At the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates used his last keynote to offer his take on the future, talk about the first “digital decade” and what the future offers. He was joined by Robbie Bach, President of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division, who helped Gates demo his mad Guitar Hero skills.

It’s was a pretty mind-numbingly bad keynote. Here are the bullet points:

• Gates said we’re in the first digital decade, and “the speed with which digital technology has become central to the way we work, learn and play has been amazing.”
• The second digital decade will be even cooler!

Gates offered an update on Microsoft’s latest deals:

• They are partnering with NBC Universal for the first ‚Äúlong-tail‚Äù Olympics. Online viewers will have access to more than 3,000 hours of live and on-demand content so they can watch their favorite athlete or sport, regardless of whether the sport has seven fans or 7 million. NBCOlympics.com will be used as a marketing tool to promote Microsoft Silverlight technology.
• Xbox Live Video is getting ABC and Disney Channel programs and MGM classic movies.
• Xbox 360 is doing great; never mind the unacceptably high failure rate.
• 1.5 million users have joined the Zune Social.
• 100 million copies of Windows Vista have shipped, and they will get cooler between now and 2012.
• Microsoft Mediaroom is now running on 1 million set-top boxes worldwide. DVR Anywhere will let users watch their recorded programs on multiple TVs in the home.

Gates and Bach also discussed Microsoft’s vision for future user interfaces, including Tellme, Microsoft‚Äôs voice-and-visual mobile service that lets you use voice commands.

Last year, Steve Jobs completely stole CES’s thunder by announcing the iPhone. Gates has set the stage for this to happen again.

Let’s hope Jobs can deliver.

Update: We don’t always agree with TechCrunch, but when they say that Gate’s CES Keynote sucked, they’ll get no argument from us. Meanwhile, Gizmodo thinks that Gates looked cooler than Steve Jobs. Or maybe it’s just linkbait talking…..

CES: iLuv will debut the iLuv i399 iPod speaker dock, which features an integrated Bluetooth enabled wireless music feature that’s good up to 300ft.

The i399 BluePin 2.1 Channel Hi-Fi Audio System is the first iLuv product to feature BluePin II technology. With the detachable BluePin II, users can listen to music on Bluetooth headphones or send music from another stereo Bluetooth device to the i399.

Other features:

• Speaker phone capabilities for incoming and outgoing calls
• A rhythm-sensitive blue LED light
• FM stereo radio capabilities
• Digital clock display
• Auxiliary line input for 1st, 2nd and 3rd generations of iPod and other audio devices

The MSRP of the iLuv i399 is $229.99. The i399 is going to start shipping in February.

Here we go – the first CES iPod gadget that gets us excited.

JVC is introducing a new line of LCD HDTV’s that offer playback of iPod video content.¬† Each of the four new models, including three full HD 1080p sets, features JVC’s TeleDock, a flip-down iPod dock at the base of the set, providing a direct connection for playback through the TV.

The new JVC P-Series includes

• 32-inch LT-32P679
• 42-inch LT-42P789
• 47-inch LT-47P789
• 52-inch LT-52P789

The 42-, 47- and 52-inch models offer 1080p resolution.
When an iPod is docked, a menu appears on the TV screen for selecting music, music shuffle or video playback.¬† iPod can be controlled from the TV’s remote, which includes a circular keypad with a control scheme that mimics the iPod’s control wheel.

Photos can also be displayed as a slide show along with music.¬† During music playback, song title and artist name are displayed on the TV screen.¬† During video playback, low resolution files, such as internet videos, can be displayed in a small screen mode.¬† Higher resolution video can be shown in nine aspect modes at full screen.¬† There’s also the option to play music files while the TV displays television programming.¬† In addition, the iPod will charge while docked whether the TV’s power is on or off.

CES: Vestalife will debut the Ladybug, a new speaker dock for iPod.

When closed, the Ladybug resembles a ladybug about the size of a cantaloupe. The speaker “wings” fold out and down to expose the dock and provide stereo imaging. A center channel subwoofer faces rearward.

Available in red and silver for $110.00.

CES: At the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, iLuv will be introducing the iLuv i1255, a cool desktop iPod/DVD player that is expected to sell for around $130.
Features:

• Plays music from audio CDs, MP3 CDs and docked iPods
• Remote
• Dock adapters for a variety of iPod models
• Video out lets you view iPod video on-screen
• On-screen navigation
• DVD player supports DVD, VCD, MP3 CD, Audio CD, JPEG CD, and Kodak Picture CD

The i1255 doesn’t offer the sexy wireless syncing of something like Apple TV, but offers DVD playback, which is cool, and gives you the sneakerware way of getting your iTunes media onto your stereo or TV. It looks like it could be a great option of turning an extra TV into a new media center.
The iLuv i1255 is expected to ship in March.

