January 11, 2007 Between CES and Macworld, the last few days have been interesting for tech geeks like myself. Microsoft and Apple are aggressively competing for control over consumer digital media.

At CES Bill Gates babbled on about Vista, but I think the quiet news about iPTV for Xbox 360 has greater potential impact. With over 10 million Xbox 360s sold, Microsoft has a massive foothold and opportunity for delivering internet video content to consumers.

Of course, Microsoft is chasing Apple... and Apple isn't standing still, either. By far, the most popular announcement from Macworld is the iPhone. It's a widescreen video iPod combined with a phone and PDA, but in a package that already makes many other smart phones look obsolete. Apple also announced Apple TV, a wireless network consumer device for delivering media to widescreen televisions and entertainment systems. Both of Apple's new products work with iTunes and other computers for purchasing, organizing, and playing digital media. Apple has created a synergy between content and devices, part of their "digital hub" strategy announced several years ago [1][2][3].

If Microsoft gets iPTV working on the Xbox 360 and makes the Zune portable media player fully integrated with their console, they could finally have the right combination to challenge Apple's position in digital media. Microsoft needs to act quickly to make the Xbox 360 video solutions work, which could beat Apple TV before it has a chance to get established. It's a possibility to consider, but very unlikely since Microsoft has such a long history of missed deadlines and delays.

None of these technology and media developments were unexpected. Many were predicted years ago, but real products are much more fun to play with than predictions. If anything, we should all hope the competition escalates between companies, products, and services since it will only make our toys better.