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Microsoft's 'super optimistic' chief

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Steve Ballmer

Ina Fried CNET News.com

Published: 07 Apr 2004 13:15 BST

In describing his attitude these days, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer is "super optimistic".

Microsoft would appear to have a long list of serious concerns: the recent antitrust setback in Europe, including a proposed $613m (£334m) fine; ongoing security issues with the Microsoft's software; a stagnant stock price; steady encroachment from Linux; and a murky release date for the next version of Windows.

Undaunted, Ballmer prefers to maintain that the company's legal worries are abating and that Microsoft is poised to release exciting products for homes and businesses.

Ballmer sat down with a group of editors and reporters from ZDNet UK sister site CNET News.com just after the European Union decision and before announcing an accord with Sun Microsystems.

In a wide-ranging interview, he talked about the state of the tech industry, the company's right to continue adding features to Windows and about how Microsoft is moving from its adolescence into its adulthood.

Q: Where are things, from your perspective?
A: I am in a superoptimistic kind of mind-set about not just our company but the ongoing impact; the accelerating, perhaps even, impact that technology -- and the software part, explicitly -- is going to have on society. I think that our glass is, if you will, not half-full yet. We have a lot of work to do -- a lot of exciting things -- and we are going to be able to create things that are going to change the world and bring value to our shareholders.

The EU case again raised the question about what should or should not be integrated into the operating system. Is your thinking evolving about the proper contours, if any, of what should be added to the OS?
The consent decree says we can do, from a product design standpoint, most anything we think is appropriate. But we have to do it with certain obligations for flexibility, publishing, etc. Between the District Court and the appellate court, there is some notion of what they call a rule of reason -- that is, what we are doing has to be better for consumers than it is bad for competitors.