Webware

Palm's plan for application development on the new Palm Pre will help determine its fate.

(Credit: Palm)

Defying expectations, Day 1 of CES was not dull. Palm stole the show with a new and important product. And last night, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made an interesting announcement about Windows.

Here are the Webware-related CES highlights from the first official day of the conference:

• The Palm announcement at CES--a new OS and new hardware--was everything people had been hoping for, and more. Palm WebOS looks solid, and the UI looks fun and easy. The device, the Pre, is pretty slick, with both the pebble-in-the-stream smoothness of the iPhone and a slide-out keyboard. One thing that's less clear: how will developers get their apps into the hands of users, and how will Palm (and Sprint, the Pre's launch carrier) ensure reliability of the apps? Also, can Palm still attract developers? Shortly after Palm's press conference, I spoke with CNET News' Ina Fried about the announcement.

• Ballmer also spoke with Fried and said the tech economy is in the middle of a "reset."

• LG revealed even more about its impressive suite of stream-enabled audio-visual gear. Panasonic announced Internet content for its plasma TVs.

• Wednesday night, I got a look at a demo (video link) of Yahoo Connected TV, a new platform that will enable viewers of new televisions to pop little content widgets up over their programs.

• My favorite Internet toy, the Chumby, got grown-up supervision through a partnership with Samsung.

• Is Skype the recession-proof phone company? The VoIP provider is doing well right now.

• In the "we'll just pretend that Palm didn't just steal our thunder" department, INQ claims it's the world's first real social mobile company

• Scariest news of the show: Ford trucks are getting LogMeIn remote PC access. Can't wait to meet one of these barreling down the interstate.

Previously: Webware wrapup for CES Day 0.

The remote PC access product LogMeIn is getting into trucks. A branded version of the software, "LogMeIn for Ford Work Solutions" will be included in the new F-150 trucks (and a few other models) equipped with the optional Ford Works Solutions suite, a collection of options that includes Internet access, a dashboard monitor, and a wireless keyboard and pointing device.

Remote desktop.

(Credit: Ford)

LogMeIn spokespeople, in a CES announcement, said they envision construction contractors and other mobile workers using the remote access product to work on billing and other office documents without requiring them to carry a laptop in their vehicle.

I'm a LogMeIn user and can vouch for the product. For remote networking software, it is extremely simple to set up and use, and its performance is fast enough over a wireless connection. It works on both Windows machines and Macs, and cross-platform as well (you can control a Mac from a Windows desktop, and vice versa).

No news as to whether the feature will be disabled for the driver while the vehicle is in motion, or if LogMeIn running on a desktop PC or Mac will be able to tap into the truck's on-board Windows-based computer.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally will be giving an afternoon keynote at CES today. CNET News and Car Tech will have a full report.

Boxee, one of the more promising media applications out there today, is announcing the launch of a few new content sources today at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Boxee now has added support for content from Joost and MTV Music. Joost is bringing its usual assortment of video content to the table, while MTV provides a huge amount of music videos. In the United Kingdom, Boxee has also added the BBC's popular iPlayer to its arsenal of content.

In addition, Boxee will be totally opening up its Mac, Linux, and Apple TV alphas to anyone who wants to sign up. The Windows version, however, will not be entering an open alpha, but rather an invite-only alpha while it scales.

Boxee, for those of you who don't know, is a media application that can act as a player for content on your computer or, where it really shines, as a conduit for viewing Web video from a variety of sources. Video sites that currently have a plug-in on Boxee include Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, CNN, Apple Movie Trailers, Revision3, CBS, Comedy Central, and more.

Boxee really does a great job of handling all of these different sources of content and presenting them in an easy-to-navigate way. In addition to these video sources, Boxee also integrates music sites such as CBS' Last.fm and Shoutcast. (Editors' note: CBS publishes CNET News.)

As you can see, there's a lot to be excited about here.

MTV Music rocks Boxee.

(Credit: Boxee)

After its excellent implementation of Netflix instant streaming, people have been begging Microsoft to bring Hulu and other video sites to the Xbox. Boxee is beating Microsoft to the punch, even offering a Netflix implementation that is more full-featured than the Xbox's.

If Boxee can find a way to get its software off of computer monitors and on to more TVs (as it is doing with Apple TV), I think we could be looking at the next big contender in media software.

Joost gets the Boxee treatment.

(Credit: Boxee)