OK, so even the NYT is mentioning this video. It was filmed during an introduction MGS (Microsoft Global Summit) session 4 years ago if I remember correctly. MGS (a friend still at Microsoft told me they changed the name to MGB) is their annual sales and marketing convention. Ballmer can get frantic (and that's something to see), but make no mistake, he can switch back to detailing business prospects quite fast.

And you didn't get to see other senior executives (no, not Gates) posing as Jim Morrison or Indiana Jones. I guess these guys wanted to be movie/rock stars. For us Europeans, these conventions bring up a mixture of amusement and disdain. Like, "ok it's fun, but won't you Americans ever grow up?". It works anyway. Crowds annihilate individual IQs and have a life and behavior of their own.