Alan Sipress writesIf you’re the man who replaced Bill Gates, you’re sure to inherit a certain mystique and engender intense interest both inside Microsoft and out. But since Ray Ozzie took over as the company’s chief software architect this year, he has studiously maintained a low public profile that has fueled curiosity even further.

Ozzie broke his silence this week at the “Web 2.0 Summit” in San Francisco, where he appeared on stage to be interviewed by conference chairman John Battelle of Federated Media.