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Recap of Microsoft CES announcements

Jan. 7, 2009 Paul Thurrott | Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows

I assume you've all seen my Windows 7 Public Beta announcement. Here's what Microsoft announced today...

Windows 7 News
Today, Steve Ballmer announced the availability of Windows 7 Beta to MSDN and TechNet subscribers, with the broad public consumer beta coming on Friday, January 9. "The team is very proud of this release and believes it is the result of really listening to people, we hope you reach a similar conclusion."

Information on Downloading and Installing Windows 7 Beta (Windows Blog)
"On January 9th, the Windows 7 Beta will be available for Windows enthusiasts to download via the Windows 7 page on Windows.com. The Windows 7 Beta is going to be available download-only (we’re not sending out physical media) and available for a limited time to the first 2.5 million people who download the beta."

Windows Live News
"Today Microsoft announced the final availability of the latest version of Windows Live, a suite of personal communication services and applications for Windows, and two new Windows Live partnerships - one with Facebook and another with Dell."

Windows Live Essentials is ready to download
As Steve Ballmer just announced during his keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Windows Live has three big pieces of news to share with you that underscore our continued commitment to simplifying your digital life.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta Download (tomorrow)
"Windows Server 2008 R2 will be the next version of the Windows Server operating system from Microsoft. Building on the features and capabilities of the current Windows Server 2008 release version, Windows Server 2008 R2 allows you to create solutions organization that are easier to plan, deploy, and manage than previous versions of Windows Server."

Windows Home Server news

"OEM partners Shuttle Computer and VIA Technologies will be announcing their entry into the home server market with new Windows Home Server products for consumers in the U.S. These news offerings, available for purchase in the first half of 2009, adds to the growing array of integrated hardware and software Windows Home Server solutions including HP’s new next-generation HP MediaSmart Servers and the growing ecosystem of 70+ software add-ins expanding upon Windows Home Server capabilities for consumers in the digital home."

