Bill Gates By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, 52, made a final keynote speech at the Microsoft Tech-Ed 2008 for Developers held in Orlando, Fla., Tuesday, to mark his withdrawal from management.

``This will be the first time I will change jobs in any real sense since I was 17. Prior to this, I fully indulged in software development,'' Gates said in his speech.

Gates talked about interactive technology such as Windows 7's multi-point touch system and unveiled the beta version of the Internet Explorer 8 browser. He also revealed that Microsoft's future would be to compete with Google and Amazon.com to provide data centers for hosted services.

According to Microsoft, Gates will pull out from day-to-day management and only preside as Microsoft chairman after July 2008. Gates is expected to commit himself to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which he co-founded with his wife.

Gates' transition was pre-announced two years ago when he designated Ray Ozzie as the Chief Software Architect. Steve Ballmer will remain as the company's CEO, but will assume greater control of the software giant.

Born in Seattle, Wash., Gates first started his career as a developer 33 years ago when he co-founded Microsoft. He made a contract with IBM to package Microsoft's operating system MS-DOS with IBM's computers and became a major player in the software industry. Windows, the software operating system from Microsoft, still dominates the operating systems market worldwide.

meeyoo@koreatimes.co.kr