Microsoft as Media King?

The software giant sees its future in advertising and mobile and is taking the message to Europe — and to Google and Yahoo. Most people still see Microsoft primarily as a software company, but on Oct. 2 at a media event in Paris, Chief Executive Steve Ballmer painted a surprisingly different picture of the company’s future: Over the next 4 to 10 years, he said, as much as 25% of Microsoft’s revenues are likely to come from advertising.