Microsoft no longer looks to its future through rose-colored Windows and wants all to understand that it understands the future lies in web technologies that go beyond the PC and operating systems, writes ZDNet. In an era of technologies that offer users access anywhere and at any time, "Everything we do now, we have to be user-centric, not device-centric," Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said in a keynote speech at Mix '06, in Las Vegas, part of a Microsoft conference aimed at web and mobile developers.

He also discussed the changes to web use as a result of RSS and Microsoft initiatives. "You can think of RSS as the start of the programmable web," he said. Microsoft will build in RSS support in Windows Vista and Internet Explorer 7, allowing user to receive info from websites as well as podcasts and photos.

Microsoft execs will be providing more information on new and improved software and Microsoft's Live hosted services for building applications on various devices, including desktop PCs, mobile phones, gaming devices and Media Center PCs