I know that this is not what we want to do at this site, which is to promote Microsoft. But its allways good to know what there up to . So have a read.. REDMOND, Washington: Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has promoted his longtime friend and company president, Steve Ballmer, to chief executive of the software giant that Gates co-founded. Gates, who is stepping aside as chief executive, will remain chairman and will also take over the newly created position of "chief software architect". Gates is taking the action so he can return "to what I love most - focusing on technologies for the future," he said. Over the past year and a half, Gates has turned over much of the day-to-day operations of Microsoft to Ballmer. Though Gates has focused more of his efforts on his vision for Microsoft and the computer industry in recent months, the announcement did not necessarily mean he was giving up any power in the company he co-founded in 1975 with Paul Allen. Microsoft has made Gates the wealthiest private individual in the world, with a fortune estimated at over $US80 billion. Meanwhile, his company has become the dominant force in the software industry, with its Windows operating systems on more than 90 per cent of personal computers. Gates said he planned to dedicate all of his time to fashioning and promoting the "next generation" of Microsoft's flagship product operating system. The latest version, Windows 2000 for business computers, is being released in the next few weeks. Gates said he especially wanted to develop software services that would be hosted on the Internet and made part of future versions of Windows. Microsoft is working to make its popular software, especially its Office suite of business programs, available over the Internet, in addition to the traditional way of loading it on to individual personal computers. Gates described the move as "a personal decision, one I have discussed with Steve and our board of directors for some time". "Steve's promotion will allow me to dedicate myself full time to my passion - building great software and strategizing on the future and nurturing and collaborating with the core team helping Steve run the company." Ballmer will retain his title of president. He also will be given a seat on Microsoft's board of directors effective January 27. "I'm certainly honoured and very, very excited about the opportunity," Ballmer said. Ballmer, 42, was appointed president of Microsoft in July 1998, giving him direct responsibility for improving the performance of all of the company's divisions, as well as customer satisfaction. The son of Swiss immigrants, Ballmer grew up in Detroit, where his father worked for Ford Motor Co. He was brought into the company in 1980, by Gates, whom he met and became friends with when both attended Harvard University in the 1970s. Ballmer was Gates' best man when he married Melinda French in 1994. After Gates hired Ballmer, the two reportedly had some rocky times. One anecdote says that in the spring of 1985, as Microsoft's deadline to produce Windows slipped further and further behind, Gates called Ballmer into his office and threatened to fire him if Windows wasn't on the shelves by the end of the year (although few people believe Gates, with a notoriously bad temper, was ever serious about firing Ballmer). Windows was ready by November. Along with Ballmer's promotion, Gates announced that Microsoft would develop the Next Generation Windows Services, which will power new products and services over the internet. Microsoft wants to use the internet to transmit data to any device, including computers, cell phones, handheld computers, home electronics - and gear that has not yet been invented. The announcement came after regular trading had finished on the Nasdaq Stock Market, where shares of Microsoft rose $US2 to $US107.81 1/4. In after-hours trading, shares were drifting slightly lower, trading about $US107. Mehdi Debbabi x 7669 LAN Specialist ,AAPT Telecommunications AAP Centre *********************************************************************************************************************************************** Notice: This email is confidential and may contain copyright material of Lend Lease. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify us immediately and delete all copies of this message. It is the responsibility of the recipient to virus scan this email. -- SLUG - Sydney Linux Users Group Mailing List - http://www.slug.org.au To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe in the text
