Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has unveiled his company's next-generation Windows Vista operating system.
During Mr Gates's keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft plugged a digital cable into a PC to watch and record high-definition video and filtered downloaded musics.
The much anticipated upgrade to Microsoft's flagship operating system also displayed a new interface with 3-D scrolling between different windows, which can appear translucent to allow users to see the information beneath.
Some of the elements of Vista featured in Mr Gates's speech took aim at Microsoft's various competitors, such as Google and Apple.
Microsoft unveiled a search function within Vista that cuts across the content within the PC and its network, aimed at not conceding search on the desktop or the Internet to Google.
"People tend to get overfocused on one of our competitors. We've always seen that," said Mr Gates.
"The biggest company in the computer industry by far is IBM . They have the four times the employees that I have, way more revenues than I have. IBM has always been our biggest competitor. The press just doesn't like to write about IBM."
Vista, targeted for shipment in the second half of 2006, will include the next version of Windows Media Center that is fully compatible with high definition programming, and Internet Explorer that promises improved security protection.
Mr Gates focused on the consumer elements of Vista rather than the traditional focus on business clients.
Microsoft also unveiled MTV Network's Urge Music Service, which will be built into Vista's new Windows Media Center and offer users instant access to two million songs and videos in MTV's library.
The Microsoft boss was joined on stage by pop star Justin Timberlake to introduce the new service. The enormous popularity of Apple's iPod portable music player has made the accompanying iTunes music and video service the defining entertainment media delivery service.
Microsoft said it will also work together with DIRECTV to enable the transfer of digital content among Windows PCs, DIRECTV devices and the Xbox 360 to allow customers to watch movies and programs they get on their TV and play them on a number of different devices.