Photo by gamerscoreblog Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer image:39422:0::0

If Steve Ballmer wasn't the CEO of Microsoft, I would guess he once wanted to become a doctor. Why? Well, no other tech executive seems to enjoy whacking the public knee with that little rubber hammer to test reflexes quite as much as Ballmer.

Digital Journal -- As DigitalJournal.com citizen journalist Maverick reported in a recent article, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer actually hinted Microsoft could extend the cutoff date for Windows XP.

Right now, Windows XP is set to go on the chopping block on June 30 when the company will stop selling licenses for the operating system. Microsoft is divorcing from XP to make way for her big fat sister, Windows Vista, to walk down the aisle.

The rumours of an XP extension started after Ballmer spoke at a press conference in Europe, telling Reuters: "XP will hit an end-of-life. We have announced one. If customer feedback varies, we can always wake up smarter, but right now, we have a plan for end-of-life for new XP shipments."

Online forums bulged at their virtual seams, as Windows Vista critics celebrated the possibility of a delay in their arranged marriage with the ugly witch. If Windows XP was around for longer, the affair with the better-looking and more, er, "stable" sister could continue.

Microsoft wants to kill XP and sell VIsta exclusively, but they're publicly saying they are listening to the public. Smart PR move, but Ballmer forgets he's playing with that little rubber doctor hammer too much. You can only knock a patient's knee so many times before he knee-jerks and kicks you in the face.

Microsoft's PR people are now scrambling to retract his statements.

A spokeswoman from Microsoft's public relations firm said Thursday that there is no plan for a change in deadline, however.

"Our plan for Windows XP availability is unchanged. We're confident that's the right thing to do based on the feedback we've heard from our customers and partners," the spokeswoman said, reading from a Microsoft statement.

The big ol' Ballmer likes to be a people pleaser when he talks to media, but it seems that comes at the cost of making idiotic statements without consideration of the ramifications.

The world would love XP to be saved and extended, I'm sure. Infoworld already has a petition signed by more than 160,000 people who want the OS spared from the executioner. If Microsoft is honestly listening to this feedback, one would have to call that responsible and admirable. In fact, why not just call it good business; why wouldn't you listen to those pesky little things called customers?

However, Microsoft is playing a very dangerous game of poker in the way they are treating this. If Microsoft is going to let their CEO sit at the table to play with the public, they should remind him that bluffing can burn really bad.

Microsoft needs to remember they are not just a little guy in the industry trying to figure out what to do. When they say stuff like this, it causes a knee-jerk reaction across the entire tech industry where stocks flutter like a nervous heart; suppliers pause to determine if anything will change next quarter; PC manufacturers have to stop to figure out if Microsoft could possibly be serious; and millions of customers all over the world are left with false hope. I would bet Ballmer's statement has already cost the world millions in lost productivity as meetings get scheduled to discuss possibilities, forecasting changes and the public has to re-educate itself on Microsoft's stance yet another time.

In an age where the words "Windows Vista" scares the pants off most people, Ballmer has to learn to bite his tongue and not talk until there is something to say.

Microsoft needs to stop paddling the public in different directions: Either extend XP permanently, or don't. People are getting tired of sitting in a rocky canoe with the big fat guy who constantly wants to see how far he can lean over the edge.