Archive notice: This article was originally published on January 8, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
In a video played on the giant screen, Gates presented himself on his fictional final working day for Microsoft, unsuccessfully seeking a job with Hillary Clinton’s and Barack Obama’s campaign teams and also not being offered a lead-guitar role in rock band U2.
Not all predictions made by Microsoft’s former “Chief Software Architect” during his total of eleven CES appearances later became reality. Nor did all product innovations presented at CES, such as the Tablet PC, Windows Home Server or “smart” household appliances, prove to be sales hits. This did not stop Bill Gates in Las Vegas on Sunday evening from again making predictions for the high-tech world.
Gates is certain that keyboards and mice will not be the only key input instruments for computers and electronic devices in future. Using the “Surface PC,” a computer table with a built-in touch-sensitive screen, Gates illustrated how the future could look for many “gadgets.” The Microsoft co-founder also firmly believes that speech recognition will play an essential role in controlling computers and “smart” devices in future.
Gates predicted dramatic change for the television industry. While most television viewers still received TV signals by satellite or cable, the internet would play an increasingly important role in distribution in future. “We already have one million set-top boxes in use that are based on our Mediaroom solution,” Gates said. In Germany, Microsoft works with Deutsche Telekom on its T-Home VDSL product.
Gates also presented a “mobile navigator” that can not only find street addresses like a conventional navigation device, but also provides photos, videos and other information about sights, shops, restaurants and other things nearby. Microsoft had already developed the technology, he said. Navigator functions would appear in various devices in future, including mobile phones.
For the first time, Gates left a substantial part of his speaking time in Las Vegas to another Microsoft manager, Robbie Bach, Microsoft’s Entertainment and Xbox chief. Bach also delivered the farewell words at the end: “Next year we will see each other again,” Bach said, fuelling industry speculation that he had already been chosen to succeed Gates for future CES opening addresses.
