Outgoing Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer spoke this week at the Gartner Symposium ITXpo and made some predictions. He said that soon there will be one version of Windows for multiple screens (phones, desktops and tablets). “Sometime in the next short cycle we’ll see great progress on that,” he added. “What it really means common user interface, common programming interface, common security architecture and user interface adaptability and common developer model and key services.”
Ballmer noted that Microsoft is working on touch-based versions of Office, but the company is also investing heavily in stylus technology. “I believe in the power of the pen,” said Ballmer. “I think a lot of systems will have a stylus built in. We’re going to go all in.”
For developers, Ballmer had one key prediction: “The cycle from development, test to deployment will happen much faster,” he said.
