Programming Windows: Bombshell (Premium)

On January 6, 2001, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates delivered the keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. It came just two months after he delivered a similar keynote address at Fall COMDEX, also in Las Vegas, and that was a tough act to follow, as Gates had given attendees there the first-ever public preview of a coming platform called Tablet PC, and that demo had been interrupted several times by enthusiastic applause.

But Gates thought he could outdo it.

First, he started with some familiar territory. As the master of the personal technology universe, Bill Gates wove a tale in which the PC was the center of everything and how a new generation of smart hardware, like Pocket PC devices, living room set-top boxes like Ultimate TV, and videogame consoles would supplement the PC experience. They would connect to each other and the Internet via a “breakthrough wireless technology” called 802.11 and DSL and cable modem broadband connections, with software defining the communications experience. Software that would come from Microsoft, of course. According to Gates, even video editing would soon become mainstream.

“Now, I mentioned the PC playing a critical role here,” he said. “In the next release of Windows, we [will] create a machine that you’ll be leaving on 24 hours a day, a machine that can continue to service the different peripherals, the picture frames, the music playing devices, the different control things you have around the house … We’re taking the PC and using the wireless infrastructure to make it available throughout the home.”

“These will be PCs where you can take the screen, pick it up and walk around, taking it with you,” he said, referring obliquely to the Tablet PC. “Some of those screens will be very rich in terms of the kind of interaction you have, some will just be simple, passive display devices. [Here, he is also referring to a coming and as-yet announced Microsoft platform.]” According to Gates, even video editing would soon become mainstream.

Gates brought out Microsoft’s Steve Guggenheimer to provide a demonstration of Whistler, the next version of Windows. Whistler would be the first mainstream version of Windows to leave behind the old DOS-based underpinnings, he noted, but it would also expand on the capabilities provided by the NT-based Windows 2000. He showed off a new feature that would let multiple people be signed into Windows at the same time without needing to shut down applications and logoff, a cleaner new user interface, and how USB peripherals could automatically work when plugged in for the first time.

Whistler would also feature file system-based integration with web-based storage—he specifically showed off something called MSN Community—and utilize a new Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) technology to communicate with smart devices wirelessly on a local network. This connectivity, with both web-based resources and local, connected smart devices, would result in what Microsoft called the extended PC, a “digital media center” that could access Internet-based content and spread it to displays around the home. A new display technology called ClearType would use subpixel rendering to make text appear as crisp as that in paper-based magazines, and Tablet PCs would use digital ink and speech for more natural interactions.

The technological advances flew by in a blur. Untethered PocketPCs with wireless Internet connections. A Whistler PC connected to a stereo system using IEEE-1394 over Category 5 wiring. The Microsoft TV platform powering Ultimate TV and its DVR capabilities. Sharing digital music files using storage media between multiple portable devices. Auto PC. Home PNA. And more. It was a mind-numbing cacophony of technical terms and coming capabilities, a crescendo that was surely meant to be the apex of his talk.

But no. Gates had a bombshell to drop.

“If there is an area where breakthroughs in hardware and software can really change the experience, it’s got to be in video games,” he said. A few years ago, we were sitting around talking about, how could we help make this happen? And some of the really hardcore gamers at Microsoft said, well, we could just do it. And the first time they said that it sounded pretty crazy, but they kept coming back, they kept refining the ideas, talking about the dream that they had there, and finally we said, okay, go for it, build the team, really build something that is a breakthrough for video gaming. And so they went out and spent a lot of time with gamers, they spent a lot of time with the software developers, and the result of that is the Xbox product.”

Note: If you are interested in the history of Xbox, I strongly recommend watching the free Power On: The Story of Xbox video documentary series from Microsoft.

“Today for the first time we’re unveiling the Xbox,” he continued. “This is a product that will be out later this year, and there’s an amazing amount going on, working with partners who help build the hardware, working with the software developers, working with the retailers. The program around this thing is really quite phenomenal. But the box itself is another thing that we’ve put a lot of energy into. So you may have been wondering what this draped device was here. This is the Xbox. And so for the first time let me now unveil Xbox.”

Gates then removed a black sheet covering an object on a pedestal, the original Xbox video game console and a rather large, wired controller, to thundering applause.

Gates described the Xbox in great detail, noting the work that Microsoft had done to hone the form factor, which seems large by today’s standards but was in fact quite small compared to the PCs of the day. That was important because the Xbox was a PC, architecturally, with an Intel CPU, RAM, hard drive, a 100 Mbps Ethernet port, and then-impressive NVIDIA-based HD graphics capabilities. Gates was upfront about the Xbox’s PC roots, noting that it leveraged PC technology, but it was also a breakthrough device, a “new thing for Microsoft.” Ultimately, it was the easiest way for Microsoft to enter this important new market.

After Xbox’s Seamus Blackley showed off some game demos, Gates introduced WWF wrestling star The Rock for what was easily one of the most entertaining moments of any Microsoft product launch. The two exchanged jokes and some good-natured bantering. And then the following smile-inducing exchange ensued.

“The Rock doesn’t impress easily, Bill, you know that,” The Rock said. “But I’m pretty damn impressed with what we’re seeing here today. And considering that this Xbox at this moment is only running on one-fifth of the system’s power is very impressive. Bill, do you have any idea what The Rock would be like if he were only running on one-fifth of his power”

“Well, I think that …” Gates began.

“It doesn’t matter what you think, Bill,” The Rock interrupted to more applause.

And then Gates wrapped up the keynote, setting the stage for two huge product releases—Whistler and Xbox—for later that year. 2001 was already looking a lot better than 2000. And the next bombshell would come soon, and from the Windows team. Whistler was about to get a new name. And an exciting new visual style.