IDGNS: Wouldn't the kids fight? How would that work?

Mundie: The way MultiPoint works, each mouse produces a unique cursor on the screen, you may have your own name up there. So what happens is the curriculum is designed around the system. So you could break kids into groups and have kids solve problems together. So the R&D wasn't just see how to fit 20 mice onto one PC, it was how do you create the software that allows people to come up with applications for education that benefits from the fact that there are 20 cursors on the screen. So it's the whole stack on how you train people on a computer that way as well as the computer science.

IDGNS: You haven't said much about ultra-low cost laptops. Is that not important for the developing world?

Mundie: It's important and Microsoft will have offers and we already do have products with the Classmate and even Negroponte's OLPC laptop, we might provide software for that, too.

We would love to see an environment where every kid has their own laptop, and that is the long term outcome that you ultimately want to strive for. But we're also realistic in saying that even at $200 per device, given the number of kids that don't have anything today, I just think it's going to be a big lift for governments around the world to figure out how they'd buy even a $200 device for every kid.

The reason I highlight things like MultiPoint, is, if you had a class of 30 kids and you say you're going to even buy them a $200 computer, then that's $6000. With MultiPoint, if you buy just a standard PC for about $300, and each mouse costs you $3, then for $400 bucks instead of $6000, you have the opportunity to introduce the computer into the curriculum for every class there. Now that's not as good as every kid having their own laptop and they don't get to take it home with them, which is a big loss, but it gets them started.

IDGNS: I understand you are an avid boater?

Mundie: Yes, I have a 70-foot Sea Ray Express Cruiser.

IDGNS: Well, the Secretary General of ASEAN, in his speech this morning, pointed out that in the rising economic tide of the world, not all boats are rising at the same pace. The yachts are rising faster than the bamboo fishing rafts, so to speak. From your background, and with your 70-foot Sea Ray, how do you know what a person in the developing world needs in terms of technology?