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To: The Barracuda™ who wrote (1754)	5/25/2000 12:19:00 AM
From: The Barracuda™	Respond to of 2127

Gates Tells Execs to Brace for Third Wave Tech Web - May 24, 2000 May 24, 2000 (Tech Web - CMP via COMTEX) -- REDMOND, WASH. -- Without referencing the antitrust case unfolding in the nation's capital, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates opened the company's fourth annual CEO Summit with a wide-ranging, yet PC-centric, view of business technology's future. Gates urged the business leaders to prepare for the "third phase of the Internet." This third phase moves beyond connectivity and simple transactions, and shifts into online services delivered over different kinds of devices, he said. "The Internet is entering a third, rational phase, where the bottom line is technology and online businesses' needs will become increasingly interactive," Gates told the gathering of Fortune 1000 CEOs. Microsoft (stock: MSFT) hosted the tightly managed event on the company's corporate campus here. The company would not disclose the guest list for the event, which was largely closed to the media. Reporters were only allowed to view the opening keynote on video from another room. A press conference with Compaq CEO Michael Capellas, Autodesk CEO Carol Bartz, Virgin CEO Richard Branson, and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was planned. A company spokesman said Microsoft and the business titans wanted private meetings to encourage open discussion. The conference is concurrent with a remedies phase hearing in Microsoft's long-running antitrust battle with the Justice Department. The case was not mentioned. Several leading executives are believed to be attending, including Warren Buffett, head of Berkshire Hathaway; Dell CEO Michael Dell; Worldcom CEO Bernard Ebbers; CBS CEO Mel Karmazin; Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina; Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia CEO Martha Stewart; Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio; and Walt Disney CEO Michael Eisner. Gates' opening remarks spanned a wide range of topics and he reiterated several points he made recently at Networld+Interop 2000 in Las Vegas. "We are transitioning from an offline economy into a online, digital economy," Gates said. He talked about the growing "ability of software to be always up to date over the Internet," and noted that the technology is advancing quickly in this area. "Microsoft's vision for this era is to stick to the same things we've done from he beginning: Provide software platforms that provide advances and solve problems for users across all of their devices," he said. Among his predictions, he said mobile devices will go far beyond their existing functions, e-mail addresses will be unified, and business supply chains that have been paper-oriented will be Internet-oriented. "Wireless technologies are really going to change how we think about the Internet," Gates said. "The fact that you have high-speed data connectivity will really change things a lot." While giving a nod to e-books and PC tablets, Gates plugged the PC relentlessly. "The PC itself is not going to slow down in any way," Gates said. "It changes every year very dramatically. Every year the PC keeps getting better. It always leads the way." Instant messaging, voice-over video, and video conferencing will make communication on the desktop a richer experience, he said.