Newsmaker: At Microsoft, seeking the next billion computer users

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They basically can be time-sharing the screen and working collaboratively. What we found is that not only do they get to be more engaged with what they do on the PC...but they help each other. That's turned out to be something that's very beneficial from an education perspective. The kids are engaged and collaborating to solve a problem.

A lot of people think that for much of the world the first computing device that people use won't be a PC. It'll be some sort of mobile device. Obviously, that's an area that Microsoft has spent some time on, but it's a little bit further from its comfort area. What are you doing in the mobile space as far as non-PC devices?
Poole: Well, we certainly agree that the first computing device which will be used by many people around the world will be a phone. You see this happening in emerging segments all around the planet today. Mobile phones are really just taking off as the prices come down and the access is going up. We think that there are some interesting things to do to help make the mobile phone become a better device.

How close is that to being a product? You take the phone that people are already getting, hook it up to the TV they already have and you've got a computer. The phones that we use today in the U.S. certainly are capable of that from a technology perspective. How close is that?
Poole: Well, it's still got a ways to go. We've got it in development in China right now. We've got a manufacturing partner signed on with us, and our group in Beijing is working quite hard on it. It'll be in trials I think within a year and we'll see how people respond to it. It's a new concept in the sense of trying to bring together PC and phone technology in a lower-cost device. It's not something that you're going to see a businessperson in a developed market using while walking down the street. We're trying to really target the needs of a broader population and so we're very excited about the opportunity there, but time will tell.

Obviously, Microsoft is not the only company looking at how to get computing devices into the hands of more people across the globe. The project that's gotten the most attention is the One Laptop Per Child project. What do you make of a program the group is launching in which people in the U.S. can buy one of the laptops for their own use, and then a second computer would go overseas?
Poole: It's an interesting way to get people involved in this challenge that we all see, which is how do you effectively apply technology to education. I'll be very interested to see how it comes out as well.

How important is it that that first device people use be running a Microsoft operating system versus Linux or another operating system?
Poole: Interestingly enough, we don't see that as much of a battle. The battle is around nonconsumption or around buying a new two-wheeled motor vehicle as opposed to buying a PC for the home...Clearly, we have an interest in having our software used and we think that the value that we offer is very deeply desired--particularly as people get into more of the business world...But our primary goal is around just getting technology to be adopted.

How much might Microsoft benefit in the coming years from these efforts to get more people using computers?
Poole: There's no doubt that the growth potential in emerging markets is tremendous...When Bill Gates announced the Unlimited Potential effort back in April in Beijing, he said that we'd like to see the first billion people get benefits from technology by the year 2015. It's going to take a while for us and all of our partners working together to make this happen. But it's something that we think will happen.

I've heard he's really tasking you guys to do it a few years sooner than that.
Poole: Well, you know, Bill is never one to let you off easy. He wants to set a high bar and usually he finds out that people will go for it. We're going to go as fast as we can, but it's not something that Microsoft alone can do. It really is a matter of us working with many, many other companies around the world, including the NGOs or governments or foundations. I think as people get excited and see the results, it will snowball and really pick up momentum. 

More Newsmakers

[jrhymer]

Incomplete Article

I would like to finish reading this article but the link to the second page is broken

[Stating]

Another Billion Infected Computers

I can't wait until Windows deploys to another billion computers, which then get infected. If you thought spam and zombies were bad already...

[LuvThatCO2]

Hate...

Hate... its so easy, isnt it? People like you amuse me because you're obviously a little bundle of anger and use Microsoft as an easy outlet rather than confronting whatever it is that controls you.

[yipcanjo]

Honestly....

...grow up.

[jhoeforth]

To all haters...

This would be my first and last reply to this kind of post. The reason for that is this kind of message is not even worth a reply. I just wanna share to people that the greatest thing we could do for a message like this is not to reply at all. Treat their opinions with no worth because that's what they really are.

[rcrusoe]

If MS wants another billion customers

they need to offer something a lot better than Vista.

[ihfwt]

Relevance?

Hello,

I'm sure that for many, PC's are not on the top of their list of priorities. Possibly, food,shelter,medicine,clean water a home,education etc....
Sounds like this guy Poole will be remembered as the next "Ebenezer Scrooge" !

Douglas Wong

[Troll Hard]

To the billions out there without a computer

food's really overrated, buy a $300 Microcomputer instead. It is a status symbol now, even if you cannot afford electricity in your apartment/house/etc just run it off a car battery or chip in for a $500 laptop that you can recharge off of a street lamp by hotwiring it as long as the Police don't find out.

You also want a Windows OS, so you can get infected with malware. But since most of the time your computer won't even be connected to the Internet or even powered by electricity, you might as well run Linux on it. You wouldn't even know what malware is, because you never got literate and completed grade school. Buy hey, you can be the envy of the other poor illiterates on your block with a computer in your possession. Chances are they'll beat you up and steal it from you to buy them some food, but at least you'll have bragging rights that one time you owned a computer and were a part of the free world, and not some totalitarian dictatorship like your government who would have corrupt leaders that might steal that computer away from you anyway as part of some greedy tax scheme.

[Xenu7-214951314497503184010868]

Microsoft's phone will be called a "Zone"

Now your phone can freeze up and need rebooting too!

[jamal_shah]

Low cost open source handheld out of Pakistan - already exists

When you want to seek innovation for developing countries, how about looking at what's happening IN developing countries first?

Take a look at the Sirius handheld computer from FiveRivers Technologies out of Pakistan. Here are two links: http://www.fiveriverstech.com and
http://www.opensirius.org

[The_happy_switcher]

next billion

If there's a god, a majority of them will NOT install windows.

[eGenerations]

i know the answer

and as much as i'd like share it, i'd like contact from a serious entity.

no, it has nothing to do with eGenerations.com, my current venture, but it is the harness to tomorrows information. no bs.

nathaniel adam briggs
[e-mail]

[eGenerations]

what it is - what it is not

this is quite frustrating.

its not about the technology as typically defined, it's about the integration: biological (human factors, logical choice, e.g. UI,etc ), socialogical (status value, upward mobility, +), functional/value and economical. while its a known game that a holistic approach is ideal, the key is proper embedding within the human factors.

Maybe in these generics it's overly obvious, my apologies if the presentation is such.

The "exact" answer, while dynamic, could be labeled exotic compared to todays standards, is actually quite simple.

-n
[e-mail]

[Microsoft_Facts]

It isn't going to happen...

MS's best days are behind them, to the benefit of mankind.