Switched

Waiting for Microsoft founder Bill Gates to arrive at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas for his final CES keynote address last night was like expecting a rock star Mr. Rogers to parachute in from the sky to greet us mere mortals. Members of the press and electronics industry insiders began lining up in droves hours before the event's appointed start time, creating snaking lines of readers, thinkers, dozers, gabbers and moaners from the assemblage. A palpable sense of anxious expectation permeated the air, carrying the persistent thought, "What is he going to say?" from person to person via emotional osmosis. Or maybe that thought was actually more like, "This is nuts. The presidential candidates only dream of this kind of attention, and here we are," as if we wanted to tell ourselves, "You have no power over me, you have no power over me," like Jennifer Connelly did in the fantastic movie 'Labyrinth.'

We, the technology tsar's press corps, were finally herded into the Venetian's enormous ballroom, where we... waited. For an hour. When the moment of truth eventually came, there were no lions or fireworks, just good old William starting off his talk with a hilarious video of his last day at work – one which he begins by absentmindedly leaving his briefcase on top of the car (Bill Gates drives a Ford Focus?!) and ends in the same fashion, nothing left of his legacy except a box of spilt office supplies strewn across the Microsoft campus and Bill none the wiser. During his last full day of "work," he looks toward the future, begging various celebrities like Bono from U2 and the Daily Show's Jon Stewart for a role in their respective gigs.

Of course, Mr. Gates touched on Microsoft's achievements, the success of Windows Live and the popularity of Vista (no... seriously). He disclosed the big news of the night, the various deals Microsoft has secured for delivering more SD and HD content over the Internet on Xbox Live from media giants such as ABC, Disney, Showtime, and MGM, and a partnership to deliver 3,000 hours of internet-accessible footage from the 2008 Olympics with NBC Universal's MSN. What this means essentially is the Bill Gates is okay with HD-DVD's inevitable demise and is gearing up for the eventual decline of Blu-ray, since Microsoft wants to be at the head of the eventual HD downloading revolution.

The discussion of future Microsoft technologies, however, kept everyone's inner circus lover at the most attention. Interconnecting and personalizing applications was a big theme, as well as developing natural user interface with touch, gesture and voice commands. He illustrated his vision by showing us (again) innovations like Microsoft Surface – essentially a PC with camera software and touch screen technology to change forever mundane activities like shopping and design.

The Zune was not lost in the shuffle, as the new music social networking application called (what else?) Zune Social made an appearance. Gates even rolled out a true prototype from the lab, a visual recognition device eventually meant for cellular phones that recognizes people and places, and uses the information to integrate things like internet purchases, restaurant reservations and GPS technology options into one platform.

Ever the showman, Bill Gates had to end the night with laughs. Although he and the President of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, Robbie Bach, strapped on Xbox guitars to settle a debt by way of a 'Guitar Hero' matchup, it was just pretend, it turns out. Instead, ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash and a hot gaming champion faced off on stage, sparing everyone the embarrassment of watching Gates try to play. While Gates had supposedly owed Bach money before the bet, Slash ensured that Gates walked away into the night $20 richer.

If you want more details, you can read over the Engadget live blog here, watch the full video of the Gates keynote here. Or, check out our very own Switched slide gallery from the keynote below.

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