Blog Chinese translation » Ballmer on Web 2.0

Even those who run the richest tech companies are in awe of Web 2.0's value. Just hours before Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion, Microsoft boss Steven Ballmer sat down with BusinessWeek's editors and writers to discuss why online video services are booming. He also talked about Microsoft's TV games and digital music business, as well as various new challenges facing the company. Below is an edited transcript of the conversation.

What do you think made this deal between Google and YouTube?

You have to ask whether, no matter what Google does, they would still hope to get it done without spending $1.6 billion? Can YouTube really last forever, or is it just a passing trend? I don't think it's just a fleeting trend, but every time we evaluate, I doubt whether we can maintain this momentum for 10 years. I believe the people at Google have done the same analysis, after all, $1.6 billion is more than 1% of their market value.