Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer today said that by the end of this fiscal year, which began July 1, there will be more than a billion Windows PCs worldwide. "There will be more PCs running Windows in the world than there are automobiles, which is, at least to me, a mind-numbing concept," Ballmer said. That hasn't been the only number thrown out so far.A few others to highlight before I get into a list: Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said clock speeds will begin to level out a bit after they reach the 10-Ghz mark, and Moore's Law will no longer equate with speeds, but rather will force multicore architectures.

Meanwhile, Microsoft COO Kevin Turner says Microsoft eclipsed the entire installed base of Apple in the first five weeks after Windows Vista's release. There already have been 60 million Vista licenses sold, up from 40 million in May, and there are been 42 million seat licenses covered under enterprise agreements that could upgrade to Vista. Included in the Vista upgrade set are Continental Airlines, which will install Vista on 10,000 PCs by year's end, and a Brazilian bank that will have seven times as many installs in the same time frame.

Some others stats: