Microsoft not backing off in crusade

Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill Gates talked about his Windows 2000 operating system at the kickoff of Comdex on Sunday night, but industry insiders were more interested in what his company was saying between the lines.

Gates had nothing to say Sunday about Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson or his ruling in a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit that Microsoft is a predatory monopolist.

Gates' only remark in reference to the ruling was his first sentence.

As photographers showered him with flashing lights for the minute following his introduction, Gates quipped, "Anyone here heard any good lawyer jokes recently?"

Microsoft in the meantime worked to generate industry support for the company's view that it is not a monopolist but instead is a rugged competitor using superior marketing tactics to increase market share.

"It's hard to have your government make claims you don't believe," Steve Guggenheimer, director of marketing for Microsoft's consumer commerce group, said in a San Francisco Chronicle story. "We know we haven't done anything wrong."

And in a display of its vast marketing resources, Microsoft this morning issued no fewer than nine news releases touting new programs and initiatives it is offering at Comdex.

An estimated 15,000 people tried to catch a glimpse of Gates, who talked about 90 minutes on his vision of how smarter computers will be able to make the Internet more useful.

Hundreds of conventioneers were turned away from a ballroom where Gates made his speech and were relegated to viewing him on monitors from adjoining rooms at the Venetian hotel-casino, which is a Comdex venue for the first time.

Those who stuck around -- and braved the massive traffic jam when the event was over -- saw Gates demonstrate some of the applications of Windows 2000, the soon-to-be-released Microsoft operating system that has components that can browse the Internet, make the information compatible and "learn" how to best apply it.

In Sunday's speech Gates showed how easy it would be to order and buy a car from a Las Vegas Ford dealership and fill it with extras with computerized parts that could be linked to the same computer system. Using information downloaded in seconds, Gates showed how the machine could plan a trip itinerary based on the car's gas-mileage capabilities, get real-time information on gasoline prices on the route and seek an appointment for service midway through the trip.

The process of personalizing the Internet also will allow people to program their communication devices so that important phone calls, e-mail and pages are routed directly through a "universal inbox" and low-priority correspondence is screened out.

Home computer users would be able to operate the technology to enhance their collections of music, videos and digital books through high-speed Internet connections, cable and digital subscriber line technology. Those technologies already are being introduced in Las Vegas through telephone and cable companies.

Gates explained that the enabling technology for many of the advancements is his company's software that allows a variety of computerized devices to share information established by the user.

Gates said Microsoft's mission statement has been rewritten to "empower people through great software, any time, any place and on any device."

Aside from his lawyers' joke remark and a video in which he lampooned some of his own misfortunes, Gates was strictly business, using his standard style of introducing Microsoft associates to explain and demonstrate new products as he made his presentation.

Gates also thanked those in the crowd who e-mailed him messages of support during his court battle.

Gates' appearance at the 20th annual Fall Comdex show marked the ninth time he has served as a keynote speaker. He first appeared at the Las Vegas show in 1983 and has been on the slate every year since 1994. He's also the keynote speaker for this year's Winter Consumer Electronics Show in January.

When Comdex began in 1979, 4,000 people attended. Today, 4,000 accredited members of the media from around the world cover the show. Show officials say 200,000 people will attend this year.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority estimates the show will have a nongaming economic effect of about $240.6 million on the city.

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