Gates, Microsoft's co-founder and chief software architect, said he was skeptical of Google's ability to maintain its dominance in the search marketplace indefinitely. Increasingly, he asserted, that competition would revolve around new technologies and take place in new arenas.
Bill Gates has used his appearance at an industry conference to offer Microsoft's response to Google's latest online offerings, announcing the incorporation of satellite imagery into location-based search results and introducing a customizable MSN "start" page.
"Google is still perfect; the bubble is floating, and they can do everything," Gates told the moderator sarcastically at a conference Monday on digital technology, sponsored by The Wall Street Journal, at a resort in this city north of San Diego. "You should buy their stock at any price." He then added, "We had a 10-year period just like that."
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