Microsoft’s Ballmer, Bach Ready Consumers for Interactive 2010

Before Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took the stage for his keynote address, CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro made a bold statement-that this year's show would be the best he had seen in the more than 30 years he has been involved with it. And Ballmer never let the momentum fall.

Ballmer, who has been CEO since Bill Gates stepped down in 2008, outlined Microsoft's mission to change the PC-TV environment, make the cloud more immersive and intelligent and create a more natural interface. These goals are being realized in developments such as Windows 7, the bing decision engine, SkyDrive and the hugely successful XBOX 360 and XBOX Live.

Ballmer asserts that, “Windows 7 delivers the PC experience that works the way people want it to work…faster, leaner and less busy. It is simpler to accommodate simple tasks and enables new possibilities for [software and hardware] developers.”

A variety of Microsoft offerings were displayed to the massive crowd, which filled the Hilton Center theater. Among those were the company's all-in-one computers from such manufacturers as Lenovo; Sony (Vaio L), which can interact with touch capabilities; and MSI, which awakens with just a slide of your finger. Additionally, the Asus NV90 incorporates speakers from luxury audio company, Bang and Olufsen.

Smaller notebooks, like the Asus G51, were highlighted. The Asus in particular was noted for its 3-D gaming capabilities. And the Acer Aspire Revo was touted for its ability to hide behind a TV to power it.

Ballmer continued to highlight the company's innovations, particularly targeting the college student, a market which contributes greatly to the CE industry. the Blio e-reader is lightening the load for students (literally), with more than a million books to download. Some include highly interactive features, like science diagrams, which are clickable. Students can watch video within the “pages” or even have the book read to them.

Other services like SkyDrive from Windows Live allows students to post and share work (or photos, too). Users can work independently on files and merge changes in minutes without ever being together.

Microsoft MediaRoom 2.0, the software that permits paid TV service over the Internet or other network, is now available to four million users on set-top boxes by service providers, including AT&T. The 2.0 version offers new devices for paid TV service, integrating content development. It also can be delivered to mobile phones.

New form factors, like slate PCs were showcased from manufacturers including Pegatron and HP. The slate PCs are as portable as a phone, but as powerful as a PC, according to Ballmer, making them perfect for reading and entertainment on the go.

Also taking the stage was Robbie Bach, Microsoft's president of the entertainment and devices division, to wow the audience with new XBOX 360/XBOX Live features. Most received was the announcement of the latest in the Halo series, Halo Reach, which is a prequel to the first Halo. After a beta test in the spring, it will be available in fall 2010.

After announcing that more features will be provided to the 20 million-plus non-gaming users, Bach made a compelling introduction of the company's Project Natal. Twenty years in the making, the project focused on bringing a true natural interface to gaming, “creating technology to do what we expect.”

Project Natal has made it possible to control entertainment through movement, without the use of controllers. It “evaluates trillions of body changes every second.”