INTERNATIONAL CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW: Gadgets go global

“….With no major product announcements such as past CES introductions of Microsoft’s tablet personal computers or Xbox game console, Gates instead offered updates on many types of products in use around the globe. Digital music applications have only recently tapped into their full potential, he said, adding that Microsoft is expanding the number of applications that support its Windows PlaysForSure software.

Television viewing will also dramatically change as digital cable providers such as Comcast and SBC Communications partner with Microsoft to extend the use of IPTV, or Internet protocol television, Gates said.

To that end, SBC executive Lea Ann Champion wowed the audience when showing how her company’s digital cable service supports multiple channel picture-in-picture, recording commands that can be accessed via cellular phone, as well as hundreds of on-demand programming options.

“Viewing sports will never be the same,” Champion said after showcasing a Major League Baseball feature that lets users see live video and statistics from multiple games in progress.

Not every demonstration went as planned, however. When Gates attempted to show a camera that automatically transmits digital photos to a Media Center home server, the demonstration failed repeatedly. Microsoft group products manager Sean Alexander also drew chuckles when an online connection needed to showcase Media Center’s remote programming features failed to work.

Gates and O’Brien drew big laughs with a mock photo presentation that supposedly depicted their Tuesday evening activities in Las Vegas.

After one photo showed the two downing Bourbon straight from the bottle, O’Brien was next depicted in bed with a prostitute. Equally appalled, Gates was subsequently pictured in bed with an Apple computer.”