Windows Secrets reports on MSN versus Windows Live charges:
"Thousands of customers are paying almost $120 USD per year to Microsoft for an Internet subscription service that includes e-mail, security, and other features. But Microsoft gives away almost identical services absolutely free in Windows Live and the Windows operating system itself, while neglecting to inform those who pay through the nose."
Our two cents: This is the _old Microsoft business model (MSN, Bill Gates) versus the new business model (Windows Live, Ray Ozzie) in two separate organizational silos_ story. A comment on CrunchGear states: "In short, one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing in Redmond." Might be. Our opinion is: We are witnessing a company in transition.
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A different voice from Garr Reynolds: "OK, this is getting weird. Two days in a row that I am praising a Bill Gates presentation. Yesterday his June Harvard speech, and now today his annual keynote presentation at CES. Bill Gates's various presentations over the years (those supported by a multimedia background or PowerPoint at least) have usually been pretty dull affairs, often including bouts of "death-by-PowerPoint" visuals. But today I thought I'd give Bill another shot, and I am happy to say that Bill did a very good job *and* his visuals augmented his spoken word well and were used quite smoothly. I also loved the way he used self-deprecating humor throughout the keynote. I won't long remember much of the content of his CES 08 keynote, but I will remember this important lesson by Bill Gates on leadership and communication: Take your message, your job, and your cause very seriously, but do not take yourself so seriously. I respect a leader tremendously who can laugh at himself (or herself)."
Duncan Riley on Bill Gates at CES: "The big question is how, in 2008, have we come to a point that Microsoft is so bereft of new ideas and innovation that what was once the most important keynote speech of the year turned out to be a complete dog? It’s not for a lack of good people, there are many in Microsoft doing a great job, and there’s even some good technology and products being created (Silverlight and Windows Live Maps being two examples) and to those people I say don’t take this personally, it’s not personal, it’s just that if people don’t have anything interesting to say, they’re better off not getting on stage and making us yawn. I’ll be in San Francisco for the Steve Jobs keynote at Macworld next week and I doubt that I’ll be writing a similar post."