“Microsoft Corp… will transform in the next decade from a
traditional software firm selling products on CDs to a fee-based
software service company, Microsoft President Steve Ballmer… told
an information technology forum sponsored by GartnerGroup Inc.”
“The software is going to have to transform itself from a CD to
a service that continually takes care of itself and updates
itself,” he said.”
“When asked about open sourcing…, Ballmer said that was too
big of a step… “If you look at what open source means today, it
means free. We have no plans for that,” he said.
“But he said the company was considering a modified form of
open sourcing that would allow established customers access to some
codes so that they could try to solve their own problems.
Related Story:
Infoworld:
Ballmer endures Microsoft criticisms, pledges enterprise
improvements (Oct 14, 1999)
Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.
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