CES: Mattress manufacturer Leggett & Platt has created either the ultimate bed of the future or an expensive piece of iCrap.

Their Starry Night Bed is a high-end sleeping system (costing up to $50,000) that offers some insanely high-tech features, including:

• Anti-snore technology
• Dual programmable temperature control from 68 to 117 degrees Fahrenheit
• Sleep Diagnostic Center; monitors body movement and breathing pattern
• Internet connectivity
• Wireless RF remote via Microsoft’s Media Center
• iPod docking station

“Consumers told us they use their beds for much more than sleep,” says L&P’s Mark Quinn. “The bed is a place for reading, watching movies, spending time with the kids, listening to music and even folding laundry.”

DJ Bed Features

You may never sleep again, given the bed’s club-style multimedia system:

• A surround sound system with four eight-inch subwoofers
• Ribbon tweeters for smooth sound
• 2,500 watt RMS Amplification.
• The headboard projector boasts a 1080p LCD based projector with a 6000:1 contrast ratio and 2,000 lumens. It casts a 120-inch (10-foot) screen on the wall and can be used to project movies, books, music navigation features, the Internet, the Good Morning screen and the local daily weather.

Never Have Sex Again

Leggett & Platt say that you can use the Starry Night Bed for more than sleeping and sex. (pdf)

Based on all the technology that the bed offers, though, there’s a good chance you may never have time for sleeping or sex:

• The Starry Night provides wireless Internet connectivity and a wireless keyboard. The Internet is projected via the 120-inch screen.
• The bed and electronics can be controlled via the Good Morning touch screen or a wireless RF remote via Microsoft’s Media Center.
• You can recharge your iPod on the built-in docking station.
• The Starry Night boasts 1.5 terabytes (1,500 gigabytes) of disc storage for almost 400,000 songs or up to 2,000 hours of video. Its operating system runs on a solid state hard drive for fast data transfer and low seek times. It also offers 4 gigs of ddr2 ram.
• It’s also a DVR!

CES: At the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, Whirlpool will be showing its Central Park line of refrigerators, which features a dock for swappable digital media components, including a digital photo frame, a computer and this peripheral that turns the thing into an iPod refrigerator:

What do you think of the iPod refrigerator concept? Cool or iCrap?

CES: Wadia Digital will introduce what they claim is the world’s first all-digital iPod dock. According to Wadia, this means it can offer CD-quality from full-resolution file formats.

The iTransport (SRP: $349) turns your iPod into a high-end media server by providing a bit-perfect digital audio output to an audio/video system, bypassing the player’s internal D/A conversion and output stage. The iTransport is compatible with all currently available (Q1 2008) iPod players, as well as iPhone and iPod Touch models.

“Until now, there has been no real bridge between the convenience of an iPod and the high-end audio listening experience,” commented John W. Schaffer, President, Wadia Digital. “The goal of making the player a true high-end media server has been hampered by the need to send the digital signal through a portable player’s D/A converter rather than that of a high performance audio system.

“We designed iTransport to bypass the player’s converter and output stage altogether. When used with an iTransport, the iPod becomes a digital music source equal to some of the finest sounding transports in the high-end audio market.”

At the upcoming 2008 CES (Consumer Electronics Show), Archos will introduce a new set-top box, imaginatively named Archos TV, that promises to give Apple TV some real competition.

Here the details (preliminary):

• 80GB ($249) and 250GB ($349) versions
• Onscreen recording guide
• 640×480 digital video recorder
• Cool QWERTY remote control
• Infrared emitter for controlling your cable box or TV
• Built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet for on-demand video downloads from CinemaNow
• Opera web browser with Flash video support
• Optional Flash video game downloads

While it offers some killer features, especially the built-in video recorder, there’s no mention of podcast support, integration with your photo library or iTunes. So, Archos TV doesn’t look like it will be the uber-box, but we’re happy to see another interesting offering in this area.

DRM’d music is dead. DRM’d video will be next.

As CD sales plummet, the record labels have realized that they have to get with the 21st century. They have to have a place on your iPod, if they expect you to listen to them, and they have to get rid of DRM if they want to fight Apple’s dominance in the digital music world.

Without dumpting DRM, the labels are forced into the bizarre situation of providing instructions on how to circumvent music DRM so you can get WMA files onto your iPod.