Departing Gates Plays Tired Tune at Vegas Show

Critic sees lame-duck Microsoft boss coming up short on new ideas
Posted Jan 8, 2008 12:56 PM CST
Departing Gates Plays Tired Tune at Vegas Show
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates speaks at keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008 . (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)   (Associated Press)

Bill Gates' last speech to the Consumer Electronics Show as Microsoft chairman left the audience underwhelmed, New York Times blogger Saul Hansell reports. Gates had few exciting new developments to report and instead chose to speak of the "digital decade"—hardly breaking news for the audience at a showcase for cutting-edge electronics. 

Keynote speaker Gates announced some partnerships with big studios to bring video to MSN and the Xbox, but nothing as groundbreaking as the deals rivals such as Apple regularly unveil. His speech wasn't lacking in humorous touches, but he "had little that was interesting or innovative to show off," Hansell grouses. (More Bill Gates stories.)

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