• Financial Times, Wednesday, January 3, 2007 10:15 AM

In the technology industry, the New Year has become synonymous with the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But this year, the event will be conducted in a decidedly lower-key than years past.

Lighter on celebrities, heavier on substance, the slimmed-down CES opens Jan. 8 with a line-up that heavily skews toward traditional media companies and Internet service providers delivering media content. If last year was all about the convergence of Internet and technology companies with the consumer electronics market, 2007 is all about old media fighting back.

But all that glitters at CES is not gold. Last year, Yahoo chairman Terry Semel introduced Yahoo Go, a new interface for the TV similar to Microsoft's Windows Media Center, which itself was introduced several years ago. Neither has caught on with consumers, nor did Intel's unveiling of Viiv, its brand for multimedia living-room PCs.

Google last year unveiled a content distribution agreement with CBS that portended its acquisition of YouTube, though its video business is still far from refined. This year's keynotes include Microsoft's departing Chief Software Architect Bill Gates, Disney CEO Bob Iger and the heads of both Motorola and Nokia.

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