In his annual Consumer Electronics Show address, the Microsoft chairman demonstrated a slew of fashionable PCs, and touted the role of computing interfaces like speech and touch, as well as announced a partnership with NBC to jointly run the site for the Olympics.

"This is my last (CES) keynote," Gates told the audience, noting that this is the first time since he was 17 that he doesn't have a full-time job at Microsoft. "What do you do on your last day?" he asked.

"This is my last (CES) keynote," Gates told the audience, noting that this is the first time since he was 17 that he doesn't have a full-time job at Microsoft. "What do you do on your last day?" he asked.

Gates, who is shifting to part-time work at Microsoft later this year, also used the speech to note that his software company has now shipped 100 million copies of Windows Vista.

He said that getting so many Vista PCs out will make the platform more attractive. "That's a very significant milestone for application development and specialized hardware work."

In a deal finalized just before the keynote, meanwhile, Microsoft has signed on BT Group as the first company to use the Xbox 360 as an IPTV set-top box. Gates announced plans for the game console to act as a set-top box at last year's CES.

BT Vision, which combines gaming and Microsoft's Mediaroom IPTV service, will be available to customers in the middle of 2008, Microsoft said.

Gates' CES address has become an annual tradition, a sort of tech industry State of the Union, though this may well be his last year for some time.

The annual event is Microsoft's opportunity to lay out its vision of where technology is headed and make the case for its approach, as contrasted with that of rivals such as Apple and Sony.

Not all of the products touted by Gates, however, have become smash hits. Past keynote addresses have introduced Tablet PCs and various digital household objects that have yet to become mainstream.

Last year, Gates used his appearance to show, among other things, Windows Home Server.

This year, Gates' most notable gadget is a "mobile navigator" that can be used to point at a person or place, and get more information. The software powering the technology exists within Microsoft's research labs, but Gates doesn't see this device coming to market as a standalone product. Rather, some of these capabilities are likely to find their way into other gadgets, such as cameras and phones.

In the more near-term realm, Microsoft said Samsung will start offering an adapter that lets its flat-screen TVs act as Media Center extenders. That lets the TVs show videos, pictures, and music stored on a Vista PC in another room.

Copyright: news.com



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