MIX07: Ozzie--'There are no barriers'

Martin Lamonica of News.com interviewed Ray Ozzie yesterday at MIX07. Lamonica started off by asking Ozzie if Microsoft is trying hard to be more than just a Windows company. 

I don't necessarily think that it would be accurate to characterize the increasing openness as a backing away from Windows. I think what it is is a reflection that Windows is in a broader technology environment. Just count the number of devices that are out there right now, count the number of people who use browsers in a variety of situations where it's not just their PC--they might be somewhere else. These are some areas that are very relevant, and if we did not have tools and platforms that serve all those things, then it's like a self-imposed exile. We're essentially reaching out to where the audience is. Protecting implies setting up barriers--there are no barriers. These people are free to go take whatever solutions they want to put them in a browser.

It's a nonstarter for something purporting to serve people building Web apps to not let them reach the broadest possible audience. Because generally ad-supportive business models need to get to as many people as possible. Of course, we believe that our things will show best on our platforms. But we also want to go to where they (our audience) are.

The key phrases are "there are no barriers" and "we believe that our things will show best on our platforms." As long as Microsoft isn't doing things to cripple the user experience on non-Windows  platforms, it's a fair fight.

Commenting on creating an online version of Microsoft Office, Ozzie reiterated his position that Microsoft is being observant and exercising patience:

We're not going to be in a reactionary mode that just because somebody proves that something can be done, and it has some trade-offs, then we just immediately have to follow suit. I think that there are a lot of lessons they learned right now with those competitors of things that they've done that people just aren't using, and things that they've done where people are actually using it in ways that they aren't using desktop apps today. So I think that we are all learning from this and our product will end up in some hybrid form.

See also:

Video: Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie and Scott Guthrie, general manager of developer platforms, discuss important features of Silverlight 

Video: Major League Baseball demos Silverlight user experience