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Gates shows off Vista in CES speech

New partners
During his talk, Gates announced a new partnership with DirecTV that will allow subscribers of the satellite television service to move shows from their set-top boxes onto Windows PCs, the Xbox 360 and mobile devices that are part of Microsoft's 'Plays For Sure' programme.

Gates also showed off the new Treo 700w, which uses Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system. Palm announced earlier on Wednesday that the phone will be available from US network Verizon Wireless from this week.

The speech, which is known as a shop window for new devices and technologies, was also the launching pad for two new cordless telephones that can download contacts from Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft's planned successor to its MSN Messenger instant messaging software. The phones -- from Uniden and Philips -- can be used to make either traditional or Internet-based phone calls. The phones are not planned to arrive until at least this spring.

In December, Microsoft started limited testing of the new Messenger, which, among other things, is designed to store contacts and make Internet-based phone calls.

As for Vista, Microsoft has been publicly showing off the operating system for some time and has released several test versions. However, the company has held off talking about most of the consumer features of the operating system or offering a look at its final user interface.

The company has shown a few things, such as the improved search abilities, better graphics and the ability to more easily shift among open windows in both the operating system as well as the built-in Internet Explorer 7 Web browser. Most of the effort, though, has centred on wooing developers and corporate IT staffs who need more advance notice of where Microsoft is going.

However, the company is moving more broadly with its Vista sell as it hopes to launch the OS later this year and aims to have PCs loaded with the new Windows on the market in time for Christmas.

A new tune
Beyond the PC, Microsoft is also attempting to catch up in the portable music and video markets, which have been dominated by Apple. Gates was joined on stage by pop superstar Justin Timberlake and MTV Music Group President Van Toffler to talk up the MTV-created Urge music service, which will use Microsoft's technology as well as show off a new crop of portable video devices, known as portable media centres.

"This is not my usual stage," Timberlake told the crowd of tech enthusiasts.

But, he said, the Urge service will allow him to connect in new ways with his fans. Timberlake also joked that he was going to add a duet with Gates on his new album.

The latest devices, including a $299 (£170) Gigabeat player from Toshiba, add to the basic music and video experience with other features, such as the ability to directly record audio and video or import photos directly from a digital camera. Gates is also expected to tout improved battery life and widescreen displays as being among the improved capabilities.

Microsoft also touted better music playing on the PC side with the Windows Media Player 11 software, which will debut with Vista. The new player is designed to make it easier to handle common tasks such as sorting through large music libraries. It also allows users to view their music in 'stacks', or groups of albums sorted by genre, for instance. The stack is shown as a pile of all the album art for the albums in the stack.

One of the big changes to Vista's Media Center will be the ability to view high-definition digital satellite and cable. The current Media Center edition of Windows XP supports HD content, but only that accessible via an over-the-air antenna. Microsoft announced a deal with the cable industry in November that it said would pave the way for Media Center PCs this year that can receive digital cable -- both high-definition and standard -- without the need for a set-top box.

Among the big-name PC makers expected to have such machines are Alienware, Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, Sony and Toshiba.

Go to News.com's video page for more footage of Gates' speech.

Visit our CES 2006 Special Report for more coverage.