Desktop platforms Toolkit

The future according to Microsoft

Colin Barker ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 03 Nov 2005 10:45 GMT

Now a peek into Microsoft's home of the future.

You may not be able to afford as swanky a pad as Bill Gates, but technology can still enhance a more humble abode. That's the message in the Home section of Microsoft Life², where high-definition TVs and Xboxes jostled each other.

And in the twenty-first Century, the home is also the office. Today's businesswoman needs to be able to run a finance department, while the kids entertain themselves in their own high-tech den.

But there's one thing missing. Anyone see a trace of open source?

A modern open-plan living room and kitchen space
Forget this talk of smart refrigerators, Microsoft's lounge is traditional. There's not a computer to be seen.

A woman sat cross-legged next to a plasma television and other miscellaneous IT equipment
But look behind you. This is a TV to be proud of and a stack of separate boxes as well — including the latest Xbox (left of the TV). Microsoft is putting all of its weight behind the next generation of Media Player used with high-definition TV. A picture of a plasma TV displaying a video recording
Is that Steve Ballmer explaining Microsoft's strategy to a customer? No, just Media Player and HDTV in action.

A child's area, with a media centre PC sat next to a bright red hat
And no child's life is complete without that ever-present computer, but here Microsoft are demonstrating some of the cool, fun things they can do while also stressing the work Microsoft has been doing to make using the Internet a safer place.

A woman sat at a computer, leaning in to touch a security device
Mum's home office where she can do her work as finance director of a charity is safe in the home, thanks to the small device under her hand that allows her to close off and lock her work systems in case the kids decide to go surfing.

A pair of billboards advertising Microsoft paraphernalia
Microsoft's latest advertising campaigns are aimed squarely at the message that Microsoft is Life².

The exterior of the red-brick building that holds Microsoft's demonstration kit
And after seeing all of this vision it's time to leave Microsoft's school — the building that houses Life² — and head for home. All we can wonder is why there was not a piece of open source software in sight. When asked about this, the representatives from Microsoft laughed, but would not otherwise comment.

1 2

Did you find this article useful?
142 out of 302 people found this useful

More In Desktop platforms

Company/Topic Alerts

Create a new alert from the list below:

Related Jobs

SENIOR SAP FI CO CONSULTANT - NORTH WEST

SQL Server DBA - Isle of Man - great salary + benefits

Service Desk Analyst

Featured Talkback

So if you upgrade to XP SP3 you can't uninstall Internet Explorer, I'm quite sure I'm having a Deja-vu feeling about MS preventing people from uninstalling Internet Explorer in other Windows products.