Stories by: Marc Ferranti

Gadgets have always taken center stage at the Consumer Electronics Show, but this year more than ever, even the coolest devices seem to be mere means to an end -- access to content and services whenever and wherever you want them.

Microsoft co-founder and Chairman Bill Gates has been giving keynote speeches at Las Vegas conventions, including the Consumer Electronics Show and the now-defunct Comdex, for decades. Before his last CES keynote speech as a full-time company employee, he talked with the IDG News Service about his legacy as an innovator, the background behind some of the deals announced at CES this week and directions for Microsoft.

This year has been a time of realignment and redefinition, as Apple launched its second zeitgeist-defining product of the new century, Dell and Intel battled to regain their former dominance, the software sector consolidated, Google rallied industry heavyweights around a common mobile device platform, and major vendors scrambled to embrace social networking. These, not necessarily in order of importance, are the IDG News Service picks for the top 10 stories of the year:

Oracle said that BEA Systems has officially rejected its offer to acquire the company. BEA had previously said the offer was too low.

Robots take to the gutters as iRobot unveils new robots at the Digital Life expo

Amid uncertainty about the greater economy, technology companies are looking good to investors. Strong earnings from Red Hat this week and Oracle last week, continued excitement over mergers and acquisitions, and solid forecasts for global component sales have been pushing shares of tech vendors up.

Concerns about a spending slowdown continue to make IT investors nervous.

With shares of major technology companies trading as high as they have ever done in the post dot-com era, IT investors this week are scrutinising quarterly results from the world's biggest vendors to judge how the market will hold up for the rest of the year.

South Africa seeks to boost its economy by strongly promoting outsourcing

Microsoft is at a crucial point in its expanding efforts in the consumer arena. Company Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates used his keynote address at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to unveil the Windows Home Server and announce that major service providers like AT&T would offer the Xbox 360 as a set-top box alternative. These announcements follow the launch of the Zune MP3 player and come right before the late January release of the retail version of Vista.

The effects of home entertainment on the computer industry