You might think that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer making an appearance during the keynote address at the upcoming Apple 2010 Worldwide Developers Conference would be about as likely as Barack Obama walking onto the stage at the Republican National Convention. But an industry analyst says Ballmer’s entrance is already planned.
Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry, quoted by Barron’s online, said Thursday that seven minutes of Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ keynote on June 7 has been reserved for a presentation by Ballmer about his company’s Visual Studio 2010. The newest version of the development tool suite, according to Chowdhry, will support the creation of native applications for Mac OS X, the iPhone, and the iPad. The WWDC is scheduled to run June 7 to 11 in San Francisco.
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In case Ballmer is busy that day, Chowdhry suggested that Microsoft Server and Tools division head Bob Muglia might be called on to do the presentation. Although Ballmer would be the greater surprise, a Microsoft presentation by either executive during the WWDC keynote would be attention-getting.
A senior Microsoft executive venturing to Apple’s big developer conference might be seen in another context than simply a representative from Windows appearing on Mac’s stage. On Wednesday, news stories noted that Apple has surpassed Microsoft as the most valuable technology company, with a market capitalization of about $221 billion, compared to Microsoft’s $219 billion. When Ballmer took the reins from cofounder Bill Gates a decade ago, the company’s value was about $556 billion.
On Thursday, Ballmer pointed out to news media that the Redmond, Wash.-based giant had a net profit of $4.01 billion in the last quarter, compared to Apple’s profit of $3.07 billion.
An additional irony could be that the iPhone and iPad, the platforms for which the new Visual Studio tools are intended, represent…