Speaking at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Microsoft’s Bill Gates unveiled an IPTV-enabled Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, Windows Home Server, and a new partnership with Ford Motor Co. to extend digital experiences to the car.
The IPTV-enabled Xbox 360, which is slated for the Holiday 2007 season, will combine TV and digital video recording capabilities with gaming, movie downloads and even voice and video communications. The system will be offered through Service Providers that are deploying TV services based on the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software platform.
Microsoft TV IPTV Edition is in market deployment with five of the world’s largest service providers and trials with 11 additional companies, representing a footprint across 14 countries on four continents.
Windows Home Server, a new software product for families with multiple PCs that want to connect their home computers, digital devices and printers to help easily store, protect and share their rapidly expanding collections of digital content and entertainment. Later this year, HP plans to deliver the HP MediaSmart Server, powered by Windows Home Server.
Windows Home Server will be a new product to help consumers deal with digital content by automatically backing up home PCs and providing a central location for storing a family’s photographs, music, videos and documents. HP plans to offer the product later this year. AMD, Inventec Corp. and Quanta Computer Inc. will demonstrate hardware reference designs for Windows Home Server. http://www.microsoft.com
