Microsoft CEO Plays Forecaster, Salesman at Tysons Corner

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer played the role of future-teller and salesman as he spoke Tuesday morning to a room brimming with high-paid IT consultants and users in Tysons Corner.

Ballmer, who heads the world's leading manufacturer of software for personal and business computers, spoke to nearly 800 members of the Northern Virginia Tech Council.

His audience at the Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner included representatives from SAIC, CSC, Capital One, Sprint, Mitre, Booz Allen Hamilton, Northrup Grumman, PNC Bank, deans from university technology and business schools and four tables of Microsoft employees.

Ballmer sketched a future where your files, your music, your data would appear on your phone, your tablet and your desktop because it was stored "in the cloud" the fancy way of describing huge data collection centers like the one Microsoft has built in southern Virginia.

The router to that future is Windows 8 --- Microsoft's new operating system that went into consumer preview the end of February.

Ballmer said he now works in a paperless office -- no paper, no pencil, no printer because everything he needs he can now access from his tablet.

"The shape and size of computers has changed in the last 10 years," he said. "Now there's a computer in every pocket, on every white board on every TV set." He reminded the audience that the dream of Microsoft in 1980 when he joined was simply to put a computer on every desk.

With Microsoft's push to make cloud computing available on public and private levels, people will soon be able to access all of their files and applications regardless of where they're stored. Cloud computing allows someone with an Internet connection and a smart phone to pull up documents and apps stored on their home computer and vice versa. It's a way of bringing together all the information now segregated by device and giving the tech user the power to access it from pretty much anywhere.

Ballmer and a colleague touted the advantages and ease of operating in the much-anticipated Windows 8.

“You will have the mobility of a tablet and power of a desktop," said Ryan Asdourian, who demonstrated the new operating system.

A delivery date: "We're still T-minus N months" from releasing Windows 8," he said. "Where N is less than 12 months."

He also explained how Microsoft customers could use Skype

Microsoft paid $8.5 billion for the company nearly a year ago. Now the company is pushing the tool to businesses, touting its video, chat and conference call abilities.

Stewi Downer of Northrup Grumman: "It's really interesting about how they bought Skype," she said. "People in my generation have used it for five years (to stay in touch with each other) and now it is being used for business."

Heather Greenfield, of the Computer & Communications Industry Association was also intrigued by the business use of Skype: "It will make a difference if we don't always have to travel for a meeting," she said. "If we can share information around the world, you have more time with the family."

Mark Wohlgemuth of Deltek Inc, found Ballmer's presentation "excellent. The leader of Microsoft talking about innovation with Windows 8. It's important to keep abreast of what they are doing with keeping up with Apple," he said.

William Solms, of IntelliDyne LLC: "I thought it was interesting. He's an engaging guy in person. Lots of energy... He spoke more about innovation. You don't think of Microsoft on the cutting edge of innovation. It does seem like a big change."

Ballmer was the third speaker in NVTC Titans Premier Titans Event.