott Norwood would be less out of line taking shots at the 1990 New York Giants than Ballmer is when he jabs at Apple (AAPL). Somebody needs to put a lid on this guy's ideas.

Apparently . . . allegedly . . . reportedly (I really don't want it to be true), Microsoft plans on producing a Windows 8 smartphone. We're not talking about one made by Nokia (NOK) or HTC. We're talking one designed in Redmond and assembled in China by Microsoft.

Just a few weeks ago, Mark Zuckerberg shot down those awful Facebook smartphone rumors that persisted for far too long. He was clear: It makes absolutely no sense for Facebook to do a smartphone.

I agree for many reasons, particularly because nobody would buy it.

The reasons why Microsoft shouldn't do its own smartphone differ from the reasons why Facebook shouldn't do one period. However, the overarching premise reads the same way in both cases.

When Zuckerberg said Y'all are crazy, there's no way we're doing a smartphone, he basically explained that Facebook had to keep focus on doing the things it's good at. Connecting people. Making the world more social. And hustling revenue from its massive user base.

Along similar lines, Ballmer and Microsoft should drop the dream of being just like Apple and starting focusing on the things Microsoft is good at.

Admittedly, it can't abandon Windows. After all, Microsoft, even before Windows 8, has been good at Windows. Many of us like to dog it, but at day's end, it and Microsoft's entire suite of software gets the job done.

1 2 Next › Last »