Microsoft has been slowly trying to build some hype for the Origami project.  Over at Engadget, they have plenty of speculation about what it might be.  They also have some info about what they think Apple has in the works.  I think that it is a safe bet that these things will have some similar functionality.  Namely, mobile media.

Now to add more fuel to the fire (at least it gets me excited) is ABC saying that they will be offering some of their shows for free.  Grey's Anatomy and Lost among others.  The free versions will have commercials in them.  In case the thought of commercials makes you cringe, it sounds like you will still be able to buy the commercial free episodes via iTunes.

Now the two questions I still have:

   1. How much will the players cost?

   2. How long till SciFi offers Battlestar Gallactica for free?

http://www.microsoft.com/events/executives/billgates.mspxEach year you see those "Children of the 80's/70's/whatever" lists float around the internet.  But you want to see something that will really make you feel old?  Pay close attention to the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show.  Hot damn, give me one of everything! 

Most of the info I've been reading covering the show (and most of my gadget info in particular) is coming from engadget.  Two postings that really got me excited for the future were the Bill Gates Keynote post and the Sony Press Preview post.

As I sat there reading the coverage of the event, and looking at all the pretty pictures I had a flashback to my buddy Darrell and I sitting in the den at his parent's house playing on a TRS-80 and listening to some of his dad's 8-Track tapes.  Granted the 8-Track was really before my time and was old by the time that I started listening to it, but we did still use it.  Now I think about my sons, and the fact that by the time they get to the point that they are buying music or other forms of media, it will probably all be streamed directly to some device or at the very least be burnt onto some super high definition DVD/blue ray/something or other.

In the future I'll probably be asking them to help me get some music onto a tape so that I can play it on my very first ghetto-blaster (or I guess the preferred term is boom box?) circa 1981, which I still use out in my garage.  I'm sure after my iPod Mini dies off and is discarded, the ghetto-blaster will still be pumping out music.

UPDATE:
Speaking of the Bill Gates Keynot above, you can actually watch it here.