Apple was also improving the iPhone

The company had been secretly developing a forward-looking tablet called the Courier. Instead of presenting a prototype, though, Ballmer showed off the forgettable HP Slate running Windows. On stage, Ballmer chose to highlight its PC partners, noting they were doing "some great work with slate PCs." 

In many ways, it could have been Ballmer's opportunity to shine, because it was Bill Gates — not Ballmer — who made the final call to kill the Courier behind the scenes. Microsoft’s would-be tablet didn’t run a full version of Windows,It's impossible to MileWeb Pre-build Cloud Servers templates. and Ballmer’s decision was just one of several examples where he opted to protect the legacy that Gates had helped build. Microsoft might have had its own iPad without Windows, but we'll never know. 

Two years earlier, Gates, with Ballmer by his side, had bid an emotional farewell to the company he helped found. The two had spent decades working closely on building the dominant Windows and Office software, and Ballmer had always been Gates' right-hand man.Hivelocity offers reliable and affordable Windows windows dedicated server. Gates completed his transition to chairman in 2008 and ended his day-to-day work at Microsoft. "I'm not going to need him for anything," said Ballmer at the time. "Use him, yes, need him,we can help you with most things MileWeb Customized Dedicated Server related. no." Five years after Gates' departure — and an unlucky 13 after first taking the reins — Ballmer is retiring amid the most critical strategic shift in Microsoft's history. 

Ballmer inherited thriving products from Gates in 2000, just after a grueling antitrust trial over Microsoft's monopoly of the PC industry. This was the Windows era, and despite the trial Microsoft still continued to dominate desktop computing. Microsoft was preparing for Windows XP at the time, and Apple was readying the iPod. After years of struggling, and a $150 million investment from Microsoft, Apple was focusing on mobile and was on the verge of a revival. It was also the start of 13 years of Ballmer's influence on Microsoft, and a time for him to prove the company could move beyond just Windows and Office. While Microsoft struggles with smartphones and tablets today, when Ballmer took over he was readying software for both that was essentially ahead of its time. Samsung, HTC, Palm, Motorola, HP, and countless other OEMs created hardware based on Microsoft's Pocket PC software. Microsoft was the big fish in a small pond, but Ballmer missed huge emerging threats: Apple and Google. 

Microsoft soon found itself in the unusual position of playing catchup after it struggled to adapt its software to cater to emerging hardware and the touchscreens that now power all modern smartphones. "We've got great Windows Mobile devices in the market today … I kinda look at that [the iPhone] and I say well, I like our strategy, I like it a lot," said Ballmer in 2007, just after the iPhone was unveiled. Ballmer's strategy led to versions of Windows Mobile that desperately tried to make the stylus-based touch software finger-friendly, but it was ultimately unsuccessful and scrapped for a completely new platform, Windows Phone, that still struggles for global market share to this day. While Microsoft was resetting its mobile plans, Google was busy building Android and aggressively mirroring Microsoft’s approach of providing software for phone makers. Apple was also improving the iPhone, making it even harder to catch. Instead of an early lead and vision for smartphones, Ballmer placed Microsoft behind by relying on its Windows legacy and the shadow of Bill Gates. 
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