Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Apr. 15 -- Houston had a double dose of Bill Gates on Wednesday as the Microsoft Corp. chairman made dual appearances, first speaking to the public at Jones Hall in the morning, then to a global audience at Compaq's Innovate Forum 99 in the afternoon.
At both events, Gates discussed how breakthroughs in technology can help businesses achieve their goals and become leaders in the digital economy.
"The boundaries of business will be changing," Gates said. "Business is going to change more in the next 10 years than it has in the last 50."
At Innovate 99, Gates told computer professionals from around the world that the Internet is where businesses will be, noting that:
About 23 percent of computer users make purchases online.
25 percent of retail trading is online.
And about 71 percent of consumers research items online before they buy in a store.
During a question-and-answer period at the TechNet Seminar in Jones Hall, Gates said he foresaw only a limited role for Linux, the free computer operating system seen by some as a threat to Microsoft's dominant Windows operating system.
Gates said there was clearly a market for free software but this was mainly confined to relatively simple applications such as word processing and spreadsheets.
"Although it is a phenomenon, it is something we take seriously," he said. "But its impact is limited."
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