INTERVIEW:
Question 1
Could you tell us about the future of the Web and Web browsers?
Answer
Today, the Web is about going out and finding information. And in the future,
you’re going to have that information custom-tailored and sent to your desktop,
making it much simpler and easier to use all of the great things on the Internet.
Question 2
There has been a lot of talk about the browser war. Is it something that also concerns
Java? What do you think about the development of the browsers?
Answer
The key issue in the browsers is that it represents the easy way to get on the Internet.
Today, we have a leading product with Internet Explorer and we will make it easier to get
Internet broadcasting, where you can have information sent to you. So, it is one piece of
the overall effort to simplify the Internet for users.
Question 3
After the announcement yesterday of the 100 pure Java campaign, the impression we
have here is that Java is becoming an industry-wide standard. What is Microsoft’s
decision?
Answer
We are very much a company built on open standards. We believe in standards
like HTML. We’d love to see Java put to a standards committee. Today, we have the
premier support for Java with the fastest way to run Java and the most interactive
multimedia. And we will continue to be a leading provider of Internet standards.
Question 4
What’s new about Internet Explorer 4.0?
Answer
Internet Explorer 4.0 is an incredibly rich product. It is going to dramatically simplify
the way users access Web information. It will allow you to send information directly down
to your desktop; it will allow you to have great multimedia audio and video capabilities.
We’re going to make the content on the Web that you see extremely exciting for users.
It’s going to be a great product. You will start to see Explorer rolling out in the
first quarter of 1997, and you will see the final version by the middle of 1997.
Question 5
Rather than thinking about what will happen in one or two months, what’s going to
happen to the Internet in ten years?
Answer
There’s a saying that people tend to overestimate what happens in two years and
underestimate what happens in ten years. I think there will be some dramatically new
things as far as the Internet is concerned in ten years. Probably the most interesting is
the ability to use natural language requests and commands to access information, so that
you can actually talk to the computer and have the Internet go out and find the
information you want and deliver it to you, tailored exactly as you want to see it.
Question 6
Microsoft has announced an agreement with PointCast. What will that mean for the users?
Answer
We are thrilled to be working with PointCast. PointCast a pioneer in Internet broadcasting
and Microsoft is a leader in making PCs and access to information easy for users, so the
marriage of the two is really going to be a great solution for customers to get great
looking Internet content right to their desktop.
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