Discuss this Article 85

Yawn!
on Jan 7, 2009
Paul, Once again thanks goes to you, MJ, and Tom it was the best part of the keynote. Yesterday Apple set the bar low and tonight MS tripped over the bar and fell flat on its face. What the hell was up with Robbie and the 12 year old?
chipwinter
on Jan 7, 2009
Anyone know if Zune downloads are DRM free now?
Sevenmack
on Jan 7, 2009
Actually, Yawn!, I thought the keynote was better than Apple's. Newsy? No. But then, even if they announced a Zune phone, it still wouldn't have been a surprise; too many people all over sniffing out big news from Redmond and Cupertino. So keynotes really aren't more than just entertainment and a chance to show how cool a company is. Loved Tripod. And damn, Charlotte Jones. I loved her 'top'. And I don't mean her sweater.
Ocean
on Jan 7, 2009
>>The Windows 7 Beta will be available in English, German, Japanese, Arabic, and Hindi, and each language will be available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions (except Hindi which will only be available in 32-bit).<< Curious why Spanish would be left out.
Yawn!
on Jan 7, 2009
@Sevenmack I think yesterday Apple started the nail in the coffin of Keynotes and MS finished driving it in tonight. I agree with you about Jones' 'top' but if Balmer did not steal Bill Gates sweater he would have had the won the battle of the tops. Yawn!
tayme
on Jan 7, 2009
I missed the keynote because of a production problem at work - and no, it wasn't with a Windows box, it was actually a Solaris problem...and from the recaps, I didn't miss much. No big announcements, and no Zune Mobile...but they did feature some cool shots of the Samsung Omnia...and talked about some cool sounding gadgetry to come. So it looks like Balmer took notes yesterday on how to give a boring keynote...oh well...I'll keep watching both companies and others for cool new gadgets. --tayme
chrisliphart
on Jan 7, 2009
Interestingly enough, the "final" release of Live Essentials are all the exact same as the last RC release. When you run the setup, there's nothing to update.
djRob
on Jan 7, 2009
What do you think about apparent double speed of Windows 7 in comparison to Vista in this article http://tinyurl.com/9zg7jb
darkmax
on Jan 7, 2009
Went... it's pretty comprehensive. As for the files transfer rate, I'll have to agree.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jan 7, 2009
djRob What's most interesting is that despite all the Microsoft bashers talking about how much faster Windows XP was than Vista, Windows XP was fastest on exactly NONE of the 23 tests done on either test computer and was generally the slowest of the three operating systems.. Maybe we could start a petition to get Infoworld to bring back honest editors?
robertsjoe
on Jan 7, 2009
That keynote was 100 times worse than Apple's. What a joke. Then again, it is Microsoft. "Truly pathetic." - (tm Microsoft)
robertsjoe
on Jan 7, 2009
The most amusing thing was how all you Microsoft fanboys built this up as being a big keynote. Microsoft showing off this and that. And it was a total boring snooze. What you guys have to remember is to lower your expectations. Because Microsoft is always bound to disappoint.
aemarques
on Jan 7, 2009
Paul, what's the matter with the link for "Windows Home Server news"?
Dipsh t Admin
on Jan 8, 2009
Pics of Charlotte Jones or ban!
subzerohitman721
on Jan 8, 2009
I saw the Keynote and I felt that Steve Ballmer upstaged Phil Schiller's keynote. I felt the Microsoft keynote was informative and a lot more lively than the snorefest that Schiller gave. Schiller gave a glorified slideshow with some demos. Boring. Microsoft gave us a working version of Windows 7, Windows Live Essentials, videos with products, showed the hardware diversity, new services, and new stuff for Xbox. I really did like the small Surface demo. I could see the school and college potential for that device. I pretty much called it. Without Steve Jobs as the pitchman, Apple loses all its style and its signature character. Schiller doesn't have the "IT" quality to be an effective pitchman. While not very exciting, it was a pretty decent and average keynote. Not much different than Bill Gates's typical keynote speeches. I wasn't surprised about the lack of Zune Mobile, Zune Xbox, as it is supposed to debut in late 09. Overall, I have to give this one to Ballmer, barely.
tayme
on Jan 8, 2009
So, who will be a "sissy" and install 7 on a virtual and who will be "manly" and install it on standalone hardware? I think I'll go the hardware route... --tayme
Lindy
on Jan 8, 2009
Double Speed of 7 sure. Vista now faster than XP? I guess he would first have to explain how Vista SP1 suddenly got faster from his last review where Vista SP1 was trounced XP. http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=1332 Has there been yet another "performance update" to Vista post SP1? Did XP SP3 slow XP down? I had read that SP3 actually sped up XP.
Lindy
on Jan 8, 2009
"o, who will be a "sissy" and install 7 on a virtual and who will be "manly" and install it on standalone hardware?" VM the whole way for me. The best place for Windows is behind VWware. If you are going to run 7 as your OS then put it on hardware, if you want to check it out...VM....on VMware.
Master3
on Jan 8, 2009
"I think yesterday Apple started the nail in the coffin of Keynotes and MS finished driving it in tonight." I think Mike predicted that troll a couple days ago when he said that all of a sudden that Apple users, because Jobs did do a keynote, would say that keynotes would all of a sudden be no big deal.
rkpatrick
on Jan 8, 2009
I tried installing Win7 to hardware last night. Worked much like my Vista SP1 experience - I installed it manually (when SP1 wouldn't show up on WinUpdate even though my machine didn't have any of the conditions that MS listed as a cause), and after an hour or so, it failed & rolled back with no indication as to why in the event viewer (there was a filename listed called "empty.txt" in one entry, but it was no longer there after rollback) Thing about that is, it takes a long time for me to try something like this (took a month after SP1 went to universal release before I risked wasting my time on an update attempt) when they hide details as to the problem.
