CES 2010: Microsoft seeks to build on Windows

LAS VEGAS: Microsoft stated a clear intention to expand the reach of its platforms during an event-filled CES keynote in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

Chief executive Steve Ballmer used his annual address at the show to talk up the virtues of Windows 7, and outline the directions that many of Microsoft's other platforms will take in the coming year.

Ballmer boasted to the crowd about the tremendous reception the company had received for the latest version of Windows.

Windows 7 had become the fastest-selling version of the operating system ever, Ballmer said, citing a Gartner report stating that PC sales had jumped from an estimated three per cent decline to a two per cent gain on the year, largely on the back of Windows 7.

"It is clear that Windows 7 is a rising tide that has lifted many boats in our business," he said.

As expected, Ballmer also showed off a range of connected television sets and tablets, which he referred to as "slight PCs", including a new tablet from HP slated for release in late 2010.

"We're talking about something that is almost as small as a phone, and almost as powerful as a PC running Windows 7," he said.

The keynote ended with a set of announcements regarding Microsoft's home entertainment platforms, most notably the Xbox 360, including the upcoming release of the new Halo Reach game and the late 2010 launch date for the company's motion-based Project Natal control system.

The presentation was not, however, without what has become an embarrassing tradition of technical gaffes for Microsoft.

The keynote was delayed by 20 minutes when power issues knocked much of the stage offline and led to the re-booting of two demo machines and the destruction of another. Similar problems plagued the demonstrations of the tablet device and TV computing software.