Steve Ballmer is no longer “Monkey Boy,” at least according to the cover of the issues of Bloomberg Businessweek that hits newsstands on Friday.

The magazine has a long cover story on how Ballmer has quietly rebooted the software maker.

It’s a good read, with writer Ashlee Vance interviewing Ballmer over a pork chop and wedge salad at an unnamed Bellevue, Wash., steakhouse. During the conversation, Ballmer addresses both the challenges Microsoft faces as well as what it has been like for him trying to lead in the shadow of Bill Gates.

“The fact of the matter is that the new guy will never quite look exactly like the visionary founder no matter how hard they try,” Ballmer said, according to an advance copy we got our hands on. The full article should be on the magazine’s Web site in just a bit. (Update: It’s up now, here.)

Ballmer reflects on things he might have done better as well as where the company is going, including a critical “reset” this year, as the company debuts Windows 8 — arguably the most significant shakeup of Windows in its history.

In the piece, Netflix chief — and Microsoft board member — Reed Hastings calls Ballmer “the most honest, self-critical, self-aware person I have ever met.”

“I think he embodies a key quality of a great leader, which is he cares more about the company than himself,” Hastings said. “He’s willing to be open and drive improvement instead of being defensive.”

It also notes that, despite the criticism of where Microsoft has fallen short, he has managed to create greater annual profit growth in his tenure (16.4 percent) than either GE chief Jack Welch (11.2 percent) or IBM’s Lou Gerstner Jr. (2 percent).

There are a few newsy nuggets as well, such as the fact that Microsoft plans to open 75 more of its own retail stores over the next three years. It currently has 14.

So, should we give the Monkey Boy thing a rest?

Ballmer did use his “Developers, developers” line this week, though without the enthusiasm of the original. So I think we’ll keep calling him Monkey Boy.

Since I know you want the videos, here you go.

The classic:

And here’s this week’s iteration, as captured by yours truly, on an iPhone:

Correction: The article hits newsstands on Friday, not Thursday. In any case, you can read it online in just a bit, I’m told.

BoomTown hereby bestows upon the New York Times’ Ashlee Vance the award for getting the best quote ever out of the most ironically perfect source ever and, best of all, on the record.

As in, I wish I had thought of it.

To wit, from an email written by Oracle (ORCL) CEO Larry Ellison, on the ouster of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) CEO Mark Hurd, sent to the Times:

“The H.P. board just made the worst personnel decision since the idiots on the Apple board fired Steve Jobs many years ago. That decision nearly destroyed Apple and would have if Steve hadn’t come back and saved them.”

Way to inexplicably link the HP mess with Apple (AAPL)!

And also:

“What the expense fraud claims do reveal is an H.P. board desperately grasping at straws in trying to publicly explain the unexplainable: how a false sexual harassment claim and some petty expense report errors led to the loss of one of Silicon Valley’s best and most respected leaders.”

To be fair, Ellison’s note added some interesting and new information about the imbroglio, although the account was entirely according to him (and presumably via Hurd’s side).

What does Ellison have to do with this, other than the fact that he is a sometime partner and sometime rival to HP and a tennis buddy of Hurd’s: Nothing.

What’s the payoff from hearing the tough-talking opinions of the one tech company CEO who is well known for his high-flying lifestyle: Priceless.

(And don’t miss the insignia on Larry’s polo shirt in the above image!)