� As he walked onstage, Gates was greeted like a rock star or political hero, soliciting a standing ovation and a flashbulb fireworks display from the photographers who were crowded between the front row and the stage. The shutterbugs were efficiently cleared away two minutes into the speech.
� "The power and the performance of the PC continues to multiply," he said. "COMDEX is a demonstration of how companies of all sizes are contributing to these improvements- "As we tap into the power of this technology, we must accept some of the pitfalls that face us. As PCs become more powerful, we must work to keep them simple. And as we open the Internet to new users, we must work hard to protect their privacy.

� " While Gates is a big deal to everyone in this vicinity - estimates are that about 15,000 people heard the speech in the main and overflow halls - there are still those who are not yet convinced. In one videotape, Jay Leno interviewed several people who weren't quite sure if Gates "had more money than Oprah."

Gates has mastered the art of the in-speech demo, with this year's models stressing the symbiosis between hardware and software. "Software needs to become richer to tap into this new world of incredible performance," he said. "Itneeds to be able to meet the most demanding needs that users of the Internet will require."

First, Silicon Graphics senior VP Torn Furlong demonstrated a new graphical workstation that runs Windows NT and, in an impressive demonstration of price and perfon~ance, will cost around $4000. A demonstration of full-motion video onscreen prompted an enthusiastic ovation from the crowd.

But it was not all for fun and games. Fur-long pointed out how such machines allow designers to test components before they are built, significantly shortening the time "between the design studio and the driveway" (in the case of the new Volkswagen Beetle). Gates then brought out Microsoft's Bill Hill to demonstrate ClearType, a new implementation for fonts that was designed ft)r use in electronic books. According to Hill, the process triples the resolution of fonts as it uses existing LCD technology. Hill presented a hypothetical: "If we introduce this technology into the next operaiting system...." "Which we will," Gates interrupted. "Which we will," Hill continued. "Every application will he able to benefit from this, which increases the resoltition of the hardware you are using today by 300 percent." The next demonstration was Office 2000, which will have configurable menus, multiple language support, and other intelligence features. Finally, Gates demonstrated the new version of SQl Server,. which allows simple queries to retrieve information from vast databases.

� "Within the unique and bizarre venue of Las Vegas, we need to step back and take a look at thc enormous and staggering influence of the industry in which we all participate," he said in his keynote address early Monday.

� Papows presented his comments within a framework of music and comedy. By the time the speech began, the crowd had already sat through a set of modern blues cranked up toulill volume - a jarflng experilence at 8:00 a.m. At the end of the speech, he brought out comedian Paula Poundstone, who expounded on computer illiteracy.

� Much of Papows' address centered around the Internet, which he called "the world's most overhyped value and the most undervalued business tool." He was also carefull to not give the machines too much credit. "Knowledge management in an increasingly networked economy is not fundamentally about technology. It's social and cultural change," he said.

� After the 1970s (the "back office" period) and the 1980s (the "frontoffice" PC period), Papows characterizes modern times as the "Virtual Office" period. "We are redefining all our perceptions of teams companies, and the world beyond our firewalls," he said.

� Papows cited electronic commerce, collaboration, and distributed learning as three important aspects of this new era. For e-commerce, he singled out three Web sites that have blazed significant trails, including an Atlanta online bank and a New York City video service that promises to deliver movies within minutes of ordering.

� Collaboration, a process based on but not restricted to electronic mail, has grown so much that the number of messages sent now far exceeds the mail delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. Papows predicts that the significant economics in this category will drive both Lotus and Microsoft to invest large amounts in research and development, and will result in significant social impact. And it won't be too long before users can choose one of many modes of communication all through the same interface.

� The increase in IT spending has a significant effect on the entire economic structure, Papows said. Six years ago we were in the midst of a downturn, in which the technology industry was perceived as shortsighted and self-centered. Since that time, there have been "startling returns" in the economy as a whole. "I'm convinced there is a correlation between these two factors," he said. "Our industry has reached a scale where our the cause and effect on major companies has become more evident."

� Innovation and responsiveness are important aspects of managing technology, said Papows. As an example of the former, he cited the German company Hoest, which used innovative ways to manage a crisis after a particularly nasty toxic spill for which the company was liable. For the latter he mentioned Century Publishing, which used information technology to collapse a six to eight week cycle to publish a book about Mother Teresa in five days.

� After appearing in two video segments, Poundstone came onstage and asked the crowd, "In the world ofcomputers. is Jeff like a Beatle?" and then hounded the audience member who gave a negative response. She interacted freely with the crowd - at one point accusing a laptop user in the front row of indulging in "a new form of heckling" - and generally played her own supposed computer ignorance for laughs.