Microsoft sees lucrative 'Halo' effect in '09

January 07, 2009 Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer vowed to push through the country's economic doldrums with increased investment in research and development in the opening keynote Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show. "[...] no matter what happens with the economy or how long this recession lasts, I believe our digital lives will only continue to get richer," said Ballmer, who made his first keynote appearance in place of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who had made a tradition of kicking off CES going back 15 years. Ballmer and other Microsoft execs gave a guided tour of all things new at Microsoft, including an introduction to the latest version of its operating system, Windows 7, which was just released in beta mode.

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