Yikes. Should I post the whole article or just the link to it? Thanks
http://www.forbes.com/technology/newswire/2002/11/17/rtr797235.html LAS VEGAS, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people) Chairman Bill Gates declared on Sunday that the best in computing was yet to come, despite the gloomy state of the technology industry, with a new breed of intelligent products set to debut in the near future.
Gates, delivering the opening keynote address at the Comdex trade show in Las Vegas, revealed that Microsoft has been working to develop new software and hardware designs that let people harness the power of computers without being tied to a desk.
Although the pen-based Tablet PC, a multimedia personal computer, and software for mobile devices have been part of Microsoft's recent drive to get its software into users' hands and pockets, Gates said the software giant was starting to target more mundane everyday objects, such as the alarm clock.
In an example of how better software and hardware can make everyday objects perform useful tasks, Gates described the "intelligent alarm clock" that automatically adjusts to time zones and communicates with schedules to automatically set alarm times.
Instead of trying to cram information into these objects, which tend to be smaller in size, Gates said that a software group within Microsoft had been working over the last two years to develop devices that display "glanceable information" in the same way that a driver would glance at a speedometer or a baseball fan would check a scoreboard.
Other forms that could use this technology are wrist watches, and Gates said Microsoft has been working with National Semiconductor Corp. (nyse: NSM - news - people) to create a new breed of chips that make everyday objects more intelligent.
NEW PRODUCTS UNVEILED
Microsoft also unveiled a new product that deals with information at the other end of the spectrum, note-taking, that tends to be difficult to store and access.
Gates announced a new addition to the Office group of software products, OneNote, which lets users take notes on the screen without being having to work within the constraints of a word-processing program.
Available in mid-2003, OneNote will allow users to create digital notes by typing, or writing on a flexible notepad that can be manipulated easily and shared with others.
Microsoft, which has also invested a lot of effort in making better use of computer screens, said a new line of portable "Smart Display" flat-panel screens using its software will be available on Jan. 8 from ViewSonic Inc.
Smart Displays, formerly code-named "Mira," are meant to let users at home access their PCs without being tied to a desk. The screens can be detached and used with a pen to access the Web, check e-mail, run programs and play music using a wireless link between the display and the desktop PC.
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, which has seen sales growth in software for desktop computers slow amid a prolonged technology spending slump, has been trying to get its software into living rooms, with the most notable effort being the year-old Xbox video game machine.
Gates unveiled new additions to the line of multimedia computers that work better in living rooms that run a version of its core operating system called Windows Media Center Edition.
PC maker Gateway Inc. (nyse: GTW - news - people) will start selling a home entertainment system that features a 42-inch flat panel TV that serves as the display for a multimedia PC that lets users play music, record TV and play DVDs.
Reed Stevenson Copyright 2002, Reuters News Service
