After Bill Gates announced Thursday that he will end his day-to-day role at Microsoft in two years, I interviewed him and Steve Ballmer about the change. Among other topics, they reflected on their time together at the company, Gates explained why he decided to start the transition now, and Ballmer addressed the question of whether he feels pressure to step down himself.

For the full experience, here's the audio of the interview: WMA | MP3 (12:24)

And here are excerpts from their answers:

Gates on the timing of his decision: "We are stronger in our business and technical teams -- even relative to the big challenges that we face that make this a fun place to work at -- we're in a stronger position now than ever. It was the confluence of how I felt about how Microsoft could do and how I felt about the scale of the foundation that made me say to Steve I was contemplating this and then this week really make the firm decision that two years from now I was going to make that change."

Ballmer on whether he feels pressure to step down, based on shareholder discontent: "No, not at all. You've got the two biggest shareholders -- we don't own 50 percent of the company -- but you've got the two biggest shareholders in the room. And with everything we know about the company, two things are true. No. 1, we're steering the investments that the company is making, that people maybe were reacting to. And No. 2, we've been part of a board of directors that has put the company on a path to buy back stock. ... We bought stock at 25, 26, so obviously the board and Bill and I think it's a good price. So is the company in good shape and doing the right things? I think we'd say the answer to that question is yes."

Gates on whether he will be ultimately be remembered more for technology or philanthropy: "Well, I don't do software to be known, or foundation work to be known, so that's not really a key thing. I will put most of my life's work into software. ... That's what I know, that's what I grew up from age 13 thinking about -- what can it do, how can it be better? The key thing is not the memory. The whole foundation comes out of the work I did on software and the responsibility that derives from that. But first and foremost, I'm somebody who thinks about software."

Ballmer on that topic: "I'll tell ya, I hope it's a tough call for whoever has to make it long after we're gone, because it will mean Bill must have done a fantastic job as a philanthropist to come close to the job he's done as an innovator and creator of really the technology revolution."

Ballmer on their friendship over the years: "It's more like being not just a friend but a brother. In a sense the only other person who I will work with as long as I work with Bill is my wife, Connie. We work on a variety of things in our house, including raising our kids, and you know, we (Gates and Ballmer) raised Microsoft together. Bill now gets a chance to also do something else, but it's just an amazing thing."

Gates on their friendship: "I was very lucky to meet Steve. We were both pretty young and naive at the time. There was no Microsoft, there were just a couple kids at Harvard who had a bit of self-confidence, and it was kind of a magical thing, that even when the company was tiny, I recognized that Steve's skills would be absolutely critical for us to be successful. ... It's been fun. We've made the mistakes together, done the right things together ... and we have come to a way of looking at what this company needs to do that's so common. Yet we do surprise each other. Steve comes up with ideas that amaze me from time to time, and that just makes it fun."