Cloning of .Net platform detected: Ballmer

The much-touted dotNet (.Net) platform - aimed at providing the next big boost to Microsoft Corp - is already witnessing "some cloning", according to Steve Ballmer, the chief executive and number two man at the world's leading software corporation.

Ballmer also revealed that the next major area of development at Microsoft will be the integration of the Windows platform with the .Net platform - but hopefully without the problems Microsoft faced mainly from the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) when it had bundled its Internet Explorer with Windows.

.Net is said to be leading the development of XML (Extensible Mark-up Language) Web protocol under which almost all technologies cut across various systems and devices "to talk with each other".

XML is being touted as the IT lingua franca - universal data format that lets information be easily shared, adapted or transformed.

"There is some cloning of our dotNet platform going on," Ballmer told Gulf News. .Net is at the centre of Microsoft's $5 billion in R&D expenditure in fiscal 2002.

Asked what will be next from Microsoft - Windows or .Net, Ballmer said the corporation plans to "integrate" both.

"We have settled the lawsuit with the DoJ, and yes we can integrate both Windows and dotNet in terms of obligations such as disclosures and the flexibility we have to provide our hardware makers," Ballmer said.

The action by some states in the anti-trust litigation is continuing. Also, the European Commission is continuing to study whether it needs to file action against Microsoft on allegations of non-disclosure, which the software maker intends to fight vigorously.

"With some states, the case is proceeding. The European Commission has asked us for a lot of material. The process there is different than in the U.S.," Ballmer said.

He said the DoJ action has been a growing up experience for Microsoft.

"The DoJ and the dotcom bubble etc led to a lot of self-examination - like in the life of any human, say during the teens. We grew up. We're now on the adult side of the equation."

Referring to the digital divide, Ballmer said he looks at a competitively priced multimedia product which could be easily affordable by a vast segment of the world population.

"The digital divide is partly a social problem which we are addressing through our commitment to raise computer literacy in developing areas.

"It is also partly a technical problem. I am looking at one device for $400, one with magical software that brings all the hardware together," Ballmer said.

He said Microsoft revenues from the Middle East today are not proportionate to the population of the region.

"I see it as an opportunity, and what an opportunity it is. We have to be at the leading edge in the Middle East as in other developing areas in terms of our commitment to raising literacy and transfer of knowledge."