Bill Gates gave his last CES keynote speech as Microsoft CEO on Sunday but anyone expecting some big-bang technology announcements would have been disappointed.

Gates is a CES veteran - he gave his first speech in 1994 as Microsoft prepped its Windows 95 operating system for launch. Over the years, he's talked regularly about the "digital decade" and the rise of digital technologies on the internet, the Windows PC and the mobile phone.

The next "digital decade"

While Gates' first digital decade was all about raw technology and improving processing power, Microsoft's retiring CEO sees the second digital decade as one of social connectivity and software.

"During the next digital decade," Gates said, "technology will make our lives richer, more connected, more productive and more fulfilling in profound and exciting ways".

Gates believes that tomorrow's applications will be able to run on multiple devices - a PC, the internet, a phone, a car or a TV. Devices will be context-sensitive and Microsoft's vision of "Cloud computing" (another way of describing online applications or software as a service) will give users access to their data wherever they are, whatever device they're using.

The one thing that will change is how people use their devices. Gates highlighted the trend for touch- and speech-based input in his keynote speech. Whether it's used on a mobile phone (like

Apple's iPhone) or as a computing interface (like Microsoft's Surface), Gates believes that touch and speech-recognition interfaces are a simple and more "natural" way of accessing our digital information.

Gates went on to celebrate the rollout of Windows Vista, noting that 100 million are now using the OS worldwide. Keynote attendees were treated to a Surface demo, Microsoft's in-car Sync technology ("a fully integrated in-car communications and infotainment system"), plus a sneak peek at some camera recognition technology.

No big surprises

Microsoft's announcements at this year's CES were low-key. Rumours of an HD DVD-equipped Xbox 360 "Ultimate" had swirled around before the show. But if true, this SKU would have been nixed by Time Warner's exclusive backing for Blu-ray, which leaves HD DVD teetering on the brink of defeat in the HD format war.

Gates announced that Microsoft had teamed up with NBC to offer an on-demand video service for this year's Beijing Olympics using its Silverlight technology. NBCOlympics.com on MSN will hoard over 3,000 hours of sport, enabling viewers to watch whatever sport they want regardless of its popularity.

Some good news: Microsoft revealed that it would also be selling its Zune music players outside the US for the first time. The bad news: only in Canada.

There were also two notable Xbox 360 announcements. The first - Microsoft confirmed that BT's Mediaroom-based BT Vision service will be the first live IPTV system available on the Xbox 360 in 2008. It's a small potatoes deal, but it might be a shot in the arm for BT Vision, which is struggling for market share against Sky, Virgin Media and Freeview.

The second Xbox announcement adds TV content from ABC Television and Disney Channel to Xbox Live's Video Marketplace. Microsoft has also inked a deal with MGM/UA to bring the likes of Rocky and Terminator available for download.