"In a demonstration of Windows Vista, semitransparent windows on the computer desktop allowed users to see objects underneath, including moving video, while search results were displayed in real time as queries were typed in." - Reuters

A quick skim of the various announcements yields lots to tease Microsoft about, from the OS X look and feel of Vista and me-too Microsoft Gadgets to the remarkably transparent announcements of "embrace and extend" strategies (e.g. adding new "rich" features to RSS feeds). (And am I alone in hearing about Atlas and thinking that Atlas vs. Ajax looks like ActiveX vs. Java all over again?)

Update: I was wrong. Ajax -- short for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) -- is not a technology in itself. The term refers to the use of several technologies together. Atlas (aka ASP.net) can't compete with Ajax because it's simply Microsoft's version of Ajax. Mea culpa!)

These are tempting topics, but I'll leave them alone until I finish watching the for-some-reason-very-choppy Windows Media webcast of today's Bill Gates keynote. I'm sure Sparkle is in there somewhere...

Meanwhile, skip the mainstream news headlines about Windows Vista and the new user interface for Office and check out some of these cool bits:
- Start.com (a.k.a. "A Preview of Web 3.0")
- Microsoft Max (aka Codename Max - free photo sharing)
- Microsoft Gadgets (Microsoft's Konfabulator)