Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates on Wednesday demonstrated technologies for
transcribing spoken Chinese, making handheld computers aware of when they're
being touched and moved, and adding emotion to computer slide shows. At an
event
recognizing the 10th anniversary of
Microsoft Research, Gates indulged his fondness for technology, raising
hopes for a world where computers will become more useful. "The message you'll
get is one of incredible optimism," he said as he described Microsoft's vision
for its research labs. Microsoft follows in the footsteps of more traditional
computing companies such as Hewlett-Packard and IBM, which have long had basic
research efforts and enjoy making a
spectacle of
their latest discoveries.
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