Steve Ballmer headlines Consumer Electronics Show again

"We are pleased to welcome Microsoft back to the CES keynote stage," Gary Shapiro, CEA president, says in a statement. "From mobile to desktop to gaming and beyond, Microsoft has a significant impact on all aspects of the consumer innovation industry, and Steve Ballmer's keynote is a great way to kick off the exciting 2012 International CES. We are excited to hear Microsoft's latest initiatives and Ballmer's vision for where consumer innovation is heading".

Microsoft's core business is software -- Office and Windows -- not consumer electronics. The majority of Microsoft clients are businesses, not consumers. The company produces arguably only one CE device -- Xbox 360. There are no smartphones, tablets, TVs, portable media players or other consumer electronics made by Microsoft, and the most popular devices run software from other companies.

The world's PCs run Windows

Most of the world's PCs run Windows, nevertheless the majority of CE products don't. Microsoft's core business is the Office-Windows-Windows Server applications stack, which is eroding earlier the mobile-to-cloud apps stack. Why is CEA paying homage to the past, again, to put it more exactly than looking to computing's future and CE devices?

Representatives from Apple, Samsung or Sony woud be more appropriate for the event. I'm not making a knock against Ballmer or Microsoft. This is about consumer electronics and the companies best representing the market. You agree? Disagree? Please answer in comments.

Who owns your friends and the personal information they share? Your answer is the crux of a debate regarding utilities for scraping and exporting FB friend data -- in such a case to a new, rival social network.

The United Sates?

You want to know why Apple is so hellbent on stopping Samsung selling smartphones in the United Sates? Reread the headline.

Windows 8 UX Pack 2.0 gives you the at once best thing: it makes Windows 7 look like its successor -- then, based on Microsoft's previews of the straightway-gen operating system.

New limited plans probably leave most users with no increase in cost. 4G usage will probably drive some clients into higher-priced plans. Upgrade phones and you can keep your unlimited plan.