Microsoft’s Bill Gates opened CES in Las Vegas with his traditional keynote address, corporate blogger Robert Scoble keyed it all in, and Steve Ballmer took a virtual beating at the hands of his subordinate Chief Software Architect.
Give Scoble his props, his minute by minute blog post on the keynote address delivered by Gates demonstrated just why people talk about ‘citizen journalism’ in serious tones. Immediacy, more than anything else, is the key.
Immediacy figures in Microsoft’s plans. Gates spoke about the variety of products that will be able to access information from virtually any location. Windows has a place in all those locations, on all kinds of devices like the Tablet PC Gates had with him at the keynote.
Smartphones and the Palm partnership, where the Windows Mobile OS found an unprecedented place on the Treo 700w device, got a mention. So did the Xbox 360, which Microsoft said had an “attach rate” of four games and three accessories per console.
With Microsoft selling the console at a loss, the sales of games and accessories help offset that negative. Users who pick up Xbox Live Gold, a subscription gaming service, will give Microsoft ongoing revenue while playing games online.
Gates and Ballmer also took a turn on the Xbox 360, playing the Fight Night Round 3 boxing game and reprising the Ali-Frazier bouts of the past. Gates as Ali overcame Ballmer’s Frazier in the brief match, with longtime boxing commentator Al Bernstein calling the bout.
(Let’s hope the Zab Judah-Carlos Baldomir fight on the 7th is as exciting as Gates-Ballmer.)
Before the keynote address, Gates discussed the rivalry with Google in a light-hearted manner. “I hear they’re coming out with a robot that will cook hamburgers, too. Let’s spread that rumor – there’s nothing they can’t do,” he said.
(Actually, it’s the Lego Mindstorms fans who’ll probably build the Burgerbot out of the NXT Robotics set.)
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David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