Lindy
on Jan 8, 2009
@subzero, what exactly did MS show that you can buy today? A beta of Windows 7? Yet another Windows Mobile phone in the sea of WM phones? Apple's keynote was boring yes, but out of it came stuff you can put your hands on today (or in the case of iLife 09 at the end of Jan) if you want it. I read a good article yesterday about Apple wanting to get out of Macworld mainly because they are such control freaks, which I agree and that what they gave at Macworld was what they promised the event organizers and nothing more. The article said that Apple wants to control their press releases as in what, when and how. Which correctly pointed out the do except for Macworld. Something else I did not know is that the 25th anniversary of the Mac in Jan 24th and the article speculated that Apple will host a event around that time to release Mac updates that most thought would come out at Macworld. Again the what, when and how controlled by Apple, which would seem plausible.
tayme
on Jan 8, 2009
@Master3 - Nope, that was me in the Apple Tax thread. Its a given...if Apple does not do it or allow users to do it, its not cool. --tayme
tayme
on Jan 8, 2009
@Lindy - "Again the what, when and how controlled by Apple, which would seem plausible. " Which is alos how they treat their customers that use many of their products. I'm not saying that is good or bad...just that it is Apple's business model. --tayme
Lindy
on Jan 8, 2009
@tayme I am not saying its good or bad either. I think they are control freaks and that mostly stems from Jobs, which is bad in most cases. However I think tight control of the OS and Hardware, drivers etc is something that can be argued as good in the case of Joe User. Windows must be made to run on lots of hardware and MS does not have control of that which can/has caused problems in the past. As far as controlling their press releases, I think every company would like to have that control. Apple has that now, when they announce a press release they get the IT press flocking.....right now. Someday that might not be true, so they should use it now while they have it and use it wisely.
Waethorn
on Jan 8, 2009
"what exactly did MS show that you can buy today?" The majority of products are not available to buy today. Most will be available around the summer time for back-to-school, which leads into the holiday season. BTW: The Vaio P looks nifty, as does the Webbie camcorder. Also, BTW: The 17" Macbook and iLife '09 is available for preorder only. It is NOT available for sale now.
Dipsh t Admin
on Jan 8, 2009
Lindy, most of the things at CES are months out at best. That's the nature of the show. However, the MacBook Wheel is at least 3-15 months out ;) While the Vaio P is cool, I'm looking at the OQO Model 2+. The pricing is now much more competitive.
dallasmay
on Jan 8, 2009
Why don't you comment on how boring the Windows CES keynote was. Nothing special was announced. Live, we knew about. Windows 7, we knew about. I find it very hypocritical to call every Apple Keynote that doesn't revolutionize the consumer electronics world boring, and then not hold MS to at least the same standards.
mikefarinha3
on Jan 8, 2009
@rkpatrick If you are doing an upgrade make sure to uninstall your anti-virus or any software that might be locking files.
Lindy
on Jan 8, 2009
"The 17" Macbook and iLife '09 is available for preorder only. It is NOT available for sale now." I knew about iLife 09 not being available until Jan 31st, because I will pick it up. I would never buy a notebook bigger than Macbook. If I were to pick a Windows notebook I would go with a Sony Z series. A bit pricey ($1499-$3399) but I have played with one and they are super nice. The new Sony Netbook looks nice, comes with 2gig of RAM and a 160gig drive...and Vista, but its pricey as well $899 I think, and I doubt I will ever own something that small that would be hard for me to type on.
Lindy
on Jan 8, 2009
@Dipsh....when I can I get that surface stuff? It was in the latest Bond movie, I think. It was very cool in the movie.
Ocean
on Jan 8, 2009
>>No surprise that Paul Thurrott claims that the Mac address was "no excitement" but fails to note that the Microsoft keynote as being "incredibly boring".<< Agreed. >>I saw the Keynote and I felt that Steve Ballmer upstaged Phil Schiller's keynote. I felt the Microsoft keynote was informative and a lot more lively than the snorefest that Schiller gave.<< Are the fanboys now arguing about who gives the better presentation. Talk about no life... >>Pics of Charlotte Jones<< http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/10026_large_Charlotte_Jones_Presents_... http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/01/keynote-0184-ballm...
Ocean
on Jan 8, 2009
On MS hardware problems: >>Q: Do you own a 30GB Zune? Bach: I do, actually. It turns out my daughter has it, and she didn’t have it with her on the 31st. So it was fine. Q: There are people who look at that last week and then make the connection to the Xbox 360 problems, and say, “Do these guys really know what they’re doing in consumer electronics?” What do you say to that? Bach: I say to it, look, it’s an unfortunate thing that happened, we’re certainly not excited about it. It’s the type of thing that can happen in a complex product. You wait a day, and it’s fine. The two things aren’t even vaguely related.<<
tayme
on Jan 8, 2009
@Ocean - You still harping on the Zune outage? Talk about no life... --tayme
Ocean
on Jan 8, 2009
