Interview (part II): Jeff Raikes - the Microsoft man behind Office and tablet PC software

Let's talk about what Microsoft can and can't do as a monopoly. In contrast, there are things Apple can do, and nobody going is going to accuse it of abusing its 3 per cent of the market. Do you think you're being held to a different standard?
We have to accept that. Part of the epiphany we've gone through is that we're going to be held to a higher standard, and we have do our very best to live up to that. It's not a worthwhile question to ask whether we like it or don't like it. It comes with the territory.

It's been a tough year for the tech industry. What's a reasonable growth expectation for the next six to twelve months?
Very moderate. But most of the things that I'm really excited about in terms of establishing new areas of application value don't really have big business impact until three, four or five years down the road.

What about the more general economic outlook? What are you hearing and seeing?
I don't see any significant upturn on the horizon - and I'm a guy who tends to be an optimist. I'm very disappointed to say that. People are still seeing a lot of pressure. But I'm very bullish long-term. We're fortunately in a business where we can invest for the long term.

Are there any obvious catalysts?
Because I'm an optimist, I think tablets will be very important. But I won't say it's going to turn around the industry. Next year will make it about four years since the last time that people upgraded for Y2K. My gut would tell me that there's going to be an impact.

Charles Cooper writes for CNET News.com.