• Reuters, Monday, January 7, 2008 1:28 PM

Prior to his final CES keynote as Microsoft chairman and chief software architect, Bill Gates discussed the road ahead for the software giant. He doesn't think the recent slowdown in the U.S. economy will weigh heavily on the company's future. "I don't think the fate of Microsoft depends as much on ... the economy as it does on the getting the breakthrough innovations from Microsoft Research into the products and staying ahead," he said.

A great deal of Microsoft's present fortunes depend heavily on Microsoft Windows and Office. Both are at risk from cheaper competitors--the latter in particular faces new challenges from free, equivalent services offered by Google. Microsoft is now asking consumers to upgrade their Windows and Office software.

However, Microsoft, like Google, believes the future of some computing services is on the Web-- sometimes referred to as "the cloud". "The arrival of the cloud is a great thing," Gates said. "It is the new frontier and it will be the frontier that companies will prove themselves out on. That's where all of our investments are."

Read the whole story at Reuters »