"100% Ethical"

By Chris Taylor

Steve Ballmer, who inherited Gates' job during the antitrust trial, discussed last week's ruling with TIME's Chris Taylor

TIME: How's the new job treating you?

Ballmer: Fine, but I feel an extra sense of responsibility. During the time I've been CEO I've had to devote an additional 10% of my time to leadership meetings on how to resolve the DOJ lawsuit.

TIME: Now that Bill Gates is chief software architect, does he still show up for work every day?

Ballmer: Bill's settling in quite well. He's spending most of his time on the key issue: how the experience of using the Internet will change significantly five to 10 years from now and how we can adapt to that. He's not spending any more time with his family; he's on about the same schedule that he was on when he was CEO.

TIME: When the judge released his conclusions of law, you said Microsoft behaved the way it did because it still thought of itself as an underdog. Was there a point at which you should have said, "We're top dogs now, let's conduct ourselves a little less aggressively"?

Ballmer: I would certainly not apologize for our actions. They were 100% legal, and they were 100% ethical. Our style, from time to time, took away from the sense of opportunity that we provide, and that's something we can work on. There is a difference in how you appeal to third parties if you're the biggest guy on the block than if you're one of the small scrappy guys. But are we still going to compete aggressively? You bet.

TIME: Was it hard for you personally, reading the judge's ruling? Ballmer: It doesn't really reflect the company and the people that I know and love, and that disappoints me.

TIME: Will Microsoft still be around 50 years from now?

Ballmer: That's a whole heck of a long time, but the answer's yes. I think we've built a company that's going to last like Ford, General Electric or General Motors. As long as we've put in place the right management team, I hope our company can join those ranks.