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Microsoft chief promises tough battle against Google during historic trip to IsraelBy ARON HELLER Associated Press Writer The Associated Press Microsoft Corp. chief Bill Gates on Wednesday promised an aggressive push into the fast-growing market for Internet searches in the coming years, taking aim at archrival Google Inc. despite recent setbacks for the world's No. 1 software giant. Making his first trip to Israel, Gates also said the vibrant local high-tech sector will play an important role in the global marketplace and pledged to strengthen cooperation with the country. He offered US$1.4 million (euro1.2 million), a relatively small sum, for local startups and pledged to connect tens of thousands Israeli children to the Internet. "It's no exaggeration to say that the kind of innovation going on in Israel is critical to the future of the technology business," Gates told a news conference. In media interviews, Gates acknowledged the intense competition with Google, which dominates the highly profitable market for Web searches. But he said Web-search technology still has room to improve. "Internet search as it is today will be dramatically better in a few years, whether it's us or Google," he said. "We're both going to be making dramatic improvements there." Despite heavy investments in search technology, Microsoft remains a distant third in the area. Google processed 45 percent of U.S search requests in September, outdistancing 23 percent for Yahoo Inc. and 12 percent for Microsoft's MSN, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. Gates said Microsoft is quickly branching out beyond its core business of desktop software, saying the company is developing software for use in automobiles, videogames and cell phones. He said his company is looking for new ways to use its software, "particularly making it user-centric so you can move between these various devices quite easily," he said. "Our strategy has never changed. It's a dream about software and the empowerment that software can provide." Gates met with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Finance Minister Ehud Olmert, Microsoft employees and business leaders during his brief visit before flying to neighboring Jordan. Israel's high-tech industry accounts for roughly half of the nation's exports and is considered a world leader in areas like communications, computer security and chip technology. Much of the work force has been trained in secretive army units or prestigious university programs. Israel has produced such industry leaders as computer-security giant Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. and business-software maker Amdocs Ltd. Many large technology companies, including Microsoft, Motorola and Intel, also have sizable research operations in Israel. "So many great companies have been started here," Gates said. "Even going back early in Microsoft's history in Israel we've had a world-class R&D center up in Haifa." Gates said the company has invested US$100 million (euro83 million) to translate its products into Hebrew. He did not say whether Microsoft plans any new investments for its 200-member research center in Haifa, a northern port city. Gates said the purpose of his visit was to learn about the local market. "I'm very optimistic about the advances taking place in this world of technology," he said. "There are many companies here that are partners that are delivering solutions into the marketplace that will really push that to the limit." Gates said his company would offer US$1.4 million (euro1.2 million) over three years to help startup companies make their products compatible with Microsoft technology. "When other companies see Microsoft has signed such an agreement, hopefully these companies will follow suit," said Olmert, the finance minister. After a meeting with Sharon, Gates, the world's wealthiest man, announced a project that would give some 250,000 Israeli children access to computers by 2010. Israel already is one of the most wired countries in the world. Sharon said the program would try to reduce the "digital gap" in Israeli society and target children in poor, outlying areas to "prepare them for life in the working market." The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested US$2.3 billion (euro1.9 billion) since 2000 in new visions of education. Late Wednesday, Gates flew to Jordan, where he met with King Abdullah II and his wife Queen Rania at a conference hall on the shores of the Dead Sea. Abdullah, an information technology enthusiast who is seeking to have computer learning introduced in all Jordanian schools, briefed Gates on the kingdom's IT industry plans, the king's office said. Microsoft opened an office in Jordan in 2001. Two years later, it concluded a strategic partnership agreement to accelerate Jordan's IT development. (jmf/ml) |