Keynoting the Consumer Electronics Show here, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced new agreements with TiVo and MTV as part of what the company calls enabling of the "digital lifestyle."
"We are at the forefront in making broad technology investments and delivering breakthroughs that bring the digital lifestyle into the mainstream," Gates was quoted as saying in his keynote speech.
The new deals involve MTV developing programming and entertainment to be made available through Portable Media Center devices with Windows bases, as well as a version of an online music store compatible to the Windows-based PlaysForSure secure portable devices, Gates said. The deal with TiVo involves downloadable video to PMCs and smartphones.
Microsoft is also launching MSN Video Downloads, Gates said, a library of content downloadable to PMC devices and set to include content from CNBC, MSNBC, Fox Sports, Cookie Jar Entertainment, Home and Garden Television, the Food Network, and iFilm, among others.
The MSN Video Download Service will involve yearlong memberships at $19.95, for those who own the $500-priced PMCs, Gates added.
