If no commercial partner comes forward within the next year or two, Faisal says they will publish all the information about their device and software online and make it freely available for anyone to replicate.

CNN: $30 gadget lets you control computer with your eyes

Ballmer said the shift to online software and services will mean changes for all of Microsoft's businesses, which range from desktop productivity tools to database and e-mail server software.

FORBES: Microsoft's Cannibal Sacrifice

The software is an online service called ShipStation, that sucks in all our orders from Shopify, Amazon, and Etsy, and then prints the address and the postage directly on the label.

FORBES: Shipping Products From Your New Online Store

The software is used by millions of people to instantaneously send messages to groups of friends who are all online at the same time.

BBC: Ready, Aimster, Swap

Ichoose of Dallas and other shops are developing ever-shrewder software that lets online merchants scan rival sites, adjust prices on the fly and steal customers, all without leaving a clue.

FORBES: Spiders and Lies

They paid for the investment in network infrastructure and software development that has allowed us to have reliable broadband connectivity, multimedia websites, online chat and all the other cool stuff that we are coming to enjoy and rely upon.

BBC: Why the UK needs a net visionary

Health Vault, launched in October, is not just a place where people can store their medical details online, but a service that can connect to all sorts of monitoring devices, as well as software used by hospitals and doctors.

ECONOMIST: Microsoft after Gates