Bad News For Apple? A New Urge From Microsoft.

Microsoft’s latest urge is called Urge. Announced earlier in December and, in case you missed it, announced again at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

This is home town for me and the only thing missing among the hype and hoopla is Apple. If our favorite Mac and iPod maker plans to transform itself into a consumer electronics power, it’s late to the party.

So much for innovation. Bill Gates and Justin Timberlake (there’s a high tech guy, right?) debuted Microsoft’s new music service, Urge. It’s a deal with MTV and it won’t be popular with iPod owners.

Urge doesn’t work with Macs or iPods.

As you might expect, Bill Gates keynote and follow on interviews were hot news from CES. Crowds were bigger than last year (or else I’ve gained a few pounds and just found it more difficult to squeeze through the crowds) and toys, gadgets, tools, and vaporware were everywhere.

Gates, of course, has a vision for the future. So does Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs. The race is on. Both Apple and Microsoft are coming at the living room and entertainment from different directions.

Windows Media PC and XBox (games) for Microsoft, and the iPod and music for Apple. At least, until next week. It’s time for Apple to up the ante, put some cards on the table, end the endless bluff.

Windows Everywhere still lives in Gates’ view of the world. CNN Money quotes the world’s richest man:

“We’ve talked about this as decade of digital lifestyle, work style,” he said. “What that means is all these tools become mainstream. Software will come in and make things both simpler and more effective.”

“Not having to think about disks, entertainment, having a digital jukebox anywhere in the house so you can call up the movies you want and see anything you want to.”

OK, but I don’t see that happening. Yet. I’ll reserve judgement until after his Steveness’s Stevenote at Macworld Expo next week. Speaking of Macworld vs. CES, can somebody please change these things so they’re a few months apart?

Microsoft is pushing it’s deal with Intel and Viiv, Intel’s new chip that’s designed to enhance entertainment PCs. Ostensibly, PC users would be able to run multiple entertainment applications and send content all over the house.

Hmmmm. Isn’t Apple in the process of switching the Mac to Intel chips? Will we see a Viiv in the Mac’s future?

As Gates sees it, the “digital hub” will have digital content flowing between digital devices in a seamless, no-think operation, that will be integrated, and easy for consumers to manage.

That must mean that they’re dropping Windows, right?

In summary, the idea is to bring content into the home in many different ways, store it on different devices, play it back on different devices, more it around, keep the content providers happy with effective digital rights management (DRM) and make money in the process.

That last part means you’ll part with money. How? Well, you’ll go to the movies at $10-$12 a ticket, buy popcorn, hotdog, and Coke, certainly eat out, and dump $25 a head to see the latest flick.

Then you’ll do it all over again (spend money) when you buy the DVDs or purchase a movie for download so you can play it back on your Windows Media PC, maybe your XBox, perhaps a Mac or an iPod, or, gawd forbid, an old fashioned television.

I see a lot of money changing hands during that process. Mostly, the money is leaving my hands and going somewhere else.

Urge is the new music and video download service soon to see the light of day from Microsoft and MTV. It’s an edgy name, though a bit presumptuous, if not pretentious.

For now, it’ll do. Wasn’t it just a year or so ago that Microsoft launched their own Music Store?

How’d that turn out for them? I don’t seem to remember.

One thing is for sure. The next few years will prove interesting for everyone who buys gadgets from the home entertainment industry. Finally, Apple has some turf to protect. Let’s see what they do to protect it.

Tera and I both agree that Starz’ Vongo makes downloading and managing movies very easy and could prove to be good competition for iTunes and iTMS.

Tera Patricks
Gates is pulling out all the stops to stop all the showstoppers like Apple and Google, while telling everyone that their real competition is IBM. Go figure.

Jack D. Miller
Bill hasn’t been talking to enough people who actually use his products.

Carol Mary Miller
Am I the only one who’s noticed that Microsoft’s stock has gone absolutely nowhere for about five years?