The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is revealing a whole host of new products from Microsoft. A company press release gives some details :

LAS VEGAS — January 7, 2007 — Speaking at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division President Robbie Bach showed how the company is delivering a new generation of connected experiences that are inspired by the universal desire to create community and share interests and passions with friends and family.

Gates and Bach announced several new products and services that include new Windows Vista-inspired PCs, never-before-seen Windows Vista features, an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV)-enabled Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, and a new partnership with Ford Motor Co. that will extend digital experiences to the car. The company also unveiled Microsoft Windows Home Server, which provides a central place to help store, protect and access all the digital content in the home.

“As the magic of software makes it easier for people to be creators, publishers and consumers of digital content, it is expanding the way we think about community and entertainment,” Gates said. “From your living room to your car, we’re delivering a wave of new software products and services that make it easier for you to manage your day-to-day lives, express your ideas and share your interests.”

Read also about the new Windows Vista PCs in Vista Office.

Microsoft aims to steal as much thunder as possible from Sony with their Playstation 3 and lined up a lot of new gear for the Xbox 360 to get gamers attention.

Three new hardware devices are planned for it soon, including a wireless headset with microphone, a wireless steering wheel and a camera that not only can be used for video, but gesture recognition (now you really can throw a punch at your TV). A gesture-recognize video camera is actually a very cool idea. I’ve been to demos before that show off the ability of a game to respond to movement, whether it just be simple hand gestures via a worn glove or optical sensors that react to physical movement. Many of these have been bulky or obscenely expensive, however, and it’s encouraging to see this possibly being introduced to the home environment. If they can prove themselves just once, people will begin to accept them.

Microsoft Corporation releases More Xbox 360 Gadgets source

After a near total rewrite of the Windows Vista code in 2004 at the behest of Jim Allchin, it now seems that Microsoft is to recode up to 60 percent of the operating system. After yesterday’s annoucement delaying release of the consumer editions until January, this must appear like the knell of doom to many retailers and manufacturers.

Smarthouse reports: “Up to 60% of the code in the new consumer version of Microsoft new Vista operating system is set to be rewritten as the Company ’scrambles’ to fix internal problems a Microsoft insider has confirmed …”

The company desperately wants to get this out before the end of the decade and has “pulled programmers from the highly successful Xbox team to help resolve many problems associated with entertainment and media center functionality inside the OS. The team is also working closely with engineers from the Intel Viiv team and it is now expected that the next version of Viiv could be delayed to line up with the launch of the consumer version of Vista at the 2007 CES Show in Las Vegas.”

As Syntagma comments: “However fast you drive or fly towards it, the horizon never gets any nearer. … Syntagma has a solution for all this uncertainty. Rename Windows Vista, Windows Horizon. Then we’d understand … philosophically, at least.”

In a talk to high school students in the Seattle area, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates gave an intriguing answer to a burning question.

“Is Microsoft going to develop a hand-held, you know, MP3 player, to combat iPod?” asked Schyler Mishra, 19, a senior at Seattle’s John Marshall High School.

Seattle PI reports: “Gates, appearing at the company’s annual Minority Student Day, had already complimented Apple, Google and other rivals during his speech, while also touting Xbox 360 and other Microsoft products. He smiled at the question and proceeded to give the students a lesson in the art of the indirect answer.”

“Yeah, Apple has done a fantastic job with the iPod. How many of you have iPods?” he asked, and a number of students raised their hands.

“We are talking with partners about how we, working with those partners, can make even better music players. We’ve got some in the market today. I’d say in total they have about 20 percent market share, which is lower than we like, and so we’re seeing where we can come together to make a device that’s less expensive and connects in better ways, does photos and videos in better ways.”

He added: “I don’t think what’s out in the market today is the final answer. But again, it just shows the magic of software. Apple did a very good job on iTunes, did the user-interface design right. That means we’ll have to match all that good work and do something even better. Between us and our partners, you can expect to see some pretty hot products coming out over the next couple of years.”

We’ll take that as not a “no” then.