Microsoft's Gates kicks off CES - the ageing rock star?

Bill Gates kicked off CES last night with a spirited performance. He told us about Vista and he showed us why Microsoft is making progress in consumer electronics - really.

But the wierd bit about the speech is that Microsoft and Gates tried hard, perhaps a little too hard, to still look hip and trendy and like the tech leaders they kind of are, but like an ageing rock star, ultimately came off as a little passe.

Maybe it's because they had no earth shattering announcements. Their best attempts were a bunch of new media center DVD players, based on the new HD-DVD standard, for the Xbox 360 games console, as well as new portable media players that will be able to display a widening range of movies and TV shows.

Oh and then there's a couple of neat patnerships. One with Phillips will produce a portable internet phone for MSN users and their new relationship with Palm has finally created a Treo Smartphone device. Wow...zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Don't get me wrong, Microsoft can become a graceful and highly successful ageing rock star, look at Mick Jagger, but they probably can't be hip and cool any longer. They're just too big and too much like the establishment.

The new crown for hip and cool at things like CES has shifted over to Google and Apple for this year. They both have a lot to live up to. And Google's announcements had better be up to the hype. Apple of course are the coolest of all because of their absence!