Gates: Windows To The Future

In his biggest public presentation since a court depicted Microsoft Corp. as a monopolist bully, Bill Gates portrayed his software company as an innovator that is stretching the boundaries of technology.

Gates unveiled technology initiatives on Sunday that offer new ways to access the Web and take computing well beyond the personal computer. While Gates did not directly mention the government's antitrust case in his presentation, he said he has heard from many Microsoft supporters.

"I want you to know I appreciate the people who sent letters and e-mail in the last week," he said.

The sentiment in correspondence was in favor of Microsoft "doing more innovation in Windows," he said in a keynote speech to thousands of attendees at the giant annual Comdex computer show.

Gates showed a prototype of a small computer, code-named Mariner, that lets people browse the Web, plot out calendars and exchange e-mail. The computer, known as an MSN-based Web companion, will run on Microsoft's Windows CE operating system and be sold by the middle of next year by companies including Acer, Philips Electronics and Thomson Consumer Electronics.

The device, which may include a keyboard and jump users directly to Microsoft's MSN site, is expected to be given away to people who agree to sign up for Internet access. The gadgets are larger than so-called palm-sized PCs, which also use Windows CE but don't offer keyboards or full-fledged Web service.

Gates also showed how Microsoft, working with Web site operators, is pursuing new types of services the company says will make people's lives easier. One would work in tandem with satellites to give car drivers access to the Web and help direct them to attractive roadside spots, such as the lowest-priced gas station along a given route.

Gates also stressed Microsoft's support for a new Internet programming language, XML, that enables information to be easily exchanged between a wide variety of networked computers. XML is expected to give Web users new freedom to find and retrieve information.

He also showed how a group of five powerful Windows-based computers can handle a busy Web site, with 5 million page views a day, at lower cost and higher reliability than non-Windows machines.

The remarks come in the wake of Microsoft's stinging Nov. 5 court setback. U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Jackson handed state and federal prosecutors a big victory when he found fr the government on most points, agreeing that Microsoft was a bullying high-tech monopolist whose actions had squelched the march of innovation.

Jackson's finding has intensified speculation that Microsoft could be broken up into smaller companies to tame its aggressive practices. Other possible remedies include close supervision of Microsoft's actions or forcing Microsoft to publish the source code to Windows, putting creators of Windows applications on an equal footing with Microsoft.

By David E. Kalish