Another year another CES with Steve Ballmer giving the keynote for Microsoft. Always interesting presentations, fingers in so many pies and some good pointers for future technology in general.
Highlights for this year:
1. Bing: Mentioned a lot, context driven search not blind search. Microsoft at last has a competing search technology. 11 million users, not a bad start.
2. Windows 7: It could not be worse than Vista, and it has exceeded expectations. Microsoft needed this badly to secure other interests (Windows 7 running from the desktop, nettop, device near the TV). 300 million PCs so far sold with Windows 7, 800000 new apps, 250000 supported peripherals since Beta.
3. Xbox: This is doing really well, Xbox Live. The gesture control Natal looked a bit naff. Also promising VOD Like portal is ominous for the TV industry but still feels like they are a way from hitting it big with content providers. 39 million consoles out there, 500 million titles sold.
4. Great new device types coming up. The tablet PC may have failed, but maybe the Slate with the interest in e-books will succeed where it failed.
5. Touch screen could be a real innovation area for Microsoft, with Windows 7 and the device market stranglehold they could be the only platform for a while that "gets it right".
6. The usual plugs for Zune and mobile, Zune maybe getting rave reviews but I do not seeing it displacing anyone soon.
Quite impressive overall, Microsoft may have come through it's difficult time - and Ballmer maybe shaking off his captain of the Titanic image.
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