Shacknews Document
CES 2007 Microsoft Keynote
7:27 - Robbie Bach comes to stage to discuss connected entertainment. Zune already #2 player, on track to ship 1 million units. Software and hardware will continue to improve. 7:29 - Cell phones are cool and connected. Windows Mobile will grow in 2007 with content and services. 7:30 - Windows is a leadership platform with 200 million people playing games. Vista will grow this by making installation and game management simple. About hardcore gamers but also about casual gamers. 7:31 - Windows gaming reel including Zoo Tycoon, Shadowrun, Bliss Island, Rail Simulator, World in Conflict, Hellgate: London, Company of Heroes, Supreme Commander, Geometry Wars (!), Halo 2, LEGO Star Wars II, Age of Conan, Crysis. Looks like Geometry Wars is coming to Vista. 7:33 - Xbox 360 time. Over 300 games by end of 2007, including GTA4 and others. Halo 3 is big one. Showed CG Halo 3 trailer. 7:36 - Xbox Live up to 5 million users, surpassing expectations. 7:37 - Lisa Somebody to demo Live Anywhere on Windows Vista. Her husband likes 360, now she can play against him. For example, Uno, one of her favorite games, can be played cross-platform. She's using the 360 controller on Vista. "This is drop- dead simple," she says. "I love this." She doesn't have very many friends. (In her Live list.) She invites a dude to Uno. 7:38 - Other cross-platform games include Halo 2 (?) and Shadowrun. 7:39 - This will help reach out to those 200 million PC gamers and create community. Will roll out this summer. 3 billion hours of gaming on Live so far, MS curious to see how that number grows on Vista. 7:40 - Time for TV/movies. "The big news is high definition." Four ways to get HD movies on the "Microsoft ecosystem." 1. HD-DVD player for Xbox 360: demand has been incredibly high, with HD-DVD top selling format "this year." 2. Media Center. 80% of PCs sold in US in past year were Windows Media Center PCs, with 30 million sales. Media Center Extender connects Media Center to 360. 3. Xbox Live Video. Over 1000 hours of content available. Lionsgate is joining up today to provide content. Lisa is back to demo Video Marketplace. She has downloaded Superman Returns. 4. New method, IPTV. Microsoft in talks with over a dozen telecom providers to support IPTV. 7:44 - IPTV demo on Xbox 360. "It's fast. I hate waiting," says Albert. "No more waiting seconds for the channel to change." Picture-in-picture shows preview of next channel. Can record content or order on demand. "Some of you may have seen IPTV in the past. But what I can guarantee is that none of you have seen IPTV running on an Xbox 360," he states. Yes, that is probably true. "Xbox 360 now does every- thing I want in my living room," says Albert. "This is everything I want." Then he shows Gears of War. Seems like you can also use voice chat while watching IPTV. 7:48 - MS is offering a bajillion choices for how to get connected entertainment. "I think it's going to be a very powerful experience," says Bach. "Good night." 7:49 - Gates is back. Microsoft wants you to have all the information you're interested in. One area includes connecting to your car. In your car you will want all the great things you have everywhere else. Some people spend over an hour and a half in their car every day, so they want to access their content there. 7:50 - Mark Fields, Americas president, Ford Motor Company. Ford has partnered with MS to connect you to your car. Full Ford-exclusive in-car system connecting car, cell phone, and music players. Mentions both Zune and iPod. Ford Sync connects all personal settings from Bluetooth phone to car. Drivers can use all phone functions through vehicle's sound system. Text messages will be read aloud through text-to-speech tech which also translates "LOL" and "smiley face." Accepts all music players and most USB storage devices. Can create playlists via voice command. Upgradable, so always compatible with new phones and players. 7:53 - Available on a dozen cars this year, including Focus and Fusion. 7:54 - Bill Gates is excited. Now he wants to extend time frame and talk about longer- term implications of devices being announced today. Speech/text conversion will compliment other devices. Cameras on your computer will recognize what you're doing and telling you if you're "doing the right thing." Microsoft builds a "home of the future" on its campus, and they just finished the latest version. Video demo of home displayed. There's a display that tells him when the bus is coming, a nearby restaurant corresponding to his taste, and a special coupon pertaining to that restaurant that he can use when he patronizes the establishment. He can also browse the menu and make reservations. There's also a sound that sounds like the Jeopardy category reveal sound that shows when something is being delivered to his house. 7:57 - Moves to real-life kitchen demo. Screen technology projecting onto walls and other surfaces can be voice activated, allowing instructions for appliances to be projected onto your counter. When you put ingredients or objects on your counter, the house knows what they are and tells you how to use them or what kind of recipes you can make. Bill Gates chooses "Healthy" category and then "Foccacia." It shows him how big to make the dough. 7:59 - Moves to bedroom demo, has mobile PC. The back wall is a video wall with 4x4 screens, and Gates is controlling the wall display using the mobile PC. He puts an aquarium on his wall. Then he projects his Xbox 360 onto his wall, looks like PGR3. A message pops up onto his screen saying that Robin is just leaving to pick up Grandma, so he quits the game and makes the wall look like wallpaper with a framed movie of Grandma's dog. Gates says that all this stuff has to be simple. 8:03 - It's over.
