If you wanted to be present for the unveiling of the next generation of techno gadgets in January, Las Vegas and San Francisco were the two places to be.  The bright lights of Las Vegas welcomed visitors to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) while San Francisco prepared to host the MacWorld Expo.  Each event attracted thousands of people willing to pack into the confines of an exhibit hall just to get a glimpse of what is around the corner in the technology world.  This year both expos brought in the heavy-hitters of technology gurus:  Bill Gates, Co-Founder of Microsoft, and Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc. They went head-to-head as keynote speakers of the respective events, each unveiling huge products for their companies.

The CES has become the major technology-related trade show in the United States over the last 10 years, and this year was dominated by Gates and his announcement of the release of Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system.  Vista was spotlighted and talked about by nearly every major desktop, laptop, peripheral and software vendor at the show.  The attention was well deserved, according to Gates.

Word Perfect

During his address, Gates said Vista, Microsoft’s 16th version of the Window’s operating system, is the most important version of Windows ever released. Vista will be the key in Microsoft’s strategy to deliver on the promise of the "connected experience," making it easier, safer and more fun to use the PC.  Vista contains hundreds of new features, including: updated graphical user interface and a visual style dubbed Windows Aero; improved search features; new multimedia creation tools such as Windows DVD maker; and completely redesigned networking, audio, print and display sub-systems.

Vista also aims to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network using peer-to-peer technology, making it easier to share files and digital media between computers and devices. Even with the hundreds of new features, Gates stressed the fact that Microsoft is improving the state of security in the Windows operating system, stating that keeping users of Windows based PCs safe from malware, viruses, buffer overflows and other security vulnerabilities is a top priority for Vista.

To achieve this, Microsoft's anti-spyware product, Windows Defender, has been incorporated into Vista, providing protection against malware and other threats. Changes to various system configuration settings, such as new auto-starting applications, are blocked unless the user gives consent.  Although security was the primary concern, Vista did offer some improvements in other areas.  A new hardware-based graphical user interface, named Windows Aero (Authentic, Energetic, Reflective and Open), is intended to be cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than those of previous Windows.  Aero includes new transparencies, live thumbnails, live icons, animations and plenty of eye candy.

Microsoft’s Windows Media Player also got a major revamp.  New features in this version include word wheeling, or "search as you type,” a completely new and highly graphical interface for the media library.  Photo display and organization along with the ability to share music libraries over a network with other Vista machines, Xbox 360 integration and support for other Media Center Extenders are a part of the revamps.  Microsoft also bundled some more entertainment and productivity options that many felt were long missing, such as: Windows Mail, Windows Calendar, Windows Photo Gallery, Windows DVD Maker and Windows Meeting Space.  Windows Meeting Space is a tool that allows users to share applications, or their entire desktop, with other users on the local network or over the Internet by using peer-to-peer technology. 

Windows Vista is intended to be a technology-based release, providing a solid base to include many technologies relating to how the system functions, and hence not readily visible to the user, but will improve overall productivity and experience while using the operating system.  There are four versions of Windows currently available to US consumers at retailers everywhere: Windows Vista Home Basic full addition retails for $199 and the upgrade is $99.95; Windows Vista Home Premium is retailing for $239 and $159 for the upgrade; Windows Vista Business full version retails for $299 and $199 for the upgrade and Windows Vista Ultimate full version retails for $399 and $259 for an upgrade.

iPhone Home

The MacWorld Expo’s exhibits are focused solely on Macintosh users or other Apple Inc. products.  While not as widely attended as CES, it is still the largest trade show in San Francisco. Usually the really big announcements are always made at the CES but this year things were a bit different.

