Speaking at a Gartner conference in Orlando, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer discussed Vista, Linux, and even managed to work Google into the talk.
Microsoft has to get better at search, if it wants to surpass Google and Yahoo. Those two companies have built their brands with search, an area in which Microsoft’s MSN has lacked.
Search is very much on the minds of Microsoft, as is Google. The Mountain View company has developed into a credible threat to Redmond, and they have garnered Microsoft’s attention. Whether Microsoft can capitalize by developing better search technologies is another matter, but they do recognize the need as Ballmer commented:
“In general, 50 percent of searches do not lead to the desired outcome. Does anybody not believe that the search experience is going to be dramatically better 10 years from now? Does anybody deny it would be nice to search within the enterprise and outside the enterprise?” Ballmer asked the audience.
“We see plenty of opportunities in things that Google might or might not do. If you read the newspapers today, other than curing cancer, Google will do everything.” Ballmer said.
Ballmer also touted the latest beta release of the Vista operating system. The much delayed operating system will arrive in late 2006, a year later than forecast. Delays due to resolving security and interoperability issues should make Vista a better product.
Some of those improvements, Microsoft hopes, will be sufficient to entice Linux users to give it a try. That could be difficult to achieve, as Linux has found a solid niche for use in servers due to many positive factors like cost and an out of the box immunity to the viruses and worms that plague Windows machines.
David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
