ahhaha....then what is MS up to here if not a Cable OS?
Microsoft Strikes Deals With TCI, Motorola For Windows CE
By Mark Boslet
LAS VEGAS (Dow Jones)--Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Chairman Bill Gates touted his efforts to put Windows CE in a new generation of small computing devices, unveiling agreements with Motorola Inc. (MOT) and Tele-Communications Inc. (TCOMA) at a tradeshow here.
During a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show, Gates said TCI would use Windows CE, a scaled down version of Microsoft's Windows operating system, in five million new set-top boxes to be attached to the televisions of TCI's cable customers.
Sun Microsystems Inc.'s (SUNW) Java technology will be in only the higher-end set-top boxes, but Windows CE will be in all of them, Gate said. Sun on Friday at the CES show pre-empted Microsoft by announcing its deal to supply Personal Java to TCI, which plans ultimately to build up to 12 million of the boxes that would bring Internet-like functionality to the cable network.
Gates, however, didn't announce the $1 billion investment in TCI that some industry observers expected. Nevertheless, he said the arrangement is a "major milestone" for Windows CE and includes technology from Microsoft's Web TV Internet surfing platform as well as support for the HD0 TV format for high-definition television.
In an agreement with Motorola, Microsoft's chief told a packed auditorium he would put Motorola's Flex wireless communications technology in Windows CE. The two companies plan to develop software that will enable Windows CE devices, such as handheld computers and intelligent phones, to receive and eventually transmit data over paging networks that rely on Flex.
The arrangement has the "potential for spectacular new applications," said Motorola Chief Executive Christopher Galvin, during an appearance at the Gates address.
What's missing from small devices is a way of connecting from anywhere at anytime, Gates added.
"Dow Jones News Service"
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