At MacWorld, Steve Jobs unveiled Apple Inc.’s first foray into the cell phone market with the release of the Apple iPhone. The Apple iPhone is far more than your standard cell phone as it boasts features such as a camera phone, a multimedia player, mobile telephone, and Internet services like e-mail, text messaging, web browsing and wireless connectivity.  In addition, Apple has taken one more leap forward by making the iPhone buttonless.  All of the iPhone’s input is accomplished via touch screen with virtual keyboard and buttons. The iPhone has married the personal media player and cell phone together well by allowing standard cell phone features such as conference calling, call holding, call merging and caller ID to integrate seamlessly with other iPhone features.  A playing song fades out when the user receives a call. Once the call is ended, the music fades back seamlessly.

Another feature that will set the bar for new phones is the iPhone’s Visual Voicemail that, in conjunction with Cingular, allows users to view a list of current voicemail messages onscreen without having to call voicemail. Voicemail messages will play when selected by the user. With the popularity of text messages rising, Apple has once again redefined how future phones might work.  Text messages are displayed in speech bubbles (similar to iChat) under each recipient's name. 

According to Job’s keynote address, Apple has a scheduled release date of June 2007 for the iPhone.  It will be available from the Apple Store (http://store.apple.com) and from Cingular Wireless.  The iPhone has a planned launch price of $499 for the 4 GB model and $599 for the 8 GB model, based on a two-year service contract from Cingular Wireless. Apple also announced that its goal is to capture 1 percent of the global mobile phone market, which would be approximate 10 million units being sold in the first full calendar year of iPhone availability.

E-Photos Made Easy

Not everything was all business this year as we saw some exciting new entertainment products unveiled.  KODAK has taken picture sharing to a whole new level with their 10-inch EASYSHARE EX1011 and 8-inch EASYSHARE EX811 WiFi enabled digital picture frames. Both models boast a 800 x 480 high resolution digital display in 16:9 aspect ratio with wireless access of pictures, videos and music from your home PC or online at KODAK Gallery over a standard wireless home network. With these exciting new frames you can have wireless access to any KODAK Gallery, so now Grandma is just one button push away from those great new pictures of the grandkids. The EX1011 has a manufacturer suggested retail price off $279.95 and the EX811 will retail for $229.95.  Both are scheduled for release in the U.S. in early March.

Double-Dipping Your DVDS

With the new high definition format wars between HD-DVD and BLU-RAY at a stale mate, many consumers are stuck not buying the movies they want and buying the movies that will play on their player. As many will remember, we had a similar format war between BETA and VHS, with VHS eventually coming out on top and a lot of early adopters left with piles of BETA tapes and expensive players that were no longer supported.  So, as you can imagine, many people have been skeptical to pledge their allegiance to any one format. Hollywood studios certainly haven’t helped as they remain split on which format to support. LG presented a solution at the CES 2007 by introducing the first player capable of playing both BLU-RAY and HD-DVD discs. Dubbed the "Super Multi Blue Player," LG’s model number BH100i will be available nationwide in early February and will cost $1,199.  The release of LG's player opens the door to other companies marketing a combination player, finally bringing some sense of security to buyers interested in investing in next-generation DVD discs. Now we can all finally own high definition versions of the movies we love without having to worry about which format will die out first.

Also from CES 2007 we have MediaZones’ SocialTV, where MySpace meets Internet Television and a sprinkle of instant messaging.  SocialTV Takes the ad-supported video clip genre popularized by YouTube and the hype of MySpace’s social network and fuses it into one product that offers professionally produced content that can be either streamed or downloaded. The idea behind SocialTV is to allow users to give feedback on, chat about and rate programming, as well as forward the good stuff to friends. Attempting to boldly take television to a whole new level by creating global online TV channels that can be launched without the restraints of traditional television, MediaZone has also developed a shared-streaming technology that will allow people to securely share video packets.  This feature helps keep distribution costs down and also provides another layer of protection via Digital Rights Management (DRM). MediaZone is currently a site where users can get live sports programming and a cross-section of international television and news shows. However, the new SocialTV site will have edgy and hipper content focusing on extreme sports, dedicated comedy and horror film channels, as well as a hip-hop lifestyle-focused channel, independent short films and more. SocialTV will launch the first quarter of this year.

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Grandma is just one button push away from those great new pictures of the grandkids.