Five ways Microsoft could change after Gates

Bill Gates has left the building and the question on many people's lips is: will Microsoft change as a result? What influence will Steve Ballmer have and how will the company's strategy alter without Gates?

Here are five ideas about what could change at Microsoft now Gates is no longer at the helm in Redmond...

1. A greater acceptance of open source:
Microsoft has been coming under increasing pressure from open source software, especially as more and more web-based activity relies on open standards. The company risks looking increasingly out of touch if it continues to keep everything to itself.

One of the signs that this will take place is Moonlight - the Novell-sponsored, open source, Linux-based implementation of the Silverlight web application development platform - which Microsoft helped build.

Nobody's suggesting Microsoft will release code for its big name applications in the near future but some industry watchers are speculating that post-Gates, open source and interoperability will become increasingly part of the Microsoft culture.

Gates was the person who drove the adoption of Windows as the de facto global operating system by guarding code fiercely. But with him gone, the influence of others should come through more strongly. And although Steve Ballmer may not be as keen as some, the collective will coming from some parts of the company could well make a difference.

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2. A new approach to Windows releases:
Vista has only been about for 18 months but talk has already turned to Windows 7 with shaky video shots of the OS in development emerging on the internet. Microsoft has said it plans to launch Windows 7 approximately three years after Vista - in January 2010.

But the way it will be released could be significant. Previous OSes have been launched as single all-you-can-eat applications but there is speculation Windows 7 could be modular. For example, Windows Server 2008 already allows the chopping and changing of applications depending on users' requirements.

There are suggestions that elements such as mail, photos and video could be available as an option on Windows 7 meaning customers could buy a version which supports what they want to do, without the loads of extra stuff they won't use or need.

This could be music to the ears of those who have criticised Redmond's approach of putting everything into Windows so other players offering services didn't get a look in.