Gates & The Q>
Wednesday May 19 2:28 PM ET
Gates Sees 'Digital Dashboards' On PCs Of Future
By Martin Wolk
REDMOND, Wash. (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news)
Chairman Bill Gates, speaking to an invited audience of high-profile corporate chieftains, Wednesday
outlined a future in which pervasive network connections free workers from their desks and meetings.
In Gates' vision of a world of ''digital dashboards'' and ''meetings without walls,'' the personal computer maintains its place of
primacy in the workplace, while smaller devices -- ranging from tiny cell phones to ''tablet'' computers the size of legal pads --
allow workers to stay in constant touch with the beating heart of the corporate database.
As more than 100 of the world's top business leaders including Jack Welch, Warren Buffett and Michael Dell looked on at the
company's third annual CEO Summit, Gates led a 75-minute tour of current and future technology products aimed at increasing
corporate efficiency.
Gates said paper documents would be ''with us for a long period of time'' to come. At the same time he demonstrated advances in
high-resolution screens, digital books and ''electronic paper, which the Microsoft chairman said paved the way for a more digital
future.
Microsoft executives insisted the event was not a sales pitch but a chance for corporate leaders to share views on how technology
can increase workplace efficiency in industries ranging from aerospace to entertainment.
Still, Gates in his keynote address managed to work in plugs for a range of Microsoft products, including the Exchange mail system
and Outlook information management program. The speech, given at the suburban Seattle headquarters of the world's biggest
software company, was piped in by closed-circuit television to a roomful of reporters nearby.
In the past, Gates has used the meeting to unveil his vision of a ''digital nervous system'' carrying key corporate data. This year he
added the concept of a digital dashboard -- a customized screen providing access to electronic mail, news, stock quotes, Internet
search capability and other information.
''What we want to get to is where you can go anyplace and if you have a screen ... your information is available,'' Gates said.
Gates also showed how inexpensive video technology could be used to reduce the amount of time spent in meetings.
''It's not a case where you get rid of them all, but it is a case where many of them go away. Many can be made more productive,''
Gates said.
But some of the new technologies seemed to tie so-called ''knowledge workers'' ever more closely to their jobs rather than giving
them any freedom.
A new wireless telephone developed by Microsoft and Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq:QCOM - news) would allow workers to check
electronic mail from their car telephone and respond using voice recognition software.
A robotic-sounding synthesized female voice guided the user through a long series of menu options that gave new meaning to the
term ''voice mail jail.''
The system ''was a little more cumbersome than you would like,'' allowed Craig Fiebis, the Microsoft executive who demonstrated
it.
After a daylong series of presentations, the executives were to be taken to Gates' $60 million lakeside mansion for dinner and a
''fireside chat'' by Buffett, the legendary Nebraska stock-picker, and Welch of General Electric Co.
Other chief executives at the meeting included Dell of Dell Computer Corp. (Nasdaq:DELL - news), Ben Rosen of Compaq
Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ - news), Michael Eisner of Walt Disney Co. and Martha Stewart of Martha Stewart Living
Omnimedia.
Earlier Stories
Microsoft's Gates Hosts Annual Gathering Of CEOs (May 19)
Bristol Vs. Microsoft Antitrust Trial Draws Near (May 13)
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