Microsoft Moves to Weather Time of Slow Growth

Microsoft Moves to Weather Time of Slow Growth "It shouldn't be necessary for people to buy additional products for their secure infrastructures," Mr. Gates said.
Microsoft's plans in the computer security field have created both fear and skepticism in that industry. Its competitors have said they fear that Microsoft will govern that arena in the same way it attacked Netscape and came to dominate browser software.
But despite a concerted effort to improve the reputation of its products for security and stability, Microsoft has been plagued by a series of embarrassing computer security flaws, including a new security hole in a program used to play video and audio files that it made public on Wednesday.
Mr. Gates acknowledged today that the company's error reporting service indicated that 5 percent of all Windows-based computers now crash more than twice each day.
He said that Microsoft would pursue the computer security market aggressively. "Because it's a growth area, we're not being that coy with them about what we intend to do," he said."