The news that Bill Gates plans to hand over the day-to-day running of Microsoft to concentrate on charity work (see this HEXUS.headline) has focussed attention on his replacement as the company's chief software architect, Ray Ozzie - a man generally regarded as being very different from Gates.
News sites around the globe have been picking over Ozzie's track record - he's best known as the creator of Lotus Notes collaborative-working program - and speculating about how and where his way of working and management will steer the software giant.
Perhaps the pick of the bunch is Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie: chant of change at Microsoft on The Australian's site. It's an easy and interesting read that gives you a feel for the man and the mission and includes some choice quotes, notably Gates' assertion some time back that Ozzie is "one of the top five programmers in the universe".
Also worth checking out, on Guardian Unlimited, is Spotlight on old rival Ray Ozzie. This piece includes a reminder that when Ozzie became Microsoft's chief technology officer [in spring 2005], there was immediately speculation that he was being groomed as Bill Gates' long-term replacement.
And it says, Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer had apparently been wanting to hire Ozzie for over two decades. As for the future, Guardian Unlimited reckons, "Mr Ozzie's influence is expected to push Microsoft further into highly developed web applications and knowledge sharing programs, areas where Microsoft is feeling the pressure from such companies as Google."
To hear the thoughts of Ray Ozzie himself, though, try Gartner's two-part interview of October 7, 2005 or the video of CNET's December 6 interview.
Thoughts on Bill, Ray, Steve or Microsoft? Then let us hear them in the HEXUS.community.
HEXUS.links
HEXUS.community - discussion thread about this article
HEXUS.headline - Bye Bye Bill Gates : Microsoft chairman switches focus
The Australian - Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie: chant of change at Microsoft
Guardian Unlimited - Spotlight on old rival Ray Ozzie
Gartner - Ray Ozzie interview of October 7, 2005
CNT - Ray Ozzie video interview of December 6
Microsoft - Ray Ozzie chief software architect
Wikipedia - Ray Ozzie biography
