Bill Gates Unveils Next Wave of Windows PC Innovation

NEW ORLEANS -- May 6, 2003 -- Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect at Microsoft Corp., today unveiled a new PC prototype designed to enhance today's computing experience and usher in the next wave of innovation for the PC industry during his opening keynote at the 12th annual Windows� Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC). Gates showed the new PC prototype as just one example of the type of innovation required to address the needs of users -- innovation that is only possible when hardware and software are developed together. Co-developed with HP and code-named "Athens," the advanced PC prototype represents an evolution of the PC as a center for communication and collaboration, one that simultaneously simplifies PC operations while merging all forms of communication -- including next-generation voice, video and text messaging -- into a consistent, streamlined design.