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How Ray Ozzie is Changing Microsoft

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the change-or-die dept.

prostoalex writes "The October issue of Wired magazine takes a look at Ray Ozzie's work with Microsoft. To hear the article describe it, he's rebuilding the company from the ground up. A 70,000-employee company is quietly changing its ways by thinking of software as deliverable services that perhaps could be rented on a monthly subscription basis." From the article: "There are, of course, two major reasons for Ozzie's ascendancy at Microsoft: Gates and Ballmer. Ozzie is one of the few technologists anywhere whom they respect; they'd been trying for years to get him to join the company. Now he's carrying their hopes for the future, and it's a heavy load. Ozzie needs to move Microsoft from selling software in a box to selling lightning-fast, powerful online applications ranging from gaming to spreadsheets. The risks are enormous. The mission is to radically alter the way the company sells its most profitable software and to pursue the great unknown of so-called Web services - trading an old cash cow for an as-yet-to-be-determined cash cow. No, Microsoft doesn't think its customers will stop using PCs with hard drives and work entirely online, but the desktop era is drawing to a close, and that promises to force some painful trade-offs."

4 of 266 comments (clear)

  1. Off topic. Bye. by Cybert4 · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I am just too tired of the facetiousness on slashdot. The fake "departments" just make it worse. Signal to noise is horrid at this point. Jokes are fine, but slashdot is now one big joke. Bye everyone. Anybody want my subscription credits?

    1. Re:Off topic. Bye. by Moofie · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      "facetiousness"

      I don't think that word means what you think it means. But don't let the door hit you on your way out!

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
  2. Isn't It Time to Dump the Gates Borg Icon?!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    It wansn't particularly clever or funny when it first appeared years ago, and now with this article it is showing more that slashdot beat that joke to death.

    Gates hasn't had a whole lot to do with Microsoft nowadays, and in a few years he'll have almost involvement with the company. It's anachoristic to have Bill represent Microsoft at this time.

    Besides, Microsoft was the only icon that slashdot had that so belittling to the subject. It's time that slashdot start growing up.

  3. M$ Strategery by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    So Microsoft wants to deliver a suite of cool and useful online apps like Google, but wants the users to pay for it?

    [Dr. Evil]: Rrrrriiigggghhhttttt.