Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talks about biggest regret: Windows Vista

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took 15 minutes to sit down with ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley to talk about his announced departure, biggest regrets at the company and what the future holds. We covered news from this morning that the popular figure at Microsoft will be stepping down as CEO to begin to enjoy retirement. So, the most pressing question is: what was Ballmer's biggest regret?

Windows Vista. Come on, it's really no surprise, right? Here's his answer to Foley's question:

"Oh, you know, I've actually had a chance to make a lot of mistakes, and probably because, you know, people all want to focus in on period A, period B, but I would say probably the thing I regret most is the, what shall I call it, the loopedy-loo that we did that was sort of Longhorn to Vista. I would say that's probably the thing I regret most. And, you know, there are side effects of that when you tie up a big team to do something that doesn't prove out to be as valuable."

Other interesting parts include how Ballmer's proud to be part of the birth of computing technologies, witnessing how technology has positively impacted millions of lives. Be sure to head on over to ZDNet to read the full interview. It's well worth checking out. Not everyone will agree with how Ballmer has gone about many things, but he's been an absolute blast.

We - of course - wish Ballmer all the best in the future and to say thank you for all the amazing videos and gif images that have been created.

Source: ZDNet

Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.