Microsoft Sees Future In Media

Thirty-two year old Microsoft Corp. has been a software company for most of its life, but media is its future, CEO Steve Ballmer said at a media event in Paris on Tuesday. As growth in operating system and desktop software slows, Microsoft expects that within four to 10 years, 25% of its revenues will come from advertising. Part of the reason for the change is the growth of free, ad-supported Web services offered by Google; consumers no longer need desktop software to write documents and create spreadsheets, which has left the technology giant searching for new sources of revenue. The other reason is opportunity: "All marketing will be digital sometime in the next 10 years," said Ballmer. More ...