Say what you will about Steve Ballmer’s tenure as Microsoft’s CEO, but the man sure knows how to put on a good show.
At an employee-only meeting on Thursday, Ballmer said farewell to Microsoft, and with his characteristic bombast, danced to songs like Macklamore’s “Can’t Hold Us” and walked off stage to Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin‘.”
Ballmer also took the time to inspire the thousands of Microsoft employees he was standing in front of: “Only our company and a handful of others are poised to write the future,” he said.
On those competitors, however, Ballmer wasn’t entirely complimentary:
He also took a swipe at rivals, declaring that Apple is about being “fashionable,” Amazon.com is about being “cheap,” Google is about “knowing more,” but Microsoft is about “doing more.”
While we can’t say first-hand, it sounds like the event was a fitting farewell for Ballmer, who often seemed both blind and deaf to his overwhelming, slightly awkward stage presence. And goddammit we’ll miss him for that.