No web videos of CES keynotes?

The Consumer Electronics Show started this week in Las Vegas. As often, the opening day keynote was delivered by Bill Gates. Checking the CES web site, transcripts are now available, but - surprisingly, since this is a show about technology - there are no webcasts posted on the CES website!

This is amazing. In a world where major conferences from Sun (JavaOne, Network Computing), Apple (MacExpo, Mac Developers Conference), and others routinely share their keynotes via video webcasts from their websites, it seems really strange that the premier consumer electronics show in the country doesn't maximize its use of current technology to share its keynotes with a much much wider audience than could directly attend the show.

Well, Microsoft is apparently more tech-savvy than CES... Bill's CES keynote is available from their website...

And Intel's keynote by Paul Otellini is available on Intel's website... WAIT - ONLY if you view it with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or better and Windows Media Player 9. Huh!??!? Didn't Apple and Intel just enter into a new relationship... where Apple decided to convert its processor line from IBM/Motorola's PowerPC to Intel processors!?? And didn't Microsoft just re-announce the end of support for Internet Explorer on MacOS?? They suggest "that Macintosh users migrate to more recent web browsing technologies such as Apple's Safari."

Oh look: now Yahoo has posted Terry Semel's keynote on their vidcast beta website... it's good to see that they're using state-of-the-art technology - mpeg4 - for their streaming.

Still no sign of Google's Larry Page keynote from Friday... (why isn't this available on video.google.com!??)

It seems that CES is all about creating buzz... and ultimately providing the opportunity to sell new product. This could be enhanced many-fold by rebroadcasting the video associated with the keynotes.