After more than a decade of steady increases, Microsoft announced it is
planning to reduce its research and development expenditures this fiscal 2001
year to $3.8 billion, up from $4.4 billion in the just-ended fiscal 2000.
The reduction reflects the significant reduction in sales growth as the
company struggles to gain acceptance for it Windows 2000 product line. In the
fourth quarter, sales growth (9.4%) was the lowest in more than 20 quarters.