Gates Announces Pocket PC, Movie Maker

"The year 2000 ushers in the consumer electronic-plus era, a defining moment in computing when software will enable new services and new tools for consumers, simply and easily," Gates bolstered in his flamboyant keynote yesterday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. With a crowd that showed up over three hours in advance, Gates discussed how new technology would drastically change our lifestyle and how Microsoft would be leading the pack.

In perfect Microsoft fashion, Gates used his keynote to introduce the new name for Windows CE - Pocket PC. Previously code-named Rapier, the new OS will feature the ability to read books through the new Microsoft Reader. The software giant will be joining up with Barnes & Noble, Inc. and barnesandnoble.com to promote distribution of e-books. Pocket PC's support of Microsoft's ClearType technology will allow for easier viewing of e-book content on the device.

In addition, Pocket PC will support Windows Media Player, allowing handheld PCs to play digital music stored in MP3 and WMA formats.

Microsoft will be working hard to promote Pocket PC, after Windows CE failed miserably this past year. Palm Computing, Inc. and Handspring, Inc. controlled the handheld market both using PalmOS as their development platform. Many blame short battery life and lack of third-party applications for lack of Windows CE-based handheld sales.

Whetting our appetites once again, Gates noted that Microsoft's next consumer operating system, code-named Millennium, will feature Microsoft Movie Maker. Movie Maker will allow video editors to store 23 hours of film per Gigabyte of hard drive space. Millennium is currently in its second beta stage and will be released Fall of this year.

Before he was through touting his visions for the future and occasionally regurgitating his COMDEX keynote, Gates announced new services for MSN what will allow users to access content via Web-enabled cellular phones.