It underscored the difficulty the elderly have in dealing with the myriad of electronics that they live with and which can cause distress for them when there is a failure.

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Microsoft says it is stepping away from live consumer marketing events such as the International Consumer Electronics Show, held in early January in Las Vegas, and clearly consumer software will be less and less the focus.

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Last year, for instance, John Schappert, executive vice president of Electronics Arts, was named corporate vice president of Xbox Live, Microsoft's interactive entertainment division.

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