Yahoo's Bartz to deliver CES keynote
Carol Bartz will bring Yahoo back to the CES keynote stage this January, the Consumer Electronics Association announced Tuesday.
Yahoo has given CES keynotes in the past but skipped last year, presenting instead a press conference on its Yahoo Connected TV project. Bartz will speak on Thursday January 7, 2010 in Las Vegas, when she might have a different set of businesses to present to the crowd.
CES has been morphing into a hybrid show for years, traditionally a consumer electronics showcase but increasingly bringing in the likes of Yahoo, Ford, and entertainment companies. Yahoo stuck to the consumer electronics script in its last couple of keynotes, including one gaffe-prone affair in 2006 where Tom Cruise rescued then-CEO Terry Semel.
But the leader of Yahoo's Connected TV group announced plans to leave this week, prompting speculation that Bartz is thinking about adding that group to the list of properties she'd like to shed. Instead, Yahoo may be planning to use its CES slot as a promotional vehicle for its media properties, which are slated to receive some investment as Yahoo winds down other businesses.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
Long Live Yahoo !