Microsoft effort to expand customer base applauded

Monday, Nov. 18, 2002 | 11 a.m.

A Las Vegas technology expert says Microsoft Corp.'s strategy of developing "smart" technology in everyday gadgets is a bid to develop a wider customer base at a time when the industry can use a boost.

Michael Beardslee, president of IT Strategies International Corp., said appealing to a broad audience that can use a new-and-improved alarm clock may be more practical than going after a highly specialized market.

Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, showed off a "smart" alarm clock in his keynote speech kicking off the 23rd annual Comdex Fall trade show in Las Vegas.

Gates addressed more than 12,000 people jammed into the MGM Grand Garden arena Sunday night.

Today, an estimated 125,000 Comdex attendees will visit exhibits at the Las Vegas Convention Center in what has become a vastly scaled-down event from the mid-'90s, but is still Las Vegas's largest convention.

"Obviously, it hasn't been a good year for the industry," Beardslee said of the struggling high-tech sector. "It hasn't been a particularly good year for Microsoft. I think this move into smaller, more common devices is far more practical. You can spend a lot of time teaching people about things that are way over everybody's head or you can reach more people immediately if you make a better alarm clock, stove, Crock Pot, whatever."

Gates showed off the company's so-called "Smart Personal Objects Technology" -- SPOT -- with a demonstration of a travel alarm clock that can determine the correct time zone and use Internet technology to find local weather and traffic reports. The clock also has a timer to count down to an appointment, considering those weather and traffic variables.

Beardslee also praised Microsoft's announcement of a partnership with Kinko's Inc. with a service that is expected to kick off in the middle of next year. The program, named "File, Print ... Kinko's" will enable customers to make high-volume printing orders from their computers, using a dialog box option that will send the order directly to the company's nearest location.

"I know I'd use a service like that today if I had it," Beardslee said. "There are many business owners who need large printing orders when they're preparing bids for government contracts and they need to make multiple copies of documents. Today, we have to hand-carry a master copy over to the store, but this will simplify the process."

Gates, who introduced the service Sunday with Kinko's Chief Executive Officer Gary Kusin, said Internet technology will help a customer find the closest store for the job and special features like collating and stapling documents can be ordered.

The other major initiative introduced by Gates Sunday was Microsoft OneNote, an Office family application that enables capturing, organizing and accessing typed, spoken or handwritten notes. Beardslee said the program is an extension of the capabilities of hand-held and tablet computers introduced in previous shows.

Beardslee said he was not surprised that Gates did not talk about his antitrust battles with the U.S. Justice Department, but he was disappointed that he had limited comments about the status of the U.S. economy. Gates is on record as being optimistic on the economy because he expects that more people will be depending on personal computers and other devices to do more things every day, and that would help drive more sales.

Gates also was silent on the status of the show itself and its owner, Key3Media Group Inc.

The 125,000 people expected to attend this year's show is about the same level of attendance as last year when the industry was in an economic downturn and travel to the show was curtailed by the effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Key3Media announced earlier this month that it plans to consider its financial options after the Las Vegas show, including the possibility that it may file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Some remnants of last year's cautious atmosphere after the Sept. 11 attacks remained Sunday night -- persons attending the speech were required to pass through metal detectors and have their bags searched.