WinInsider

What Microsoft really needs is someone like Steve Jobs, whose mesmerizing on-stage appearances for Apple have done as much to turn around the company in recent years as its products have. Microsoft doesn't really have a Steve Jobs, and although some people might point to Ballmer as a possible comparison, the company has been (wrongly, in my opinion) trying to rein him in over the past few years. But Ballmer is all sound and fury, and Jobs is more about eloquence and style. The only person I know at Microsoft who fits this bill is Hillel Cooperman. My advice is to put the truly innovative and creative people in front of audiences to communicate strategy and put the businessmen behind the scenes, where they belong. Droning corporate executives aren't inspirational or interesting.

Despite some high-profile departures to Google and other rivals, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer say Microsoft is still in a position to attract the top talent needed to ensure the company's strength as it enters its fourth decade.

Microsoft's chairman and its chief executive also expressed confidence that the company can expand successfully beyond its dominant Windows and Office franchises into everything from video games to business software.

That scope has caused some in the company to question whether Microsoft is trying to do too much. But Gates and Ballmer say they see it as a strategic advantage -- and a key differentiator between Microsoft and companies such as Google.

Palm, Microsoft and Verizon plan to hold a press conference Monday in San Francisco, which will probably be the stage for the introduction of a Windows-based Treo smart phone that has been rumored on enthusiast Web sites for weeks.

The Treo, a PDA which can make voice calls, is one of the hottest selling mobile devices on the market, Bhavnani said. But with the support of Microsoft, IT managers might find it easier to issue the devices to their mobile workers, since they can take advantage of their familiarity with Microsoft's products, he said.

Symantecand Microsoftare about to launch new software for replicating and saving files on Windows systems at a greater frequency than many offerings on the market.

The releases will mark the companies' entries into the growing niche of continuous data protection, which pares the backup window faced by organizations, because data can be protected immediately. CDP allows snapshots of data to be taken at specific points in time, protecting and recovering previous file versions.

Microsoft will take a few moments today to reflect on its first three decades. But the company doesn't have much time to sit back and reminisce.

The anniversary, to be marked during an employee event at Safeco Field, comes at a pivotal moment in Microsoft's history. Strong rivals lead the company in critical markets, deadlines loom for major product releases and executives are embarking on a big corporate restructuring. Then there's the ongoing antitrust battle in Europe, questions over growth prospects, continued security problems and a flat stock price.

Bill Gates, Microsoft's co-founder and chairman, was the nation's wealthiest person for the 11th straight year, with a net worth of $51 billion, followed again by Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett's $40 billion, according to Forbes, which released its annual rankings yesterday.

Paul Allen, a childhood friend of Gates who co-founded Microsoft in 1975, was third wealthiest, with $22.5 billion, while Dell's Chief Executive and co-founder Michael Dell was fourth, with $18 billion, and Larry Ellison, chief executive of Oracle, was fifth, with a net worth of $17 billion.

Microsoft has always tried to nab every sale it can, but it hasn?t always been great about servicing the SMB channels, particularly channels for small businesses. That?s changing, according to senior Microsoft officials, or at the least, the company is renewing its emphasis on those smaller customers.

Earlier this month, the company held its first ever Microsoft Business Summit, followed back-to-back by a third-party conference called SMB Nation. Both events were held in the software giant?s plush campus conference center.

Allchin's decision to call it quits at the end of the year after the next client version of the Windows operating system ships solidifies Windows Vista as the legacy for his work at Microsoft, analysts said.

This explains why the software executive has poured his heart and soul into making Windows Vista a significant improvement over the current client version of Windows, Windows XP.

Michael Gartenberg, vice president and research director, Jupiter Research, agreed that Windows is "an impressive legacy to leave behind for the man who spent the last 16 years or so architecting this vision." Allchin joined Microsoft in 1990 and is credited with creating the contemporary Windows OS that has become ubiquitous on PCs.

Microsoft and Qwest Communications today revealed they are collaborating to provide VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) and other telecommunications convergence services to SMBs (small and medium-size business customers), making Qwest the first service provider to leverage Microsoft's recently launched VoIP software suite.

The companies made the announcement at the Fall 2005 VON conference, which is being held this week in Boston.

Microsoft and Qwest--which also will provide e-mail, Internet access, instant messaging, and VoIP integration with other desktop applications--will roll out their first joint services early next year, according to Michael O'Hara, general manager of Microsoft's communications sector.

On Tuesday, Microsoft announced a major reorganization, streamlining itself into three new divisions. It also gave notice that Windows chief Jim Allchin would be retiring on the launch of Windows Vista toward the end of 2006. Allchin shared some thoughts on his experiences in a memo to the company's Platform Products Group.

By now you should have seen the mail from Kevinjo (Kevin Johnson, who with Allchin will be co-president of the new Platform Products and Services division) and me to the new organization. I wanted to take a moment and send a note to the "old" platforms team to share some of my private thoughts about this change. I apologize in advance for so much email today.