Microsoft gadgets from CES (somewhat) relevant for business

Slate PCs, voice-activitated cars, TV on the PC domineted Microsoft's CES news.

As the week draws closed on the Consumer Eltronics Show in Las Vegas, there is a moment to reflect on the consumer tech toys by Microsoft most likely to influence the enterprise. The biggest among them is the introduction of so-called "slate" PCs, keyboardless touch screens that use Windows 7.

Slideshow: Cool CES gadgets are here

Microsoft has been unsuccessfully trying to sell the world on the idea of the tablet PC for a couple of decades now. Most folks sort of assumed it would take Apple's design genius to make the world want a tablet. But while Apple's yet-to-be-real touchscreen tablet has been dominating the rumor mill for months, Microsoft is already there. With the popularity of touchscreen smartphones, maybe Microsoft will succeed this time.

The company demonstrated three “slate PC” models, one from HP, one from Archos and another from Pegatron, albeit details on the machines were scarce. HP is rumored to also be working on a slate PC that runs Android. I'll believe that when I see it. However, HP was at least showing off a prototype Android netbook at the CES show.

^{HP Slate PC}

_{Archos 9 pctablet "slate" PC}

^{A look at the Pegatron Windows 7 Slate PC by Neowin}

Sony is already shipping its touchscreen Windows 7 L Series -- what I'll call an "almost-slate" PC for $1,300. It includes a keyboard, but almost as an afterthought. The 24" touchscreen is the star. But at almost 28 pounds, the L Series isn't meant to be lugged around like a tablet -- er, I mean slate.

The touchy-feely computer

Gamers were excited to learn that Microsoft promised to have its much ballyhooed Project Natal available by the holiday season 2010. Natal brings a gesture-based interface to the Xbox 360. While I can't say that there is a direct impact on the enterprise from a Natal-equipped Xbox (perhaps the break room?), seems likely that gesture-input technology will eventually find its way into business computers.

Alternative input devices, at least in the form of voice and touch (if not gesture), is making its way into more cars. Ford has been offering this stuff for a while, but at CES Kia announced Kia UVO which uses Microsoft Windows Embedded Auto software to power a voice and touch activiated in-car system. With UVO, drivers and passengers can listen to music files, change radio stations, make phone calls (OK, that's distracting and illegal), and send hands-free texts.

Besides increasing the population of distracted drivers, UVO can do some useful driving functions like operate a rear-view camera when the driver shifts into reverse.

TV on the PC

If Microsoft can ever get traction going on its Mediaroom software, that might also be an influential technology for the enterprise. Microsoft released the 2.0 version of the software aimed at TV service providers.Mediaroom allows television content to be displayed across a variety of devices, such as the Xbox, a Windows 7 PC (via Windows Media Center), and one day also "comaptible" smartphones.

Mediaroom was what Microsoft had been yakking about in at the 2008 CES show, promising all kinds of implications for IPTV and HD TV.

My thought is that when broadcast television and computers merge at the operator level, corporations will have a whole new set of distractions to contend with (and you thought Facebook caused lost productivity). But it could open new options for video broadcasts, training, legit TV watching at work (breaking news events) and the like, too. Glass half empty or half full, I can't tell yet. In any case, Microsoft hasn't converted many to Mediaroom and it faces competition in the area from Cisco, among others.

Like this post? Check out these others.

• 7 big IT orgs that showed Microsoft the door
• Most business will adopt Windows 7 by 2011, but prefer Google's cloud
• Watch out Microsoft: GNOME is poised to have a killer 2010
• Microsoft Exchange/Outlook 2010 UC Mobile and Voicemail Features (Beta) Release!
• Windows 7 Remote Admin Tools: Controls Windows Server 2008 from your Windows 7 desktop
• Secrets of Exchange Server 2010
• Unified Messaging (Voicemail) in Exchange 2010
• Microsoft's data cache technology, code-named Velocity, speeds app performance

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• Microsoft
• CES
• gadgets
• Microsoft Auto
• Microsoft Mediaroom
• Project Natal
• slate PCs
• touchscreen
• Windows 7