Microsoft partners up
Seattle PI | at | by Mike
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced a string of high-profile partnerships during his keynote speech Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show, including deals to make the company's Live Search the default search engine on Dell PCs and Verizon phones, and to link up Microsoft's Windows Live suite of online applications with Facebook.
Speaking to a packed hall at The Venetian Hotel, Ballmer also said that a beta version of the company's highly anticipated operating system, Windows 7, would be released this week.
Unifying the announcements, Ballmer said, was Microsoft's desire to span and connect the three screens that make up the average consumer's daily life -- the PC, the cell phone and the TV.