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NEW YORK — Following the launch festivities Monday for new consumer versions of Windows Vista and Office 2007, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer sat down with USA TODAY reporter Jon Swartz for an interview. Here are excerpts:

Q: Is today's launch of consumer versions of Vista and Office 2007 the most important in Microsoft's 32-year history?

A: In a sense, yes. Windows 95 was the kickoff to an era of buying consumer technology. The PC was center stage.

Vista and Office 2007 arrive at a time when innovative, cool technology is bigger. The role of the PC is as a central player, in keeping all these devices connected. The PC has become the docking station for TVs, mobile phones, video game consoles. The PC, with this new operating system, is the center, the big dog.

Q: Given the long development process of Vista, in which several features were dropped, are you happy with the finished product?

A: Very happy. We learned a lot in the (development) process of building new features while also integrating it with new technologies. It is a phenomenal product. The user interface is more exciting and easier to use. It is safer with security and parental controls. And there are new photo-sharing capabilities, among other things. In the end, everybody cares about software that is exciting and easy to use.

Q: Is the years-long development of Vista and Office 2007 the last hurrah of sorts for the way Microsoft does business?

A: That is a wrong-minded way to think of things. Wrong-minded. There have been a dozen new releases of Windows in the past five years. We've provided three new versions of Media Center, three for tablet (PC) technology and a security update, SP2. We will continually refresh the OS with chunky and smaller pieces. Like a good runner, we need to use our fast- and slow-twitch muscles. There are different cycles to all products, and you will see us make changes to Windows as speech, visual and other technologies evolve.

Q: Has the evolution of the high-tech market — with fast, nimble Web 2.0 firms such as Google increasingly a threat — forced Microsoft to put an even greater premium on velocity in product development and other business areas?

A: Not to take a swipe at a competitor, but has Google changed the front-end or the back-end to its search experience? Not really. In the Internet age, all of us have to develop products and services faster.

Q: With security exploits multiplying and consumer confidence slipping, will the Internet have to be overhauled, with security in mind, to tap the full potential of Web services?

A: We're re-plumbing the Internet while we're driving 60 mph. In a fast-moving world, people are willing to cope with reliability and security issues. That is the downside experience of using the Internet, which was built on trust.