Microsoft Unveils Strategy

Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates unveiled an ambitious effort Thursday to transform Microsoft’s software products into Internet-based personal services, a move the company said was one of the biggest gambles it has ever taken.

The initiative, called Microsoft.NET, will allow individuals to access data from a wide array of devices, including personal computers, handheld organizers and cell phones. The devices will communicate behind the scenes, coordinating between themselves and constantly updating each other, Gates said.

Previews of the new services will begin in 2001, but full services will not be widely available until at least 2002, Gates said.