Leave it to Microsoft Corp. to send a geeky valentine to the world’s computer programmers. Rest assured that the software behemoth wants plenty of love in return.
Microsoft on Wednesday will unveil Visual Studio .NET–a new suite of programming tools that Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said Tuesday is just as important as the company’s biggest innovations, including the Windows operating system.
Ballmer plans to speak Wednesday to 6,000 people at Navy Pier with a satellite assist from Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, who will lead the global introduction from San Francisco.
Visual Studio .NET uses drag-and-drop features to help construct complicated programs, considerably speeding up development time.
Microsoft’s .NET tools let programmers work in the languages they know best. The resulting software works in conjunction with other programming languages, so programmers need to write code only once for use on desktops, laptops, cell phones and other devices.
Given Microsoft’s ambitions for .NET–which include an array of Web services that one day would let computer users rent software online–Ballmer said Microsoft has confused people along the way.
Steve Lundin, managing director of Chicago public relations agency Big Frontier Communications Group, agrees.
Ballmer previewed his pitch to Chicago-area tech executives Monday night.
Lundin said that when the floor was opened for questions, Ballmer was met with a moment of silence.
“I think .NET is still spoken about in this language that is understood by the information technology community,” Lundin said. “But it really needs to be couched in terms that more professionals can understand so that they can fully grasp .NET’s potential in the marketplace.”
