Along with Craig Mundie, Ozzie now handles the software strategy responsibilities that used to be held by Gates, who now spends most of his time heading his philanthropic foundation.

Ozzie is taking his collaboration ideas a step further, to include a kind of collaboration among the devices owned by a single person. Microsoft's goal is to let people store information online and access it from a variety of devices, including PCs, mobile phones and TVs. "We aren't conceptualizing Office as a PC product anymore, even though obviously it still is," he said. Instead, Microsoft is increasingly hosting its software online, where people can access it from a variety of devices.

Friday's luncheon was hosted by the Technology Alliance, a group that promotes technology education and entrepreneurship in Washington. Ed Lazowska, the chairman of the University of Washington's computer science and engineering department, interviewed Ozzie at the event.