'We're Building the Largest Computing Facility' ; Richard F. Rick' Rashid Runs Microsoft Research, the Software Giant's Crack 850-Person Unit, and has Overseen Breakthrough Research in the Areas of E-Commerce, Internet and Online Products and Its Ubiquitous Office Software. Microsoft Was One of the Earliest Investors in Such a Research Unit, but Its Investments Have Been Overshadowed in Recent Times by Google's Rampant Progress.

Summary

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Richardrick

Rashid runs Microsoft Research, the software giant's crack 850- person unit, and has overseen breakthrough research in the areas of e-commerce, Internet and online products and its ubiquitous Office software. Microsoft was one of the earliest investors in such a research unit, but its investments have been overshadowed in recent times by Google's rampant progress. However, Rashid, who has previously worked at the Computer Sciences Department of the Ivy League Carnegie Mellon University, says Microsoft continues to work at the farthest frontiers of computer science. An avid science fiction fan and Star Trejunkie, Rashid says that as the world starts to revolve around the Internet, new computer languages and business models will emerge. He met Business Today's Rahul Sachitanand, for a wideranging discussion on hisbabyduring a recent trip to Bangalore. Excerpts:

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'We're Building the Largest Computing Facility' ; Richard F. Rick' Rashid Runs Microsoft Research, the Software Giant's Crack 850-Person Unit, and has Overseen Breakthrough Research in the Areas of E-Commerce, Internet and Online Products and Its Ubiquitous Office Software. Microsoft Was One of the Earliest Investors in Such a Research Unit, but Its Investments Have Been Overshadowed in Recent Times by Google's Rampant Progress.

You came onboard Microsoft from Carnegie Mellon University 17 years ago. How has the journey been? I came to Microsoft to build the equivalent of a computer sciences department within the context of a software company. Microsoft Research is really like that it is very much patterned after the Computer Sciences Department at the Carnegie Mellon University in the mid-1980s. That's where I grew up and...

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