Speaking at GartnerGroup’s annual Symposium/ITexpo in Orlando, Florida, Ballmer told delegates the industry’s biggest problem is people using software without paying for it.
One way to stem the problem, he said, is to develop a cheap PC for consumers in emerging markets. There has to be a $100 computer to go down market… we have to engineer [PCs] to be lighter and cheaper, Ballmer said.
Microsoft has taken steps recently to facilitate cheaper PCs, finally developing a cut-priced version of Windows XP with reduced functionality for low-priced machines in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Russia.
