14 DAY TRIAL // Forget about the original vision of Bill Gates to put a computer on every desk, in every home. The dream has now evolved and, starting with CES 2008, it is now a robot in every home, according to a presentation by Tandy Trower, general manager, Microsoft Robotics Group.
Microsoft is gearing up for the Consumer Electronics Show technology extravaganza. The 2008 International CES will take place in Las Vegas between January 7th-10th, next week. And Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is already on his way. There is a famous saying related to the gambling capital of the United States: "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas". Well, this will not even come close to being true for CES 2008. Starting on January 7th, CES will become the Axis Mundi for technology, acting as a center that will gather, on its orbit, all the top players of the IT world.
And of course that Microsoft will have strong presence at CES, one that will make itself felt even before the event will officially be kicked off. The Redmond company has already announced that Bill Gates, Chairman, and Robbie Bach, President of the Entertainment and Devices Division, will offer the e-show 2008 International CES keynote address. The Palazzo Ballroom at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino will be the stage where Gates and Bach will officially debut CES 2008 on January 6th.
But in addition to Gates and Batch, a plethora of Microsoft employees will also be present in Las Vegas, in a wide array of panels and conferences. For now, there are only scarce details about what the Redmond company will focus at this year's CES. Bill Nielsen, director of Xbox marketing, will cover the evolution of gaming from simple entertainment to a custom branded experience. Cyrill Glockner, Senior Business Manager, Consumer Media Technology, will discuss the connection being built between mobile platforms and music.
Automotive Business Unit Product Manager, Velle Kolde, will emphasize the development perspective for electronics aimed at the automotive industry. Gabriele Di Piazza is the managing director for the Media & Entertainment business in the Communications Sector at Microsoft, and will focus on the next generation of consumer entertainment experiences.
Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of Global Marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business, will address the future of entertainment, while Christine Heckart, General Manager of Marketing, TV Business Microsoft, and Joe Seidel, Director Partner Ecosystem, Microsoft TV, will speak about where IPTV is going.
On the closing day of CES 2008, David Foster (general manager, Microsoft Unlimited Potential), Bill Adamec (Director of Semiconductor Tech), Deborah Hickey (Senior Director E&D Mfg & Supply Chain), Hemang Mehta (Product Management Director, Microsoft TV) and Shari Barnett (Director of Media Services, Microsoft TV) will talk about a variety of subjects, from bringing technology to emerging markets around the world, to advertising via IPTV content and to Halo 3 and Zune.