Tech industry still buoyant: Ballmer

8220;At least, for now, people are feeling, I won8217;t say optimistic, but better than you would be feeling if you are watching CNBC all day,8221; he said of the financial TV channel.

Ballmer, the leader of the world8217;s largest software maker, said he was speaking generally of industry demand rather than his own business. 8220;We are one week from the end of the quarter, so I have nothing all that interesting to say,8221; he joked.

Wall Street analysts, on average, expect the Redmond, Washington-based company to generate an 8 per cent rise in revenue to just under 15 billion during its fiscal first quarter ending in September.