>>Q: I went to Macworld right before this, and one of the things that struck me was the energy around the iPhone app ecosystem. It actually reminded me, frankly, of Windows. How are you going to deal with that on the Windows Mobile side. Bach: It’s one of those ironies. We have a great app ecosystem. There’s something like 20,000 apps on Windows Mobile. So it’s not for lack of applications. The thing that Apple did – which we did on Xbox, so it’s not some big, new thing – is they created a specific marketplace for people to buy apps in. That’s work we have to reflect on and decide how to address it going forward. We have a very vibrant development environment. That’s not the issue. It’s ease of purchase that is the difference between the two things, and that’s something we have to address. Q: With the iPhone, Apple is combining the music side with the phone side. It’s all becoming one big offering. How are you going to counter that? Bach: Those are things I can’t talk about. Q: Are you going to try, or do you think you have what you need with what you have now? Bach: Let me say it this way: I think certainly, when it comes to competing with iPhone, RIM, others in that space, I think we absolutely have the assets we need. Putting those together in the right combinations for consumers, that what’s fun.<<
RaaJ
on Jan 8, 2009
Compare the 17" MBP to a Sony Vaio VGN-FW290 series, almost same screen (16.4" vs. 17"), full 1920x1080 display, upgradable to 8GB DDR2-800 RAM. The VAIO can be fully maximized with 8GB RAM and 512MB discrete ATI GPU and comparable HDD AND a BD-R/RE drive for about $2,100. The VAIO equivalent of the base model MBP with 2.66GHz C2D, 4GB DDR2-800 RAM, 320GB 5400rpm HDD and 1920x1080 screen comes out to $1,600 - that is including a rewritable BD drive. The VAIO is also drop dead gorgeous, and almost identical weight and battery life as the MBP. Can you say effin' Apple tax?
Dipsh t Admin
on Jan 8, 2009
"when I can I get that surface stuff? It was in the latest Bond movie, I think. It was very cool in the movie." I'm waiting for the remote controlled 7 Series myself.
Ocean
on Jan 8, 2009
Tayme, actually it was Todd Bishop of the Seattle Tech Daily. Thanks for playing.
lotsamystuff
on Jan 8, 2009
* Yawn! *
tayme
on Jan 8, 2009
@Ocean - But it is *you* dwelling on it and trolling a website to post it in an attempt to make yourself appear informed. Several of us have suggested this already, but why not get your own blog to repost that kind of stuff. Then people can read it and give you all the credit that you deserve! Thanks for entertaining us... --tayme
gfryesc1
on Jan 8, 2009
CES and macworld were both huge snoozefests. Too bad paul's too committed a partisan to call both that.
johnbaxter
on Jan 8, 2009
What is the morning line on whether Microsoft gets to keep the primary CES keynote slot, or whether it starts rotating around the industry? That's assuming, of course, that CES doesn't join the great trade show die off.
Lindy
on Jan 8, 2009
"Can you say effin' Apple tax?" Or you could call the Sony offer a "We feel sorry for you running Vista rebate" "Or a sorry we cant provide OS X with our computers discount" Its all how you look at it.
abhinov.k.s
on Jan 8, 2009
Microsoft seems to have released a list of devices supported by device stage in windows 7 here. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/devices.aspx
lotsamystuff
on Jan 8, 2009
"What is the morning line on whether Microsoft gets to keep the primary CES keynote slot, or whether it starts rotating around the industry?" Excellent question. Especially after snorefests like this one. Microsoft isn't the 900-pound gorilla in the Entertainment room these days. Time for some new blood.
realtestman
on Jan 8, 2009
robertsjoe and Ocean trolling yet again! Maybe they should get a blog.
RaaJ
on Jan 8, 2009
@ Lindy: Are you for real? When shown the most blatant example Apple's price-gouging on similar spec hardware, you have the gall to suggest Sony is discounting Vista?? You are truly shameless. Happy trails paying a grand more for subsidizing Apple's aluminum unibody manufacturing gimmick.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jan 8, 2009
One item that didn't make the keynote but was announced is an update to Windows Live Search Mobile. This is the free app for Windows Mobile (and to a limited degree Blackberry) that lets you do voice driven search (say what you want to find) that lets you: Find local businesses and restaurants, and click to call them Get turn by turn driving directions Explore interactive maps with satellite imagery View current traffic information Find the cheapest nearby gas stations See movie showtimes by theaters The new version adds location based info for phones that don't have a GPS (it already supported location based info on GPS equipped phones), predictive text input for when you aren't using the voice input feature and Bird's Eye View in addition to the existing map and aerial views. It's available now by going to wls.live.com from your phone.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jan 8, 2009
Also announced at CES was Microsoft Research's new SongSmith application that "Helps Novice Musicians Discover Their Inner Songwriters" Basically, you sing into your computer's microphone and the software creates and lets you tweak the background arrangement for a 5-piece band. The demo version is availabe for download at http://research.microsoft.com/songsmith
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jan 8, 2009
If you're looking for information on the Live Search Mobile family, there's an info page at http://livesearchmobile.com/
tayme
on Jan 8, 2009
@mikegalos - That has been available for a week or so, I think. I downloaded on my Omnia - version 3.5.8198.0, is that the one? It works great!!! I have used the click to call several times. Now, what I want is the shake my phone to scroll through the responses...oh, wait, no I don't. That is one of the reasons that I didn't get an iPhone...that is just too cutesy for me. My daughter thinks its cool, though. She'd get an iPhone in a second, if I'd subsidize the AT&T contract. Unfortunately, until Verizon frees up the GPS service, I am limited to inputting my location by hand, but that works great too. Stupid Verizon...rumor is that they are going to do that soon. --tayme

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