Gates Loosens His Tie In Humorous CES Keynote

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates didn't offer much in the way of new product announcements in his keynote speech Sunday night at the opening of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. What he did offer was a self-effacing and hilarious glimpse into his thoughts about leaving Microsoft, where he has been a full time employee since the age of 17.

Decked out in a casual blue sweater pulled over a button down shirt, a visibly relaxed Gates took his audience on a trip down memory lane, all the way back to his first CES keynote in 1994. Gates, who plans to relinquish his day-to-day duties at Microsoft in July to focus on philanthropic work, immediately addressed the topic that was at the top of mind for many attendees.

"I'm not sure what my last day will be like. It could be a bit strange," Gates said,

Gates invited the audience to watch a short video documentary of his final day as a Microsoft employee, which depicted the founder of the world's largest software company as a somewhat befuddled, forgetful genius who hadn't really given much thought as to his future employment.

In what amounted to a moving, albeit hilarious, tribute to his far reaching impact on American society, Gates is shown calling up -- and being summarily dismissed by -- a litany of political and entertainment figures in his search for a new job, including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Al Gore, U2 frontman Bono, talk show host John Stewart, and rap mogul Jay-Z.

Later, after Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division, challenged Gates to a game of Guitar Hero 3, Gates brought former Guns N Roses guitarist Slash onstage for an impromptu jam session.

The keynote wasn't all fun and games, however. Gates spent much of the keynote discussing technology trends that have recently begun to impact the industry and which reflect the growing importance of connecting people and becoming more user-centric.

Microsoft platforms have evolved to allow users to build applications that run not only on PCs, but also on devices such as mobile phones and televisions. Increasingly, these applications will be complemented by cloud based services, according to Gates.

"The second digital decade is still about the magic of software, especially about how software can advance education and heathcare around the world," Gates said.

High definition displays, and the migration of this technology into desks and wall units, are another important technological trend that simplifies the user experience, according to Gates. The information on these displays "will be easy to manipulate and change, and the quality of rendering will be very rich, and this will exist for many web environments," said Gates.

The rise of services is helping to bridge gaps between devices that were previously bridged by users, removing barriers that used to negatively impact productivity, Gates said. "No longer will users have to bridge between devices. Having a master of what's going on in the cloud will allow users to be shared across users," Gates said.

The power of the map-to-user interface will also continue to grow, a trend that's being seen in the rise of touch and speech driven interfaces, Gates said. "People are very interested in a simpler way of navigating information, and this is what the software industry will build into the platform," Gates said.