In response, the company has lifted a planned limit on the number of copies of the Windows 7 Beta available for download.

Microsoft delayed the launch by one day to add "more infrastructure and servers" to cope with demand.

The unlimited download will last for two weeks, according to Microsoft.

Microsoft had initially planned to restrict downloads of the software to 2.5m copies, but now says that unlimited copies will be available until 24 January.

After that, the limit will be reinstated, though it looks likely to be surpassed by then.

Laurence Painell, product manager at Microsoft, said that it had removed the download limit so that Windows 7 would be available to "a much wider audience".

Shocking demand

"We would expect a beta to only be of interest to tech-enthused and those that have a vested business interest, to look at an operating system for testing purposes," Mr Painell explained.

"We didn't quite anticipate the demand that we saw."

Windows devotees flooded the Windows 7 blog with comments while waiting with bated breath for the delayed download.

A commenter on the blog called Adinelus posted from Romania on 9 January: "Thank God it's Saturday tomorrow, otherwise I would have missed this.

"Hope you guys have some spare servers…because millions wait for you!"

Mr Painell stressed that consumers should be aware that they are getting a preliminary version of Windows 7 which is meant for testing.

As a result, the software is likely to have problems that haven't been ironed out, and Microsoft does not provide technical support for it.

"It's not ideal for every consumer to install and use it on a daily basis," he explained.

Microsoft encouraged people with MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) or TechNet accounts to download the software through their subscriptions, to avoid the congestion on its public sites.

Also on hand were the big boys - Samsung, Toshiba, Panasonic and others - trying to rule the roost in terms of integrated web TV.

On the other hand I saw a rise in the number of gaming gadgets being released, as this is one area that seems to have missed the economic downturn that has hit other products.

Vibrating feedback

Perhaps it is the Xbox price drop that has helped, or the fact that consumers are tending to stay in more, but the plethora of options for gamers was very impressive.

They ranged from interesting console add-ons like the Sure Shot Rifle for the Wii (from CTA Digital) which can be dis-assembled into three types of guns, or the Cooking Mama Wii add-on, which contains a variety of kitchen utensils, from the Wii spatula to the Wii-frying pan. Hey, cooking a virtual egg isn't easy, okay?

On the Xbox side, you can look forward to more gaming chairs with integrated sound systems and 2.1 audio with vibrations feedback set as standard.

In one corner is Apple, the largest music retailer in the United States.

And in the other is DECE, a US consortium of entertainment, retail and IT companies that want to set new standards to transform how consumers buy, access and play digital content.

"This is setting up to be a war between DECE and Apple," said MG Siegler of online news site VentureBeat.com.

Stand off

"It seems DECE is working on a kind of new generation of DRM (Digital Rights Management or copy protection) so that they will still be able to be in control of the content of their members," he said.

He predicted this will result in a stand off with Apple, which is not a member of DECE.

"Without Apple's participation in DECE, you can be sure that its devices will not play content made by the consortium. It will surely work the other way around also with none of the DECE content being able to be played on Apple devices," suggested Mr Siegler to BBC News.

Just last week at Macworld in San Francisco, Apple announced it would drop DRM restrictions on the 10 million songs in its iTunes store. That now means users can play what they have paid for on any device. The lifting of the copy restrictions does not apply to movies and TV shows.

More than 25 major companies have signed up to be part of the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem which plans to set standards and specifications for upcoming devices such as phones, DVD players, streaming services and computers.

DECE includes Sony, Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate, Microsoft, Best Buy, HP, Cisco, and Intel among others.
shot of a star with camera inside
Some of the biggest movie companies are backing DECE

DECE President Mitch Singer, who is the chief technology officer for Sony Pictures, told the BBC. "All of the companies in this consortium realise if we can do this and do this right we have the potential for a very large market."

He estimated the starting value as a "five or six billion dollar business" and noted "we are in the very very early stage of this global digital marketplace."

However Mr Singer took issue with suggestions that DECE's decision to set up its own ecosystem for digital entertainment such as movies, books, TV programmes and games will result in a major clash.

"Yes Apple has the lion's share of the digital sell through and a lot of consumers are using it but DECE will give consumers choice and a greater digital experience.

"I don't see Apple and DECE being rivals in this eco system. We will live alongside one another in the same way Blu-ray lives alongside DVD's and Netflix alongside Apple."

"Consumer choice"

Last week at CES, the world's biggest electronics show, DECE was expected to make a "coming out" announcement about standards. Instead it announced six new partners including Panasonic and Samsung.

In total the group now has the support of five of the largest TV manufacturers, six Hollywood studios, five powerhouse tech companies and an array of players in other segments of the industry.

Jon Healey of the Los Angeles Times asked "If the DECE system doesn't work with iPods, iTunes and iPhones, won't that make it a non-starter for millions of consumers?"

Mike McGuire who is the vice president of Gartner's media industry advisory service agreed that both parties are on a possible collision course.

"A face off is going on now because we are talking rhetoric and not deployment. When it will really matter is when this stuff hits the marketplace and that is a long way off," he stated.

Formed with SwapGame, GAME Rentals will allow players to borrow 2 games at a time for a monthly fee and there's no such thing as late fees. Because the servive is subscription based, you can keep the games as long as you like and when you send one back via free postage, another from your chosen list is sent out.

Compared to the rip-off rental game scheme in place in most DVD rental stores, it may take off.

"We spent a lot of time talking to customers, to find out what services they want from us and how we can help them enjoy more games and get great value," GAME's online business MD Alex Croft told MCV.