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Microsoft's new product links computer with TV

Posted on: Friday, 9 January 2004, 06:00 CST

Microsoft's new product links computer with TV

LAS VEGAS, the United States, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, on Wednesday unveiled products that will allow TV to access images, music and movies stored on computers.

In a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show here, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said the new technology, called Windows Media Center Extender, could wirelessly link computers running Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition with TV. It removes the need to physically connect the TV to the computer.

As computer makers begin to move beyond computing and into traditional electronics like televisions, Gates said his company was committed to the same push with products for home entertainment and media management.

Microsoft hardware partners -- including Gateway, Dell, and Samsung Electronics -- will sell the extenders which will come in the shape of set-top boxes. The device, expected to come on the market later this year, will cost 300 to 600 US dollars, according to Microsoft.

Microsoft is not the initiator for the product. Sony and Hewlett- Packard introduced similar products last year and, earlier on Wednesday, Philips Electronics unveiled extender boxes that do much the same as Microsoft's Windows Media Extender.

In his keynote address, Gates also officially launched MSN Premium, client software for MSN network service designed for multi- user households with broadband access. This version provides firewall, antispam and antivirus services and enhances e-mail and instant messaging options.

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