LAS VEGAS, CES 2012 – Oh the irony! Microsoft showed off some of its best software in years at its final keynote at CES.
But just as Microsoft seems to be getting its act together, it is pulling out of the U.S.’s largest technology show.
Steve Ballmer didn’t dance around like a monkey. Bill Gates didn’t make a cameo, and there was only one of the goofy, funny videos that Microsoft is known for.
Overall it was a letdown, despite software that looks like it might really give Apple a run for its money.
Instead of going out with a bang, CEO Steve Ballmer exuded an air of “let’s get this over with.” There was little of his trademark bluster and energy. He spent the majority of the show sitting at the back of the stage with MC Ryan Seacrest while a parade of Microsoft executives took over presentation duties. (It was actually a relief; he’s too bombastic for a 75-minute presentation).
They showed off Microsoft’s new software for smartphones, tablets, PCs and XBox. Unlike everyone else here at CES, Microsoft is actually trying hard NOT to copy Apple.
In a sea of look-alike tablets and smartphones, Microsoft’s Metro interface in Windows 8 is actually quite original. It’s intriguing, coherent, and unusual for Microsoft — looks intuitive and easy to use.
The Metro design seems to work well across a wide range of devices: smartphones, tablets, PCs and Microsoft’s XBox game console.
High points were demos of a tablet running Windows 8 and an XBox being controlled by voice. A Microsoft executive was able to search for a movie, start and pause it with just a few straightforward voice commands. It gave a peek of how a Siri-controlled Apple TV might work. And it actually worked quite well.
It should have been a high note, and nearly was. Pity, but I guess Microsoft’s not going anywhere. It’s just not doing big trade shows anymore. But then again, neither is Apple.
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac.
Leander is a longtime technology reporter and the author of six acclaimed books about Apple, including two New York Times bestsellers: Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products and Inside Steve’s Brain, a biography of Steve Jobs.
He’s also written a top-selling biography of Apple CEO Tim Cook and authored Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod, which both won prestigious design awards. Most recently, he was co-author of Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition.
Leander has been reporting about Apple and technology for nearly 30 years.
Before founding Cult of Mac as an independent publication, Leander was news editor at Wired.com, where he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Wired.com website. He headed up a team of six section editors, a dozen reporters and a large pool of freelancers. Together the team produced a daily digest of stories about the impact of science and technology, and won several awards, including several Webby Awards, 2X Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism and the 2010 MIN (Magazine Industry Newsletter) award for best blog, among others.
Before being promoted to news editor, Leander was Wired.com’s senior reporter, primarily covering Apple. During that time, Leander published a ton of scoops, including the first in-depth report about the development of the iPod. Leander attended almost every keynote speech and special product launch presented by Steve Jobs, including the historic launches of the iPhone and iPad. He also reported from almost every Macworld Expo in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s, including, sadly, the last shows in Boston, San Francisco and Tokyo. His reporting for Wired.com formed the basis of the first Cult of Mac book, and subsequently this website.
Before joining Wired, Leander was a senior reporter at the legendary MacWeek, the storied and long-running weekly that documented Apple and its community in the 1980s and ’90s.
Leander has written for Wired magazine (including the Issue 16.04 cover story about Steve Jobs’ leadership at Apple, entitled Evil/Genius), Scientific American, The Guardian, The Observer, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.
Leander is an expert on:
Apple and Apple history
Steve Jobs, Jony Ive, Tim Cook and Apple leadership
Apple community
iPhone and iOS
iPad and iPadOS
Mac and macOS
Apple Watch and watchOS
Apple TV and tvOS
AirPods
Leander has a postgrad diploma in artificial intelligence from the University of Aberdeen, and a BSc (Hons) in experimental psychology from the University of Sussex.
He has a diploma in journalism from the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Leander lives in San Francisco, California, and is married with four children. He’s an avid biker and has ridden in many long-distance bike events, including California’s legendary Death Ride.
You can find out more about Leander on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can follow him on X at @lkahney or Instagram.
