In his keynote, Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates emphasized the coming importance of 64-bit computing.
"It's long been a dream to get it so you didn't have to think of high-end computing and PC computing as two separate things," Gates said. "A fundamental piece of that is this move to 64-bit computing."
The transition from 32- to 64-bit computing will a smoother transition than any previous transition, Gates said, crediting chip companies.
"Between now and the end of 2005, we'll go from having very few 64-bit chips out there to virtually 100 percent of what AMD ships and a majority of what Intel ships within less than two years we'll be will be 64-bit-capable chips," Gates said. "This is going to be a really wonderful transition."
Microsoft executives also discussed the idea of reducing the complexity of connecting a multitude of devices to various networks. The company said it plans to bring Web services to a broader range of devices including printers, digital picture frames and others. To this end, Microsoft introduced the Devices Profile for Web Services and a Network Connected Device Driver Development Kit. The Devices Profile specification, co-authored by Intel, Lexmark and Ricoh, details how to connect smart devices via web services.
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