Yasser Zeineldin (page 3 of 3)

Again both were excellent choices. We paused for a moment to savour the delicate flavours and then returned to our conversation.

OK, Microsoft will carry on re-inventing itself. So where is the US software giant heading next?

'We are very excited about the proliferation of new devices to access the Internet and its services,' says Mr Zeineldin. 'That means users will have seamless integration between the various devices that they use. Whether it is your mobile phone, pocket PC, Web TV, auto PC or the standard PC, we are working on the software that will orchestrate the data interchange between these devices to serve the business and consumer needs.

'Such software will make it possible for people to be connected anytime, anywhere and on any device. This is another step forward in developing Internet delivery, and also a major part of our .Net strategy'.

We carried on talking into the night. Two enormous deserts arrived of the wasteline-expanding variety, and we were forced to abandon half the portion. Coffee concluded a first-class dinner in first-class company.

On leaving the restaurant my parting thought was that the IT sceptics who thought Microsoft had had its day during the NASDAQ crash are clearly wrong. The Microsoft software bandwagon is moving on to pastures new, and the new Office XP system is just the next phase in the expansion of this incredibly successful company. For the .NET strategy is built around the Internet and will have interesting impact on consumers as well as business transformation. We have really seen nothing yet.