Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, as he opened the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Sunday, showed off a hatbox-shaped computer for the living room and a video game machine that plays Internet TV, arguing years of hype about a world of connected technology finally was coming true.

Perhaps it’s time for Gates to retire

He simply did not sound convincing or, indeed, even very interested. Think not that was because he is stupid. He is undoubtedly the smartest person I have ever met. And, when talking, he is cogent, coherent, fascinating.

Not this time. Perhaps he really has retired from the fray and thinks of himself that way.

His story was that computers would come in all shapes and sizes as long as the use Vista. He also said Microsoft would offer an Xbox 360 game console that doubles as a set-top box for its fledgling Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) service, which delivers high-quality video over Internet networks.

He showed, or a flunky demonstrated, Vista’s ability to handle various forms of digital media on an eye-catching, round living room computer, shaped like a sleek hat box, which comes from Sony which, by and large, is probably not that good an idea. And there was a touch-screen desktop PC (an idea that has been launched and died a dozen times) from Hewlett-Packard.

Bill Gates said of Vista, ‘It’s a platform for the industry, but with a lot of sexy new features for the end-user.’ My guess is that I will stay with Windows XP for I do not what a lot of sexy new features that can turn around and bit me in the bum when I am not looking.

Bill Gates also took the wraps off Windows Home Server, software due out later this year to provide homes a central location to store music, photos, videos and other digital content. Users will also be able to access that content away from home, using a Microsoft Windows Live Web address. You can see all of his presentation on the Microsoft Site.
None of it really stirs me very much.

I remember him demonstrating Windows for the very first time in the Showground in Sydney, Australia. He was live, animated. He was a missionary full of zeal to get the word to the masses. He positively burned with sincerity. Not this time. Age tends to do that.

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Entry was posted on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007 at 12:48 pm under Microsoft, Technology, Vista, Web2.0.

Read more entries by Gareth Powell.
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