You could say that the biggest news coming out of Microsoft’s appearance at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show was that Bill Gates would finally be retiring from the company, even though he’d stick around in a limited kind of way. Even so, anyone who walked into the Central Halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center would immediately be hit with one of the biggest booths at the show, and sure enough, it was the booth of Microsoft.
In terms of raw square footage, the Microsoft booth was perhaps only rivaled by Intel, which just happened to be across the way in the Central Hall. Nah, the Microsoft booth was definitely bigger and that’s because each segment of their business got about the same amount of space as some smaller vendors might have for their entire lineup. Was this Bill’s idea of a digital decade? Perhaps. And the Redmond, Washington-based company had a lot to show off, even if it wasn’t all entirely new.
Microsoft Surface
I remember hearing that a version of the Microsoft Surface was supposed to be ready for implementation by the time CES 2008 kicked off earlier this month. When I asked one of the product reps about this, she said that the delay had little to do with Microsoft’s end of the equation, because the platform — along with all the necessary software and so forth — was totally ready to go. The delay was largely due to the provider’s and manufacturer’s end of things, as they would want to customize the Surface concept to suit their needs.
Whatever the case, this was my first time seeing the Microsoft Surface computer in action and it totally seemed like something that could be seamlessly integrated into a Las Vegas hotel. Imagine being able to take a picture with your digital camera, and then right when you place the camera on the Surface table computer, the images would come sprouting out. You could then drag them to an email application and send them away.
In like manner, you could place a compatible cellular phone on the Surface Computer and immediately be able to purchase new content, ringtones, and other goodies, having them all billed to the Player’s account you have set up with the casino. Very convenient, very seamless, and definitely cool.
Microsoft Zune
Unfortunately, Microsoft didn’t have a secret Zune Phone for us to look at, but they did have the new Zune 2.0 firmware on display, along with the recently released second-generation portable media players. As you may already know, the 4GB and 8GB Microsoft Zune models are Flash-based, taking on a similar form factor as the second-generation Apple iPod. The 80GB Zune is physically larger, having a similar footprint as the first-gen Zune, only this one is way thinner than its predecessor.
I feel that the Zune Pad controls are a good idea, because it gives you the simultaneous option of doing a conventional five-way “click” or you can swipe your finger across the pad like how you would swipe across the display on an iPod touch or iPhone. The “swiping”, however, isn’t quite as smooth as the Apple counterpart. It’s a step in the right direction for Microsoft, but not enough to dethrone the iPod.
They also had the Zune Originals on display from a variety of designers. These take on more creative colors, contain original content, and feature a unique etching on the back. The Zune Originals were all behind glass cubes, so you couldn’t fondle them like the other Zunes.
On a side note, Microsoft has announced that the Zune would finally be coming to Canada! Dates are tentative, as is pricing, but it’s good to know that MS is making it north of the 49th parallel. The Zune store will be made available en francais as well.
PC Gaming
What booth would be complete without video games? Although Bill Gates seemed pretty interested in Guitar Hero during his keynote speech, the “Games for Windows” on display at the booth all had war and battle themes. Seeing how everyone loves Halo and Gears of War, I guess it’s only fitting that this much attention is being paid to the first-person shooter (and related) genre.
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty was developed by Spark Unlimited and it puts you in an alternate reality wherein Winston Churchill is killed before the start of World War II. As a result, the Nazis prevail and install a puppet president for the United States. You take on the role of not a soldier, but rather an average construction worker. Turning Point is available on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
Conflict: Denied Ops is the fifth title in the series developed by Pivotal Games. The major shift here is that Denied Ops is played in the first person, rather than the third person like the previous four games. The story here surrounds two main characters: Grave and Lang. Like Turning Point, Conflict: Denied Ops will also be found on the Xbox 360 and PS3, in addition to the PC.
Robotics Studio
Robots don’t seem nearly as popular around these parts as they do in Japan, but Microsoft totally wants to cash in on this opportunity.
The idea behind Robotics Studio is to allow people to design applications in a virtual environment, controlling the real robots through a web-based control panel or a Windows app. This works both in terms of input from multiple robotic sensors, as well as output to motors and actuators in the robots themselves. Control can be handled via serial, Bluetooth, WiFi, or RF.
The price for Robotics Studio is $399 and that gives you a developers license for up to 200 robots. If you’re using it for non-commercial purposes — like world domination — then it’s free.
For more pictures from the Microsoft Booth, visit our CES 2008 Microsoft Photo Gallery.