Ballmer: All Media Delivery IP in a Decade

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer predicts we'll be getting all of our media through the Internet within 10 years, give or take a couple of years on either end. Plus, he prefers to get "Lost" for free rather than pay iTunes; should we be surprised?

Ballmer's remarks were made at the Washington Post, a legacy media outlet that has tended to toss softball questions at Ballmer and Bill Gates over the years.

He believes that all media, including newspapers, magazines, and TV, will be delivered over an IP network sometime between eight to 14 years from now, an opinion that should have sent Posties running to call up the NAB and cable companies for reaction. Ballmer seemed to be subtly plugging the social media features of Microsoft Mediaroom announced at NAB when he talked about how his son could play Xbox Live with friends "around the world" while he couldn't have the same kind of interaction with his buds while watching his favorite basketball or golf game.

There are also going to be far more producers of content available a decade down the road, says Steve, an interesting viewpoint given Mark Cuban's gloom-and-doom predictions that independent video producers are going to have trouble making a buck due to the current cost of distributing video.

Finally, would you expect the CEO of Microsoft to admit he has bought any Apple product? Would you expect a GM CEO to drive a Mercedes Benz? Ballmer says he gets his "Lost" fix for free by watching it over the Internet and is annoyed by the four 20-second ads like everyone else.

For more:
- The Washington Post's happy report on Ballmer's visit to their newsroom.

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