Microsoft snubs Web 2.0, looks toward smartphones

At first, it looked like Microsoft wasn't putting too much stock in the idea of Web 2.0 at all. Then, it looked like Microsoft was at least going to support Web 2.0 developers, if not end-users. Now, it looks like Microsoft might actually add some sort of Web 2.0 functionality to their applications--but not on the PC. "What the PC is good at, the Web doesn't have as its core strength, such as really fast (user interface) regardless of the connection speed and reliability," said Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's chief software architect, at the Web 2.0 summit, yesterday. "I don't see the right thing to do is to take the PC interface and functionality and put it on the Web."

Despite his continued ambivalence toward web-based applications, Ozzie struck a markedly different tone when discussing the possibility of other devices being able to interact with Microsoft applications using the web. "On the Office side, the biggest opportunity is that it's a world where mobile devices...and smart phones are everywhere," he said. "The Web is pervasive and I think there are scenarios that have tremendous opportunities to take advantage of the advent of different device types." If Ozzie's comments offer any indication of where the company is headed, some form of smartphone support in a future version of Office seems likely, though it's unclear how that would be implemented.

For more on Ozzie's plans for Microsoft's future:
- see this CNET article