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12.10.1999
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TELECOM 99 Interactive Summit Opening
Bill Gates [ Excerpts ]
"Anytime, Anyplace on Any Device"
Microsoft Chairmain and CEO Bill Gate's keynote speech this morning in the Arena theater at TELECOM99 outlined Microsoft's new vision and new direction. From a "PC in every home, on every desktop" to "Anytime, Anyplace, on Any Device". And in order to make this happen, Bill Gates reafirmed Microsoft's committment in forging strong partnerships with Telecoms.
"Getting high speed access into the home is still a challenge but there is hope in the future with DSL and high speed modems. Taking this software and applying it to broadband, high speed netwroking can bring new levels of support services.
The PC has had a conservative forecast, but in fact, prices and have gone down, sales volume has gone up and power has gone up. 100 million units were sold this year. But the PC today has too many steps. Trying to connect two PC's and to transfer data from one to the other is still too complicated. Microsoft is working with Telecoms to provide information anytime, anywhere on anything, connecting everything".
Bill Gates and an engineer then demonstrated the prototype of a new wireless smarthphone, able to acces e-mail, schedule meetings and browse the web, based on, you got it, Windows CE.
Larry Ellison [ Excerpts ]
"The PC is a ridiculous device and Microsoft is making it more complicated."
High entertainement this morning with Oracle Chairman and CEO, Larry Ellison who's opening statement was a stab at Microsoft. "Four years ago I said the PC is a ridiculous device - not to pick on anybody in particular - a very complicated device. Microsoft is making it more complicated. "Windows 2000 is the most complicated engineering project in the history of mankind" - you can actually read this statement on their website. That's quite a statement when you consider the harnessing of nuclear energy, sending a man to the moon... Do you want that on your desktop ?
We at Oracle believe in simple devices for human beings, simple and at low cost. Almost everyone has a TV, a phone. Computers are still too expensive, too complicated. Government and companies spend untold fortunes to keep these things working. And not matter how many people you employ, there is still a shortage of engineers, because the device requires so much help to keep it runnning...
"We need to get complexity off the device and into the network"
With the Internet, the complexity is hidden from the end user. All you need to access is the Internet is a browser. Applications and data are on the Internet. The Internet is bringing the computers into a network appliance. It's changing Oracle, the economy, it's changing the world and it's happening now.
The data for Amazon.com is on a server, not on your PC. The Yahoo data appliction is on a server, not on your PC.
Your desktop computer needs to be on a network appliance. One you get your data and software applications off your computer you will be able to access it through other appliances such as TV, telephones will be able to share data over the Internet.
Oracle decided 4 years ago never to do software again that ran on PCs. Just as the PC pushed the mainframe off center stage, the Internet is pushing the PC off center stage.
When did you last hear of a PC company going public?
Every major website uses Oracle.The 10 largest websites use OracleNine out of ten business use Oracle (we were not able to convince IBM)Even Microsoft's Web TV uses Oracle.Take your company and put it on the internet.
You cannot use your phone to get information off your phone. However, if you put your information in a big data base and it on the Internet, you will see it on your phone. That will change the world.
A new prediction, "By the year 2000 there will be more non PC devices accessing the Internet than PCs".
Europe will pass America in Internet Access. because they have a two year lead in telephony, better technology, standard base and lower costs.
This wireless technology allows more access to the Internet. A major change.
Some examples.
Service: Your phone will let you know when your flight is late.Auctions will shift from consumer auctions to business bidding. Put your needs up on a website with internet purchasing from Oracle and inform your suppliers. Let them bid for the contract. Naked capitalization, true, but you will save money.Wallet in Phone. Dial up your bank and they will wire money to your phone, order a coke, check on security in your home.Oracle and Y2K. All of our service engineers have cell phones. Log a service request on our website, where an Oracle based application "Skilled based Routing" will forward the request to the appropriate engineer on his cell phone, reaching him no matter where he is.A favorite application. This will tell you exactly where your bus is. No big deal in San Francisco when you're waiting outside in a gentle breeze, but in Helsinky, in January, this could save your life. So there you go, the Internet will save lives.Portal-to-go technology lets you use existing content and allows you to add in a simple way, personal input.Oracl'es primary business is selling the large data bases. Oracle wants to see more Europeans on the Net. The Internet will change Oracle, the economy and for better or for worse, the Internet will change your culture.
E. Turrettini
