Within a month, Microsoft will roll-out a new operating system intended to aid developers in writing Internet-based applications. Windows Cloud is detailed here.

Cloud computing is a term often applied to programs that are presented in a Web browser, but the actual computing is performed at a distant data center.

Ballmer was short on details, saying more information would spoil the announcement. Windows Cloud is a separate project from Windows 7, the operating system that Microsoft is developing to succeed Windows Vista.

Companies such as Google Inc. and Salesforce.com Inc. have embraced the concept of delivering software over the Internet, as it can mean lower costs and less maintenance for those who use the applications. Microsoft, which has built its fortunes on desktop-based software, has been anxious to show it also has plans for adapting its software for the Internet.

Ballmer was quick to point out that Microsoft doesn't envision products such as the Office productivity suite moving entirely off desktop PCs and onto the Internet. But Microsoft is working on a service that would let people do "light editing" of Office documents at places such as a public Internet kiosk, Ballmer said.