Gates and Otellini, chief executive of Microsoft and Intel, wrote in an opinion piece in Monday's Wall Street Journal that the personal computer is entering a new era, becoming the hub for a variety of digital devices.

Their comments come as worldwide PC shipment growth slowed to 12.9 percent in the first quarter from 15.9 percent a year earlier, according to market researcher IDC. Both companies have stirred concern over a slowdown in PC sales growth this year, with Microsoft last month predicting that PC and server computer sales growth would decelerate in its fiscal year starting July 1.

Analysts expect PC demand to soften in the coming quarters as buyers delay purchases ahead of Microsoft's Vista operating system upgrade, the first major overhaul of the company's Window's operating system, which sits on 90 percent of the world's computers. The company in March pushed back the release of Vista's consumer edition to January 2007, from a prior target of the second half of this year.

"The PC has expanded far beyond its original use to become much more than just a sophisticated tool for creating documents and spreadsheets," Gates and Otellini wrote. "Today, we use it as a communication device, a radio, a TV, a movie theater and a photo album."

By: DocMemory
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