Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was in Toronto this past week to attend the company's Worldwide Partner Conference and held an interesting interview with CRN (Canada / Computer Reseller News).

Topics discussed included:

• a "super" or universal CAL (Client Access License) option, bundling rights to many more server offerings than are now included in the core CAL
• the Biz Talk Server 2004
• the upcoming release of the next Windows Server upgrade, code-named R2 (due out in late 2005)
• Windows Marketplace, an online store initiative
• OS and Office migration update

The interview is interesting reading, however there was no mention about other interesting topics such as Longhorn, Indigo, LCS and Live Meeting.  Some folks such as Sand Hill Rd. VC guru Martin Tobias are predicting that Microsoft will push Longhorn even further out (from 2007 to 2009), so it would have been interesting to hear Ballmer's take on that topic.   more »