Gates Touts Security

Security and mobility will be key elements in a network landscape that will change drastically over the next five years, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said Nov. 12 in his annual state of the industry address at the Comdex Computer trade show in Las Vegas.

Gates said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks showed the need for both physical and digital security to guard against tragedy. He described his vision of the so-called digital decade, 2001 to 2010, to be one of trustworthy systems at the core of business, enterprise and home networks.

Gates said advances in security will open new areas of mobility and change the computing landscape. He predicted that tablet computers will outpace desktop and notebook PC sales within the next five years.

"The PC took computing out of the back office and into everyone's office," he said. "The tablet takes cutting-edge PC technology and makes it available wherever you want it, which is why I'm already using a tablet as my everyday computer."