Star-Telegram.com

Bill Gates was the keynote speaker on the last day of Microsoft Convergence 2006, held this year at the Dallas Convention Center.

Demonstrating what he believes will be popular future uses, Gates showed off a screen for the home that merged a TV and computer monitor. Touching the screen to view news segments from different channels, he found a story he was interested in and touched a button labeled “track topic.” Developments in the story throughout the day would then be sent to him at work or on a wireless device, he said.

At a work scene, Gates approached a desk surrounded on three sides by glass panels. Gates dazzled the crowd when the panels turned out to be one big computer monitor.

“Screens like this will be very common,” Gates said.

Microsoft’s moves to bring software to the Web are seen as an attempt to catch up with dot-com heavyweights such as Google and Yahoo.

“We’re taking the best elements of the online world,” Gates said.

One of the elements he cited was mashups — an increasingly popular way of merging two separate Web applications. The most popular mashups have involved Google’s mapping software, such as a site that combines it with online real estate listings to show users a map of where homes are for sale. Gates called mashups “grassroots programming.”

Gates also touted Vista, the next version of Microsoft’s operating system. Gates said users will be amazed by how well-designed Vista is. Microsoft, he said, has tested ideas with focus groups to find out what users want out of the next generation of Windows.

He cited speech-recognition software as a technology that would transform the world of electronics in the next 30 years.

“Everyone knows when that really really works, it’s going to be a huge deal,” he said.

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